Ohio Humans

In this episode, broadcast journalist Ron Bryant discusses American democracy and the Electoral College with Dr. La Trice Washington. Dr. Washington is an Associate Professor of American Government at Otterbein University and the author of Political Scandals: The Consequences of Temporary Gratification. Dr. Washington lends her expertise to help us understand why the founders created the Electoral College, how it affects our elections, and the college's future in our democracy.

Perfecting Democracy explores the topic of civic and electoral participation using history and jurisprudence to illuminate contemporary issues. This series offers a humanities perspective on electoral engagement in Ohio and America’s multivocal democracy. In each episode, experts from around the state share thought-provoking insights on how best to understand our democracy and why it matters. This program was funded by the 'Why It Matters: Civic and Electoral Participation' initiative, administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. 

In this series, we explore Democracy and the Informed Citizen.

Our guests in this episode are Destiniee Jaram and Jack Boden. Both are undergraduate students in the journalism program at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and they share their perspective on the profession for which they are preparing themselves.

Here are some links to stories reported by today’s guests:

https://www.athensnews.com/news/campus/shawnee-chief-speaks-about-her-people-s-history-legacy/article_8dbb84a0-58cf-11ea-b6e7-b3cb267672d8.html 

https://www.athensnews.com/news/local/food-pantry-puts-burrows-words-into-action/article_98417aea-42c4-11ea-996f-0b4f77c03067.html

https://www.athensnews.com/news/campus/faculty-and-allies-hold-silent-protest-as-ou-trustees-meet/article_bf91f65a-3a32-11ea-9807-13ec995b57d7.html

Real Issues: Real Conversations is hosted and produced by Rachel Hopkin.

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Real Issues: Real Conversations is a production of Ohio Humanities, the state-based partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The views expressed in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment. 

This program is part of “Democracy and the Informed Citizen,” an initiative administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils. The project seeks to deepen our knowledge and appreciation of the vital connections between democracy, the humanities, journalism, and an informed citizenry. 

Many thanks to The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for their generous support of this initiative and the Pulitzer Prizes for their partnership.

The podcast’s opening and closing music is provided by Sokolovsky Music.

To learn more about Ohio Humanities podcasts and other projects and programs, please visit www.ohiohumanities.org. 

Perfecting Democracy—Why it Matters” explores the history of civic engagement in the United States. In this episode, we bring together award-winning broadcast journalist Ron Bryant, and Akron based journalist and author of Barnstorming Ohio: To Understand America, David Giffels. Together they discuss how Ohio’s unique past and regional identities have shaped electoral engagement across the state.

Perfecting Democracy explores the topic of civic and electoral participation using history and jurisprudence to illuminate contemporary issues. This series offers a humanities perspective on electoral engagement in Ohio and America’s multivocal democracy. In each episode, experts from around the state share thought-provoking insights on how best to understand our democracy and why it matters. This program was funded by the 'Why It Matters: Civic and Electoral Participation' initiative, administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. 

Our guest for this episode – in which our focus is racial equity in media reporting - is Mark Curnutte (http://www.miamioh.edu/cas/academics/departments/sociology-gerontology/about/faculty-staff/mark-curnutte/index.html). 

Mark Curnutte has been on the faculty of Miami University in Oxford Ohio for the past several years where he teaches courses on journalism and social justice. He is also a multi-award-winning career newspaper journalist who has reported extensively on social issues of race, class, poverty, homelessness, and immigration, including for the Cincinnati Enquirer where he worked 25 years. Over 80 of the articles he wrote for the Enquirer are reproduced in his most recent book: “Across the Color Line: Reporting 25 Years in Black Cincinnati" (https://ucincinnatipress.uc.edu/9781947602014/across-the-color-line/)

The following video, from the Columbus Metropolitan Club on the subject of “How Media Perpetuates Bias,” is mentioned during the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJmrAVs3B9A

Real Issues: Real Conversations is hosted and produced by Rachel Hopkin.

***

Real Issues: Real Conversations is a production of Ohio Humanities, the state-based partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The views expressed in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment. 

This program is part of “Democracy and the Informed Citizen,” an initiative administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils. The project seeks to deepen our knowledge and appreciation of the vital connections between democracy, the humanities, journalism, and an informed citizenry. 

Many thanks to The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for their generous support of this initiative and the Pulitzer Prizes for their partnership.

The podcast’s opening and closing music is provided by Sokolovsky Music.

To learn more about Ohio Humanities podcasts and other projects and programs, please visit www.ohiohumanities.org. 

This episode of the Real Issues: Real Conversations podcast is about Report for America. In it, we hear from some of the project’s 2020-2021 Ohio-based corps members who all began their new jobs during June of 2020.

The guests interviewed are Seyma Bayram, who is reporting on minority and immigrant issues for The Akron Beacon Journal, H.L. Comeriato, who is focusing on Public Health also in Akron for The Devil Strip, and Conor Morris, who’s covering poverty-related issues in Cleveland - such as housing, health and education – for the Northeast Ohio Journalism Collaborative.

ncidentally, a fourth corps member - Pete Grieve, whose beat is covering public health for Spectrum in Columbus OH – was supposed to be part of this conversation but unfortunately, technical issues prevented his participation.

The story by M. Sophie Franchi about addiction recovery which was published in The Devil Strip is available at https://thedevilstrip.com/together-and-alone-nine-years-since-i-kicked-my-heroin-addiction/

And here are some links to pieces by the reporters featured in this program:
 https://thedevilstrip.com/east-akron-public-schools-segregation-bell-board-education/

Real Issues: Real Conversations is hosted and produced by Rachel Hopkin.

***

Real Issues: Real Conversations is a production of Ohio Humanities, the state-based partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The views expressed in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment. 

This program is part of “Democracy and the Informed Citizen,” an initiative administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils. The project seeks to deepen our knowledge and appreciation of the vital connections between democracy, the humanities, journalism, and an informed citizenry. 

Many thanks to The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for their generous support of this initiative and the Pulitzer Prizes for their partnership.

The podcast’s opening and closing music is provided by Sokolovsky Music.

To learn more about Ohio Humanities podcasts and other projects and programs, please visit www.ohiohumanities.org. 

This episode of the Real Issues: Real Conversations podcast is one of a number of special episodes that Ohio Humanities is publishing during 2020 to mark 100 years of women’s suffrage in the United States. The 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, was ratified in August of 1920. 

Our guest in this episode is Jen Miller who is the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio which is also 100 years old this year. Jen discusses the history and current work of the League and also reflects on what suffrage means today

Real Issues: Real Conversations is hosted and produced by Rachel Hopkin.

***

Real Issues: Real Conversations is a production of Ohio Humanities, the state-based partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The views expressed in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment. 

This program is part of “Democracy and the Informed Citizen,” an initiative administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils. The project seeks to deepen our knowledge and appreciation of the vital connections between democracy, the humanities, journalism, and an informed citizenry. 

Many thanks to The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for their generous support of this initiative and the Pulitzer Prizes for their partnership.

The podcast’s opening and closing music is provided by Sokolovsky Music.

To learn more about Ohio Humanities podcasts and other projects and programs, please visit www.ohiohumanities.org. 

This episode’s guest is writer and reporter, Tim Feran, talks about the landscape of local newspapers in Ohio.

You can find out more about Tim at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-feran-1b0944a/ and here are some links to his work:

The Poynter article about Gannett, the Ithaca Journal, and ghost newsrooms mentioned in the interview can be found at https://www.poynter.org/locally/2020/at-gannetts-ithaca-journal-local-news-staffing-is-down-to-one-reporter/

The name of the journalist whom Tim talks about in the interview who is doing investigative reporting in Youngstown for ProPublica and the Youngstown Business Journal is Dan O’Brien. Here is a link to one of his articles: https://www.propublica.org/article/gm-closed-the-lordstown-auto-plant-now-ohio-may-force-a-60-million-repayment 

Real Issues: Real Conversations is hosted and produced by Rachel Hopkin.

***

Real Issues: Real Conversations is a production of Ohio Humanities, the state-based partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  The views expressed in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment.  

This program is part of “Democracy and the Informed Citizen,” an initiative administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils.  The project seeks to deepen our knowledge and appreciation of the vital connections between democracy, the humanities, journalism, and an informed citizenry. 

Many thanks to The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for their generous support of this initiative and the Pulitzer Prizes for their partnership.

The podcast’s opening and closing music is provided by Sokolovsky Music.

To learn more about Ohio Humanities podcasts and other projects and programs, please visit www.ohiohumanities.org. 

This episode features Neenah Ellis and Luke Dennis of WYSO - https://www.wyso.org - which is the Greater Dayton area’s only NPR News station. Luke Dennis, who has a background in arts and music administration, is WYSO’s General Manager. Neenah Ellis, who was Luke’s predecessor in that role, is a multi-award-winning radio documentary maker of several decades standing. She is also the President of Miami Valley Public Media - the recently formed community owned non-profit organization behind WYSO. Amongst other subjects, they talk about the value of local reporting, about a project specifically designed to support that which is called Report for America, and about the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Ellis and Dennis are interviewed by folklorist and radio producer Rachel Hopkin. 

The interview was recorded on May 12, 2020.

***

Real Issues: Real Conversations is a production of Ohio Humanities, the state-based partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  The views expressed in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment.  This program is part of “Democracy and the Informed Citizen,” an initiative administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils.  The project seeks to deepen our knowledge and appreciation of the vital connections between democracy, the humanities, journalism, and an informed citizenry.  Many thanks to The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for their generous support of this initiative and the Pulitzer Prizes for their partnership.

The podcast’s opening and closing music is provided by Sokolovsky Music.

To learn more about Ohio Humanities podcasts and other projects and programs, please visit www.ohiohumanities.org. 

This episode of Real Issues: Real Conversations podcast is one of a number of special episodes that Ohio Humanities is publishing during 2020 to mark 100 years of women’s suffrage in the United States. The 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, was ratified in August of 1920. 

In this episode, Dr Treva Lindsey discusses the role that women of color have played in the struggle for the right to vote both before the 19th Amendment was passed and since. Dr Lindsey is an Associate Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the Ohio State University and author of Colored No More: Reinventing Black Womanhood in Washington, D.C.

In an initiative developed by League of Women Voters of Ohio and supported by Ohio Humanities, Dr Lindsey has collaborated to create a “Woman Suffrage All-Ages Reading List” and a discussion guide titled “The Complicated Struggle For Woman Suffrage.” Both can be accessed via the Suffrage Centennial page of the League of Women Voters of Ohio website.

Dr Lindsey is interviewed by folklorist and radio producer Rachel Hopkin.

Ladies First: A Century of Women’s Innovations in Comics and Cartoon Art

This episode of Real Issues: Real Conversations podcast is one of a number of special episodes that Ohio Humanities is publishing during 2020 to mark 100 years of women’s suffrage in the United States. The 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, was ratified on the 18th of August of 1920. 

The guests in this episode of the podcast are Caitlin McGurk, Associate Curator of Outreach & Engagement and Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University’s Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum and Library, and Columbus OH-based writer, editor, and scholar Rachel Miller. McGurk and Miller are joint curators of a Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum exhibit called Ladies First which celebrates “A Century of Women’s Innovations in Comics and Cartoon Art.” Ladies First was to be on show until May 2020. However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, please check the Museum’s website for the latest information.  

McGurk and Miller are interviewed by folklorist and radio producer Rachel Hopkin.

***

Real Issues: Real Conversations is a production of Ohio Humanities, the state-based partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  The views expressed in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment.  This program is part of “Democracy and the Informed Citizen,” an initiative administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils.  The project seeks to deepen our knowledge and appreciation of the vital connections between democracy, the humanities, journalism, and an informed citizenry.  Many thanks to The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for their generous support of this initiative and the Pulitzer Prizes for their partnership.

The podcast’s opening and closing music is provided by Sokolovsky Music.

To learn more about Ohio Humanities podcasts and other projects and programs, please visit www.ohiohumanities.org.