By/With/For Youth: Inspiring Next Gen Public Media Audiences

Public media is at a critical junction. Rapidly evolving technology ecosystems mean that new platforms, modes of engagement, and forms of content are driving every part of the media sector to innovate. At the same time, tweens and teens growing up in this new world of media are developing a different set of media habits that include not just passive consumption but creative, interactive, and social modes of engagement. 

Made possible with generous support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, By/With/For Youth: Inspiring Next Gen Public Media Audiences is a research and development project to respond to this critical moment and support the public media sector as it evolves to engage tween and teen audiences. 

Through on the ground research with tweens and teens and a collaborative process involving experts within public media, in 2021 the initiative developed a set of guiding priorities for what ‘next gen public media’ can look like:

• “Seat at the Table” – Engaging youth as co-creators of public media
• “Platforming Youth” – Uplifting youth voice through public media
• “Media Fluency” – Supporting youth to navigate a fragmented media landscape
• “Reinventing the PSA” – Creating youth media that addresses developmental needs and desires
• “Embracing the Digital” – Engaging with present-day youth media platforms and practices
• “Centering Inequities” – Centering inequities in youth media work

With support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Next Gen Public Media is deepening research insights on how youth can be co-creators within public media and launching new ways to support the sector as it innovates to connect with their perspectives.

Get involved with Next Gen Public Media

• Sign up for updates to receive updates about our research, pioneers in the field, and upcoming events and opportunities
• Learn more about the research that grounds our vision for Next Gen Public Media
• Join the community to attend webinars and online meet-ups with peers who lead this work around the country

Explore the Next Gen Public Media Toolkit

Designed for public media professionals interested in creating media by, with, and for youth, our toolkit offers tools to ensure a coherent strategy that leverages your station’s assets and priorities. A database of youth-focused projects from stations across the country provides examples and inspiration for what this work can look like in action.

 

Publications

 

Navigating Youth Media Landscapes: Challenges and Opportunities for Public Media	The Missing Middle: Reimagining a Future for Tweens, Teens, and Public Media
Models of Youth-Adult Collaboration for Public Media	Understanding Youth: A Prerequisite for Creating Programs By/With/For Tweens and Teens
Content and Platform Innovation with Youth	Gen Z in the Room: Making Public Media By and With Youth for the Future

Webinars and recorded events:

• Tweens Teens and Public Media: The Missing Middle at SXSW EDU (May 2021)
• The Missing Middle: Tweens, Teens, and Public Media (June 2021)
• Models of Youth-Adult Collaboration for Public Media (April 26, 2022)
• Understanding Youth: A Prerequisite for Creating Programs By/For/With Tweens and Teens (May 26, 2022)
• Content and Platform Innovation with Youth (July 13, 2022)
• Group Chat: Teens and Adults in Conversation series playlist (October 2022)

Related posts:

• Supporting an Ecosystem of Public Media that Understands Youth by Josanne Buchanan
• Introducing the Next Gen Public Media Youth Fellows by Colin Angevine and Dwight Dunston
• Designing a Youth Media Bill of Rights at CLS 2022 by Colin Angevine
• Creating Opportunities for Meaningful Collaboration with Youth by Mary Madden and Josanne Buchanan
• Engaging the Next Generation of Public Media Audiences
• Voices from the Missing Middle by Monica Bulger and Mary Madden
• Not the Only One Anymore: Empowering Diverse Young Voices by Victoria Hodges
• Pandemic Silver Linings: Antigone Davis and Mary Madden
• Youth Collective: Amplifying Young Voices by Kristina Kirtley, Michelle Chen, and Hannah Dawe
• What Hasn’t Changed in the Youth Media Landscape? by Hillary Wells
• Let’s Talk About Public Media and the Next Generation by Patrick Davison, Monica Bulger, and Mary Madden
• Connecting Kentucky’s Kids with the Country and Beyond by Allison NeCamp Day
• Helping Teens Tell Their Stories in the Midst of COVID-19 by Kaari Pitkin
• Connecting with Youth through Authenticity and Collaboration by Keena Levert and Ashley Gain
• Seeing and Hearing Our Diverse, Compassionate Gen Z Storytellers by Leah Clapman
• Partnering for a Summer at Home: Camp TV, Public Media, and Out-of-School Enrichment by Sandra Sheppard
• Why Public Media Matters for Gen Z and Vice Versa