Ed Zed Omega

Wondering how AIR's national production evolved from a blue-sky idea to the ten evocative multimedia projects now animating public stations across the country? Grab a bucket of popcorn and lean back to watch This is Localore.

Filmmaker Josh Banville directed and edited this half-hour documentary stepping us behind the curtain with the producer-station teams—revealing how they have taken big risks to lead projects that grab the attention of communities across broadcast, digital and street platforms.

Current—the newspaper of record for the public media sector—has a running series of articles exploring how the Localore's teams are working with partner stations to invent new ways to connect with their communities. Catch up below, and bookmark this post to discover new pieces as they go up.

May 8: Planet Takeout Offers Menu of Stories
The Planet Takeout website was designed to emulate the experiences of customers who walk into these neighborhood restaurants to place an order, as well as of the employees working behind the counter. ...The cinema verité-style videography lends a feeling of intimacy to stories that can be experienced in a non-linear way.  

Early reviews of Localore.net have begun rolling in: fantastic transmedia voyages...very cool...beautiful...the new Localore site's going to blow your top.

Don't miss a chance to see AIR's revolutionary national production for yourself. Starting Saturday, Localore producers will hit the road to share what they've created and learned:

On April 22, AIR will present the full scope of its national Localore production with the launch of a new metasite and a public screening at Boston’s Brattle Theatre.

AIR's national Localore production team flocks to the east coast in April for a series of important events. We hope you'll come meet the producers and stations behind the revolutionary work being launched across the country.

In NYC on April 20? Come mingle with AIR's national production team at MEGAPOLIS Celebrates Localore: The After Party.

During the day of April 20th the Tribeca Film Festival spotlights all ten Localore productions as part of an exciting celebration of new, groundbreaking digital storytelling work. That night, the party at DROM will bring together Locolore participants and MEGAPOLIS attendees for a night of music, dancing, and merrymaking.

Today, AIR and ITVS announced a partnership that will add fuel to AIR's producer-led teams at public radio and TV stations. 

As the Localore production cycle winds down, ITVS has invited the teams to apply for one more year of funding through their LINCS initiative (Linking Independents and Co-producing Stations). Those selected by ITVS will continue their groundbreaking projects, with AIR serving an advisory role. 

Some more pencils, some more books—that's what's next for at least a few of the fictional students who have been "dropping out loud" via Localore's Ed Zed Omega project at TPT. Nora Rose Melendy, a homeschooler played by 20-year-old Mina Souvannasoth, rounds up each of the character's decisions about whether to stay in school in her final video.

At first glance, it's tempting to just surf the eye-catching site for Ed Zed Omega (EZO), Localore's "collaborative thought experiment" produced by Ken Eklund with his team at TPT. Updates have been coming fast and furious from the seven fictional high schoolers who are "zed omega"—i.e., "so over"—with their education, and actively seeking advice on how best to "rise out" rather than drop out.

But simply browsing the posts, tweets, videos, emails, phone calls and more produced by the Zed Omegas and participants is only dipping a toe in the water. The real payoff comes from diving deeper, getting to know why each character has been contemplating leaving school, and how their semester of crowdsourced open study has shaped their next steps.

Since the spring, Localore's teams of independent, station-based, and community producers have been engaged in an ambitious experiment blending media-technology, journalism, and storytelling. Their radio and television station partners span regions across the country—from rural outposts, to coastal urban matrices, to the open plains of mid-America. These collaborations are giving rise to a new form we call "full spectrum public media." Watch the video above to sample their work at the initiative's halfway mark—and see hints of more to come.