It was only last year that Ideastream Public Media unveiled its new marketing slogan: We Take You There. However, the media organization — which provides local and national news, music, education and arts content through FM stations WKSU and WCLV, as well as WVIZ-TV — has been doing just that for decades.
No better example of that effort is the Sound of Ideas Community Tour, which takes Ideastream’s public affairs talk show, Sound of Ideas hosted by Mike McIntyre, on the road.
Since launching in 2017, the tours have addressed issues like guns, immigration and health care, while hosting broadcasts in several Northeast Ohio communities, including Cleveland, Medina and Painesville.
Community Leader recently interviewed Rachel Rood, supervising producer, Sound of Ideas Community Tour.
What is the purpose of Sound of Ideas Community Tour?
We want to bring people together to help facilitate conversations about what is important to those communities and, ultimately, to strengthen communities. The first step is fact-based dialogue. We’re bringing community stakeholders and residents together to have conversations face to face in their own backyard, and that can be a very powerful experience.
One good example of that was when we brought a representative of then-Mayor Frank Jackson’s administration together with West Side Market vendors, shoppers and neighbors for a conversation about the state of the market, which many vendors said was in dismal shape and needed new management. It allowed residents and vendors to have an open and honest back-and-forth with city leaders in a way that held leaders accountable. And you could hear the enthusiasm from audience members over what the market meant to them.
How important is that in-person presence?
A conversation about public housing is much more impactful and inclusive when you bring the show to Woodhill Homes, where residents know firsthand the issues their community faces.
Another good example is the time we went to Ashtabula to engage in a conversation about health access as doctors provided needed care in a free, pop-up medical clinic. And my favorite show has to be the one commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Cuyahoga River fire, which we did aboard the Goodtime III as it floated along the Cuyahoga. It just creates such a different atmosphere and energy.
Have the community tours brought changes to communities?
Our aim with the community tour is to provide communities with information and an inclusive forum to air concerns and discuss important topics. Often, that leads to change. It’s always the first step.
After the West Side Market tour stop at Market Garden Brewery in January 2020, Market Garden’s Sam McNulty emailed us, saying, “I can’t even tell you how many market vendors and Ohio City neighbors are buzzing about the renewed interest in the future of the market. All day my phone has been blowing up with messages of optimism and hope. I think Ideastream may have lit a match that is going to start a fire of positive change.”
Under (Cleveland) Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration, the market will soon move to nonprofit management.
Do any one or two Community Tours stick out in your memory?
Personally, for me, calling the Goodtime III and asking if we could do a radio show on a boat and having that actually come to fruition was the highlight of the tour so far. In terms of the most impactful, there are a ton that come to mind, but I think hearing the pride of students, teachers and parents in 2019 at the Warrensville Heights community tour, where we discussed how the district had improved from an F to a C on its report card, was a top moment.