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Catalyst Radio: Pekich Park Concert Series to increase community investment

This dispatch was added by one of our Nonprofit Neighbors. It does not represent the editorial voice of The Rapidian or Community Media Center.

"I think that people respond to music in ways that they will not respond with somebody shaking a stick at them or running them off," explains Hugo Claudin of the Heartside neighborhood.
A scene from the first of the concert series on July 29.

A scene from the first of the concert series on July 29. /Sandi Gunnett Avenue for the Arts in the Rapidian Flickr pool

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About Catalyst Radio

Catalyst Radio is the weekly public affairs radio program of Community Media Center, with producer and host Linda Gellasch, along with Denise Cheng. The program is a feature of WYCE and The Rapidian and includes interviews with organizations and people working on social change and community support, examines media and free speech issues, and takes a look at the behind-the-scenes of Rapidian reporting. You can catch it on air at noon every Friday on WYCE 88.1 FM or streaming on the Grand Rapids Community Media Center Website.

Past Catalyst Radio episodes are archived on The Rapidian.

Don't have time to listen right now? Download the MP3 and listen at your leisure.

 

INTERVIEW (9:49)

Among the many neighbors in Heartside, Hugo Claudin, an artist and community organizer, noticed that Pekich Park has become a very active corner with activities including prostitution and drug dealing since it opened last year. After leaving a community meeting in which many proprietors voted to remove the park benches to discourage loitering, Claudin proposed biweekly concerts so that the community could come around the park for recreational reasons.

Music this week comes from Jake Stilson and the Mi Mi Mis with "Black Lung."

 

ANALYSIS (0:00)

Unsolicited redesign of NYT debated in journalism community
In an unsolicited redesign, professional designer Andy Rutledge overhauled the front page of the New York Times as well as its opinion section, opting for a much simpler, cleaner design noticeably free of ads and areas liked "most emailed." Journalists, developers and designers have been overwhelming unreceptive to the redesign, saying that Rutledge's version doesn't take into consideration the real constraints of a newsroom.
[More: Media Bistro, Andy Rutledge, Subtraction

Online news startup first to form a union
The Bay Citizen, a well-funded nonprofit news startup in the San Francisco Bay Area, is the first of its type to form a union. It just got its stamp of approval from the National Labor Relations Board and is The New York Times' partner for covering news from the Bay Area.
[More: Columbia Journalism Review]

The New York Times is meeting its pay wall goal
The New York Times is on track to hit its target goal of 300,000 digital subscriptions within a year of launching its paywall. Just four months in, the Times has already amassed more than 200,000.
[Columbia Journalism Review, New York Magazine]

Libyan journalists killed in NATO bombing
NATO admits to an air strike that led to the death of three journalists at the headquarters of Libyan state television in Tripoli. NATO justified the act as silencing "terror broadcasts" by Moamer Kadhafi's regime, to which news station director Khaled Bazelya said, "we are not a military target, we are not commanders in the army and we do not pose threat to civilians. We are performing our job as journalists representing what we wholeheartedly believe is the reality of NATO's aggression and the violence in Libya."
[More: Democracy Now, Daily News Atlanta]

 

CALENDAR (26:50)

Two for Tuesdays at cultural institutions in GR
5-8 p.m. on Tuesday, August 9
This upcoming Tuesday is the last Two for Tuesdays. Throughout the summer, cultural institutions in Grand Rapids have been offering a two-for-one admission deal on the second Tuesday of each month. August 9 is the last, and participating institutions include Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids Public Museum, Grand Rapids Children's Museum, the Presidential Museum and John Ball Zoo. Stop by between 5-8 p.m. while the deal is in effect.
[More]

Students to premiere summer video projects at the CMC
7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 10 at Wealthy Theatre (1130 Wealthy SE)
On Wednesday, the CMC's media education department will be unveiling new student projects. All summer, MOLLIE has been holding summer camps around video production, and the screening will take place at The Dirk Koning Microcinema at Wealthy Theatre.
[More]

The Rapidian out and about town
Tuesdays and Thursdays
On Tuesday and Thursday, The Rapidian will be at the Van Belkum branch of the Grand Rapids Public Library. We take our public hours out to the public in the summer, going to local businesses, parks and other public spaces. If you're interested in what The Rapidian is, what we're up to or just want to get to know the Rapidian staff, we'd like to get to know you, too! We'll be at the library from 11a-2p on Tuesday and 3-6p on Thursday.
[More]

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