Stories of Impact : News
NEWS CONTENT
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compelling and credible to enrich our communities.
Coronavirus News Coverage WXXI News has provided extensive coverage of the Coronavirus Crisis. From the initial rise of COVID-19 in February of 2020, WXXI News team has reported and produced more than 1,500 stories on a wide range of topics related to the pandemic’s effect on local life. The news team also produced a handful of special series including The Essentials, profiling essential workers; Pandemic Academics, looking at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education; and Unemployment Crisis, exploring unemployment during a pandemic. WXXI News has also been involved in the production of four live, televised forums dealing with the coronavirus and providing the community a vehicle to have their questions answered. In addition to news reports, a series of PSAs about sanitary and hygiene practices ran on all of WXXI’s radio services.
CITY back in print!
When WXXI’s media partner CITY was forced to suspend publication of its award-winning weekly newspaper in response to the economic fallout of the pandemic, it stopped the presses, but not the reporting. All news stories were moved online with the hope of bringing back a print edition in the near future.
In September CITY returned to newsstands with a monthly magazine, featuring its signature coverage of our community and integrated with six pages of a special section for WXXI to share details about upcoming PBS and NPR programs, WXXI documentaries and series premieres, screenings, happenings at The Little Theatre, and other virtual events.
REP. JOHN LEWIS MURAL ON STATE STREET
When artists Ephraim Gebre, Darius Dennis, Jared Diaz and Dan Harrington came to Rochester to create a mural to honor the late Rep John Lewis, WXXI News reporter James Brown and photojournalist /videographer Max Schulte were there to capture their work.
The 3,000-square-foot mural of the late civil rights icon and congressman John Lewis is called “I AM SPEAKING.” It shows Lewis demanding attention in Mississippi in 1963. The mural’s name is inspired by another civil rights icon and orator, Rochester’s own Frederick Douglass, who gave the ‘What to the slave is the Fourth of July?’ speech less than a block away on Corinthian Street. James and Max’s feature received national attention when it was carried on PBS NewsHour and NPR.
Connections with Evan Dawson
At the start of the pandemic Connections seamlessly shifted from guests in studio to phone guests only, without sacrificing the quality of the content. Evan Dawson and Megan Mack have been able to directly talk with people in the community struggling during the pandemic who had questions about COVID treatment and vaccines. They’ve been able to connect them directly, in candid discussion, with local leaders and medical experts. It’s the kind of dialogue that Connections is proud to provide.
Aside from COVID-19, WXXI’s midday talk show also explored the pandemic’s effect on arts and the economy – plus many frank discussions on social issues through the region.