Broadcasting Our Racial Equity Work

Carmen Plazas, Communications & Community Engagement Manager

Diversity Equity and Inclusion | Media Partnership

Public Media Partnerships Close Out 7th Year

As your state agency working to promote a vibrant and diverse cultural sector, we at Mass Cultural Council understand the need for us to become more intentionally inclusive when designing programs and services to ensure we are serving all residents of the Commonwealth.

We also understand that trust and awareness are necessary elements of this work, and they require meaningful and strategic actions, so in planning the focus for our FY22 Media Partnerships – which support five nonprofit, public radio stations – we centered the messaging on elevating the Agency’s racial equity efforts while featuring diverse voices.

Our FY22 media partners were WCRB, WBUR, WICN, WERS, and New England Public Radio, which collectively reach listeners in every region of Massachusetts. We ran a total of 2,013 spots from March 7 – July 24, 2022. This year, the spots ran in English and Spanish and aired during programs like WBUR’s Truth Be Told segment in Here & Now and NEPR’s Spanish show Tertulia. Download the full Media Partnership report.

Representation matters – that’s why this year we partnered with BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) talent on the production of our radio spots. To celebrate the diversity of Massachusetts voices, please listen to a few clips and learn about their individual voices:

Bonnie Johnson – Host of WICN’s show, “Colors of Jazz.”

Raquel Obregon – Host of NEPR’s show, “Tertulia.” (en Español)

Shawn – An immigrant from China and WESR’s team member, Shawn is passionate about radio production and is studying journalism with a minor in media studies.

Moving forward, Mass Cultural Council aspires to partner with additional BIPOC media partners throughout Massachusetts to help reach communities who are not currently engaging with us. We look forward to pursing this goal in FY23 to continue advancing the power of culture.

Learn more about Mass Cultural Council’s commitment to racial equity:

• Racial Equity Progress Report (Apr – May ’22)
• Racial Equity Progress Report (Jan – Mar 22)
• Racial Equity Progress Report (Oct 21 – Jan 22)

More About Our Racial Equity Work

Diversity Equity and Inclusion | Media Partnership