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Concentrate Media's On the Ground Series
Transcription:
Lee Van Roth: You're listening to 89.1 WEMU. I'm Lee Van Roth, and this is On the Ground Ypsi. Every week, the team at On the Ground and Concentrate Media celebrates the incredible work done throughout our community here in Ypsi and Washtenaw County. But today, we're looking inward and celebrating Concentrates managing editor, Patrick Dunn, who has just recently stepped into the role of Concentrate publisher. I have Patrick here to talk a little bit about what this new development means for him and our work but also to take a look back on the year so far in On the Ground news and drum up some excitement for what's to come. Patrick, it's great to have you here! Thanks so much for coming in!
Patrick Dunn: Great to be here!
Lee Van Roth: So, this new dual position that you're in as editor and publisher at Concentrate, this comes as a part of a greater transition at our parent company, Issue Media Group, with the main change for you being you're now on the fundraising and money kind of side of things as well. Why are you excited to wear this second hat? What about this is pumping you up and getting you excited?
Patrick Dunn: Yeah, yeah. So, I've been involved in Concentrate for quite a while now, not since the beginning. We launched about 18 years ago, but I started working for Concentrate just as a writer, let's see, 2011. So, that was 14 years ago.
Lee Van Roth: Almost there!
Patrick Dunn: I go almost back to the beginning, yeah. I've been in the editorial role, basically overseeing all the content, including On the Ground Ypsi, since 2016, so nine years now. And this is just a publication I feel really, really strongly about. I love that we get to tell stories that aren't getting told elsewhere in Washtenaw County. I love this community so much! I've been here since 2011, and I really love what we get to do with this publication. So, it's exciting for me to kind of step into this role where now I'm going to be, as you said, on the sales and fundraising side. Our former co-CEO, who had been handling that, is phasing out of the company as our ownership has transitioned. So now, I'm going to be in a position where I'm going to be out there in the community finding the support for us to keep doing the stuff that you and I both love to do, which is telling these stories of our community.
Lee Van Roth: And to clarify for everyone listening, this new development isn't changing how On the Ground Ypsi, sounds either on the Concentrate website or right here at WEMU. That's correct?
Patrick Dunn: Yeah, absolutely not. You'll still be hearing from Lee every week, bringing you the stories of the folks that we are covering in the publication. So, yeah, On the Ground Ypsi is continuing to go strong. It's been going for several years now. And it's one of our our projects that I'm proudest of, and we want to keep it going because Ypsi is such an important part of our community. Like you, I live in Ypsi as well, so it's something that I feel very proud of and very excited to cover.
Lee Van Roth: And with this change coming now at the tail end of summer, I figured it was a good opportunity to talk a little bit about how the year has been so far at On the Ground. Is there anything in our coverage up to this point that has really caught your eye?
Patrick Dunn: Yeah, absolutely! A few kind of stood out to me. You know, one of my favorite stories so far this year, just because it's so close to home for me, it's right in my neighborhood, is the story that we did a couple months ago about the three new bakeries that opened in the city and township of Ypsi. And the one closest to me is B-Cubed Bakery, which is by the old Galt Village Shopping Center in Ypsi Township. It's within a mile of my house. And there's not a lot of other retail, not a lot of local business in the area.
Lee Van Roth: Right.
Patrick Dunn: So, it's just so exciting for me to have a neighborhood bakery in the community now. And I just loved Sarah Rigg's story digging into the human stories behind each of these businesses. Where are these people coming from? What do they want to do for the community? All of them are very community-minded folks, sourcing local grains from local farms, that kind of thing. So, that was a really, really exciting one for me. And then, kind of on the more serious side of things because we tell the positive stories of Ypsi, but we also dig into some of the challenging issues that are going on in the community too, I really enjoyed your recent story, Lee, about Bright Futures here at EMU. You know, we're kind of in this phase at Concentrate where we're doing a lot of these stories digging into what is the impact of these federal funding cuts and federal funding freezes that we've been seeing in a lot of different areas this year so far. And the Bright Futures program here at EMU is an after-school program. It serves 5,000 underprivileged kids across the county every year. And their funding was put on hold earlier this summer, very unexpectedly. It's since been restored, but there is a lot of uncertainty about what happens next for them, as you know. And I think that's one of those very important stories to tell because so many folks here in the county are relying on that program. And it's important to dig into what's next for them.
Lee Van Roth: Uncertainty has kind of been the big buzzword, I think, for a lot of the things that Concentrate and On the Ground has been working on specifically over the past couple of months. And I know that's something that I really appreciate about getting to work with you and getting to with the community in this capacity is being able to get all the information out where it needs to be while also emphasizing that people in this community really care about the community and everybody within it. And we all just want to see each other succeed and excel. And, yeah, I think I wanted to bring up one of the stories that I was really excited about: one of Sarah Rigg's stories about the Traveling Sound Museum. And this was something that I had learned about talking with Akin and Bambo over at OYA, Odindi Youth Action Village. And that one is really close to my home and my neighborhood. So, it was really cool to hear about this really neat community effort that stemming from A2 JazzFest and the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum and then wanting to not only connect youth in the Ypsi community with music and music education, but also have this intergenerational kind of experience for the whole community. And I think, along with the stories that you shared too, it's this idea of bringing these ideas are bringing the community together in all of these different capacities. I mean, it's one of the things I love the most about this work. And I feel very blessed to be able to do it.
Patrick Dunn: Yeah, me too! Especially in this uncertain era, I think it's extra important to raise awareness about who is facing these challenges, who is struggling, because then that creates an opportunity and an opening for community to rally around, whether it's a program like Bright Futures or something bigger, something smaller. I think it's just important for folks to know when this uncertainty is happening and when these challenges are hitting institutions that are important to our community.
Lee Van Roth: Also important to know where to get really good, fresh baked goods when things are so uncertain and scary and have those moments of person-to-person connection and also good food.
Patrick Dunn: Pastries help a lot!
Lee Van Roth: Yes! I have found that as well! Has there been a story at all throughout, up until this point, that surprised you either because of the pitch or where it came from or how the story kind of came together or it started out with this idea and then it went somewhere you weren't really expecting?
Patrick Dunn: Yeah, I think one of the most exciting kind of unexpected stories of this year for me was a short news story that Sarah Rigg put together about this locally written and produced and directed movie called "Money Over Boyz." And it was created by a local couple, Yolanda and Keith Ragland, who we've written about and worked with before. They do some amazing work in the community. They have a nonprofit in particular that provides a lot of arts and education-related programming for local kids. And they put this movie together, put it out on Tubi, which is a streaming service folks may or may not be familiar with. It's a free service. But the movie blew up! They were in the most popular category on Tubi for, I think, it was about a month.
Lee Van Roth: So cool!
Patrick Dunn: It's just this huge, huge, kind of like underground indie hit coming out of Ypsi. And I know they're already working on, if not have already released, their next movie. So, that's one of those ones were just like, "How did I not know about this?" Like, I loved that we discovered that and were able to give a little more exposure to this movie that had gotten a lot of attention at the national level. People, obviously, loved it on Tubi, but I don't know how many people knew about it here in Ypsi where it came from. So, that was one of my favorites of this year so far.
Lee Van Roth: This is WEMU's On the Ground Ypsi. I'm Lee Van Roth, chatting with Concentrate Media managing editor and publisher, Patrick Dunn. As fun as it is to reminisce with you, Patrick, about the year so far and the work that we do, I know we could do it all day long. I'd love to also look at the future too while we're here. Is there anything on your radar coming down the pipeline that you can share with us now without giving away too many spoilers and still making sure folks are excited for what's to come?
Patrick Dunn: Well, in the very near term, I'm so excited just about the new stories we have coming out this week. You have two killer stories this week. We've got a story digging into how EMU has been doing a lot to really strengthen mental health support for students on campus. You also have a fantastic story this week about just the challenges that local arts presenting organizations have bringing those larger national and international acts to town. We get a lot of those through Washtenaw County, but I don't think people know how much work it takes to bring them through. And then, in the longer term, as I step into this new position, we focus a lot on Ann Arbor and Ypsi, but that still isn't even close to all of Washtenaw County. So, I am hoping to find some opportunities to kind of expand our coverage more into the western county and areas that we're not covering right now and also to dive into some of these really important issues that are facing our community right now. We have a huge boom in the senior population right now, which brings a lot of changes for everyone in the county. I want to dig into that more. And also, we have big challenges as many communities do right now with housing. So, that's something else I'd love to dig into.
Lee Van Roth: And I'll wrap things up just by asking if there's anything that you'd like to say to our OTG listeners while we have their ears.
Patrick Dunn: Hey, thank you so much for listening to our segment every week! We love this opportunity to talk to you about what we are reporting on and seeing going on in Ypsi. And thank you, Lee, for bringing the good news to folks every week!
Lee Van Roth: Well, Patrick, thank you so much for chatting with me today, and congratulations again on this new role! I hope our readers and our listeners are as excited about On the Ground's future as we are!
Patrick Dunn: Absolutely! It's my pleasure!
Lee Van Roth: For more information on today's topic or a look back to our previous segments, visit our website at WEMU.org. On the Ground Ypsi is brought to you in partnership with Concentrate Media. I'm Lee Van Roth, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti. Celebrating 60 years of broadcasting at Eastern Michigan University!
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