Growing Support: Mott Foundation funds Great Lakes Now’s programming, reporting, engagement work

A major grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation will allow Great Lakes Now to further increase television programming and digital news coverage of the Great Lakes, drinking water safety, infrastructure and affordability issues across the region.

“Protecting the Great Lakes has always been a cornerstone of Mott’s Environment program, and this grant will help to advance that cause,” said Ridgway White, president and CEO of the Foundation. “Supporting Great Lakes Now will enhance public understanding of complex water-related issues, which will benefit the lakes and the communities that rely on them for drinking water, commerce and recreation.”

Established three years ago, the Great Lakes Now initiative at Detroit Public TV has a growing team of award-winning journalists and producers, who provide authoritative coverage of a wide range of subjects affecting life in the Great Lakes Basin, including water quality, public policy, environmental justice, economic development, resource conservation and tourism.

With a monthly magazine-style television program, Emmy-winning documentaries and daily online reports at GreatLakesNow.org, GLN offers in-depth coverage of news and developments affecting the lakes and the communities that depend on them, while capturing the character and culture of the region.

In addition to DPTV’s own team, Great Lakes Now has built a network of videographers, producers and correspondents. Partnerships with regional PBS stations and other media outlets contribute coverage to the television program and to the Great Lakes Now website, and a growing educational effort includes lesson plans, teacher training and virtual learning activities for families.

The monthly show “Great Lakes Now” launched in April 2019 and has expanded to a basin-wide, bi-national program carried regularly on more than 20 PBS stations in six states as well as in Ontario. Its work has been recognized by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, Impact Doc Awards, Michigan Press Association and the Society of Professional Journalists, metro Detroit.

Watch the latest episode:

“We are so appreciative for the Mott Foundation’s new support for Great Lakes Now,” said Rich Homberg, president and CEO of Detroit Public TV. “With this commitment, we can continue our work helping people learn about critical freshwater issues that impact their lives and continue to build a sense of shared stewardship and responsibility for our natural resources.”

The Mott Foundation, through its program areas of Civil Society, Education, Environment and Flint Area, supports efforts to promote a just, equitable and sustainable society. For more information about the work, click HERE.

Featured image: Sandy Wynn-Stelt tells her story of living with drinking water contaminated with PFAS as Rob Green films her for Great Lakes Now in 2019. (Photo by Sandra Svoboda)