Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

KSMQ Public Television has received a national Public Media Award during the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s 2021 Public Media Thought Leader Forum, held virtually earlier this week. 

KSMQ was honored for its 2020 media campaign “Every 1 Counts” that promoted participation in the United States Census.   

 As part of the campaign, KSMQ Public Television worked with local immigration groups to record “how to” census videos in 16 different languages. KSMQ enlisted Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to be the public face of the campaign. The videos explained the purpose of the census and why participating was important for all residents.

“Every year, for the past 52 years, these awards have celebrated excellence in public media,” said Eric Hyppa, president of the National Educational Telecommunications Association. “This year, that excellence was amplified by the profoundly creative and inspired local media responses to multiple topics.” 

 The videos were translated to: Amharic, Anyuak, Arabic, Bosnian, Chinese, Dinka, French, Hmong, Karen, Karenni, Khmer, Nuer, Pohnpeian, Somali, Spanish, Vietnamese. KSMQ partnered with Rochester Public Schools and Austin Public Schools as well as the Minnesota Department of Education. Downloads were made available to schools statewide, and students were encouraged to take the language-specific media home to play to their parents and caregivers.   

 Assisting KSMQ in the project were the Immigration Law Center of Minnesota and the Intercultural Mutual Assistance Association in Rochester.  

Here is a link about KSMQ’s entry posted to the award gallery: https://neta.awardsplatform.com/gallery/jNdJjkZl/wVKMzRlN?search=8233199aa5793f83-1