CPB Report 2021-22

KMOJ-FM collaborates with many public media outlets (Minnesota Public Radio), Insight News, North News, 360 Journalism, and The Spokesman-Recorder Newspaper, Black Media America Television, Minnesota Television Network among other outlets. We also collaborate with community nonprofits (Northpoint Health and Wellness Center, The Urban League), government agencies (the State of Minnesota and the City of Minneapolis), educational institutions (Minneapolis and St. Paul Public schools, University of Minnesota and Mankato State University, Best Academy and Harvest Prep School). KMOJ-FM also works in conjunction with many business community partners like Summit Academy OIC, Hamline University, Metropolitan Technical and Community College. Big Brothers Big Sisters, Twin Cities.

KMOJ’s programming is focused to engage more into education and finding solutions for the problems in the communities of color. We will continue our mission which is to educate through a more aggressive focus on eliminating teen violence, home foreclosures, job creation and community empowerment. We’re also focused on reducing sex and human trafficking; and Finding Men of Color for Littles through the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.

Through bringing on a new HD station, KMOJ was able to begin reaching a previously-underserved segment of its community (18-24 year-olds) with culturally specific programming. Current metrics indicate an audience that has expanded to three times its size in the last 12 months. Partnering with Union Gospel Twin Cities, KMOJ is feeding the indigent, sharing important information and providing residential, medical and dental support to those in need.

KMOJ is a voice for people of Color regularly gives voice to its listener base. In 2019 KMOJ has already started to process of engaging the newly-elected and community officials such as Janaan Ahmed who will serve as the student representative on the Minneapolis Public School Board; Alice Roberts-Davis, the newly appointed Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Administration and James Burroughs, the new Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Minnesota Children’s Hospital in an effort to bring forward people of color who are making a difference in the communities we serve.

KMOJ is the content expert in the Truth and Transformation: Changing Racial Narratives in Media project. Culminating in a 2019 Spring Conference, so far KMOJ has completed 17 listening sessions throughout the state. The purpose of these listening sessions was to use insights from community members and stakeholders to directly inform the conference program and the work of the partners.

We sought to learn what racial narratives look like in an ideal media landscape by asking what is working well, what current representations in media looks/sounds like and what impact more accurate racial narratives would have. The communities that participated were White Mainstream Journalists, Community Media, Young POC journalists, Journalism Educators, Mainstream POCI Journalists, Iron Range (Virginia), St. Cloud, Rochester, Worthington, Duluth, Indigenous (Bemidji), Indigenous (Mille Lacs), Trauma Specialists, Crime Reporting, Queer POCI, West Broadway Open Streets and Generation Listen MPR. KMOJ is also producing the second in a series of Human and Sex Trafficking, Breaking Free for local and national consumption.

In the past, the CPB Grant provided KMOJ with the financial resources to continue to provide live broadcasts from community events. The grant also allowed KMOJ the ability to hire Independent Contractors to host, produce and voice various programs that targeted issues that face the African American community. KMOJ was also able to continue to increase the quality of its Public Affairs programming by hiring more professional Independent Contractors that resulted in a continued improvement in the quality of programming.

Martin Luther King Day Celebration – On air Interviews
Black History Month activities throughout the month of February along with the airing of vignettes of Historical African Americans and interviews with local icons.
Community Education Forum – Live Broadcast
Commemorating the Life of Prince
Juneteenth Celebration – Live Broadcast
Rondo Days Festival & Celebration – Live Broadcast

Sex Trafficking-Breaking Free
Urban League Family Day- Live Broadcast
The Voyage – KMOJ 12th Annual Boat Ride – callbacks
Numerous live remotes from community activities that promote health home ownership violence prevention and other issues that affect or listeners.