Accents: Northeast Ohio's Identity Crisis?

While Northeast Ohio's diverse communities have long been considered one of the region's assets, stereotypes and misconceptions about ethnic and immigrant populations still exist. Statistics have suggested a link between waves of immigration and the region's periods of greatest economic success.

Now, as Northeast Ohio struggles to create a new economic identity, it seems more important than ever to reexamine the region's perception of its ethnic diversity. Beginning this month, 90.3 WCPNŽ and WVIZ/PBS ideastream seeks to further understanding of Northeast Ohio's mosaic of ethnicities in a new multiple media project titled Accents: Northeast Ohio's Identity Crisis?

The project spotlights Northeast Ohio's immigrant and ethnic populations through a series of special radio features beginning on Wednesday, November 20, to air on 90.3 WCPN at 7:20 a.m. and again in the 9 o'clock hour during the station's broadcast of Morning News. The features will air Wednesday through Friday morning in these timeslots each week for five consecutive weeks (excepting the week of Thanksgiving, during which the features can be heard Monday through Wednesday at 7:20 a.m. and again in the 9 o'clock hour), and will examine the history of migration patterns into the area through the present day, exploring implications for local business and education.

These ongoing radio features will be complemented by radio pieces produced as the result of a unique partnership with Cleveland State University. Students enrolled in the local history seminar "The Cleveland Cultural Gardens" will educate listeners about the significance of the ethnic-based gardens in Rockefeller Park through a series of pieces written and voiced by the students, with production assistance from ideastream reporters David C. Barnett and Renita Jablonski. These pieces will also consider the gardens' role as a symbol of the region's current cultural climate. Cleveland State University Professor Mark Tebeau will talk more about this partnership and component of Accents in an interview with Dee Perry on the WCPN program Around Noon on Thursday, December 5 at 12 noon.

Accents continues with a special two-hour live remote radio broadcast from the Beachland Ballroom on Wednesday, December 18 from 7-9 p.m., during which listeners will have the opportunity to discuss what diversity means in Northeast Ohio.

The following evening, Thursday, December 19 at 8 p.m., Accents culminates in a special television broadcast on WVIZ/PBS. Set against the backdrop of Sokolowski's University Inn, the broadcast features conversations with people who have recently immigrated to the Cleveland area, discussing their feelings and experiences.

Accents is made possible by 90.3 WCPN and WVIZ/PBS ideastream in partnership with The Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland State University, International Services Center, The National Conference for Community and Justice, and The Western Reserve Historical Society.

90.3 WCPN and WVIZ/PBS ideastream is an organization dedicated to public service and education through multiple media, including radio, television and the Internet.


While Northeast Ohio's diverse communities have long been considered one of the region's assets, stereotypes and misconceptions about ethnic and immigrant populations still exist. Statistics have suggested a link between waves of immigration and the region's periods of greatest economic success. Now, as Northeast Ohio struggles to create a new economic identity, it seems more important than ever to reexamine the region's perception of its ethnic diversity. Beginning this month, 90.3 WCPNŽ and WVIZ/PBS ideastream seeks to further understanding of Northeast Ohio's mosaic of ethnicities in a new multiple media project titled *Accents: Northeast Ohio's Identity Crisis?* The project spotlights Northeast Ohio's immigrant and ethnic populations through a series of special radio features beginning on Wednesday, November 20, to air on 90.3 WCPN at 7:20 a.m. and again in the 9 o'clock hour during the station's broadcast of Morning News. The features will air Wednesday through Friday morning in these timeslots each week for five consecutive weeks (excepting the week of Thanksgiving, during which the features can be heard Monday through Wednesday at 7:20 a.m. and again in the 9 o'clock hour), and will examine the history of migration patterns into the area through the present day, exploring implications for local business and education. These ongoing radio features will be complemented by radio pieces produced as the result of a unique partnership with Cleveland State University. Students enrolled in the local history seminar "The Cleveland Cultural Gardens" will educate listeners about the significance of the ethnic-based gardens in Rockefeller Park through a series of pieces written and voiced by the students, with production assistance from ideastream reporters David C. Barnett and Renita Jablonski. These pieces will also consider the gardens' role as a symbol of the region's current cultural climate. Cleveland State University Professor Mark Tebeau will talk more about this partnership and component of Accents in an interview with Dee Perry on the WCPN program Around Noon on Thursday, December 5 at 12 noon. Accents continues with a special two-hour live remote radio broadcast from the Beachland Ballroom on Wednesday, December 18 from 7-9 p.m., during which listeners will have the opportunity to discuss what diversity means in Northeast Ohio. The following evening, Thursday, December 19 at 8 p.m., Accents culminates in a special television broadcast on WVIZ/PBS. Set against the backdrop of Sokolowski's University Inn, the broadcast features conversations with people who have recently immigrated to the Cleveland area, discussing their feelings and experiences. Accents is made possible by 90.3 WCPN and WVIZ/PBS ideastream in partnership with The Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland State University, International Services Center, The National Conference for Community and Justice, and The Western Reserve Historical Society. 90.3 WCPN and WVIZ/PBS ideastream is an organization dedicated to public service and education through multiple media, including radio, television and the Internet.
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