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Using the Media to enhance the common good: an interview with Mark Sommer

Sara Wolcott | Monday 27th April 2009

"We are at a point in history where we need to reinvent just about everything, from public health to creating the next economy. Rapid innovation, collaboration are needed like never before; we need to come out of our silos. The media is no different," Mark Sommer, the host of the award-winning radio show and podcast, 'A World of Possibilities,' told me today. We were talking about the power of radio to change the world - and how the media can be used to enhance ingenuity for the common good.

We live in a visually dense world and often forget the power of audio. But for Sommer, when he's listening to someone talking through his powerful earphones, their voice is so clear it resonates in his chest. "It is more intimate than if the person was in the room with you, like being on a late night bus trip when you share your life story with an almost perfect stranger." It's powerful. And it's nimble, easy, and a highly economic form of 'many to many communications'. Which is part of why he created A World of Possibilities, one of the few radio shows that focuses on positive solutions to tremendous challenges, and why he created Educast, which creates innovative educational podcasts and packages for teachers and other educators. Sommer sees audio and podcasts as one of the best forms of learning and teaching out there.

He, like many others, wants to create nexus of what he and others are describing as the 'global nervous system' - given the challenges facing humanity, there is a need for 'innovation commons'. Sommer's focus is on stories; the telling, sharing and collection of stories. It is, after all, how we narrate our lives and our times that informs what action we take. Which raises questions about how best can blogs and social media sites like this one best be part of the global nervous system and transmit the needed information as we face continual, rolling crises.

Sommer's funding mainly comes from various foundations. But that model is suffering from the Financial Crisis. Which creates a new challenge - and one that many who have been basing their work on the support of foundations now face anew. He's not the only one asking, if you want to provide things for the public good, what's a fair price - and where do you get needed funding? This is one area where if you've got some good solutions, share them!

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