With full support from The Joyce Foundation, Chicago Public Media introduced Front and Center, a series of in-depth reporting on critical issues impacting the Great Lakes region.

Front and Center began four weeks of coverage in late June with reports airing during Morning Edition and Eight Forty-Eight and “Beneath the Surface: Great Lakes in Peril.” Following the launch, the multi-platform reporting continued to document issues facing the region’s waterways and water quality with investigations into cleanup efforts in Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga and Maumee rivers; the impact of the Great Lakes Compact; and a mini-series examining the Chicago River and St. Lawrence Seaway. Front and Center reporting was also made available to public radio stations and other news organizations nationwide in an effort to bring national attention to Great Lakes issues.

“The Joyce Foundation is proud to partner with Chicago Public Media to help raise awareness of the critical issues facing the Great Lakes region,” said Joyce President Ellen S. Alberding. “Through the immersion-style reporting that’s become a staple of Chicago Public Media programming, Front and Center will help do exactly that.”

The second installment of Front and Center will resume in November, when it will focus on regional employment and labor issues.