Changing Gears

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What We Are: Changing Gears is a public media project that looks at the reinvention of the industrial Midwest. It is a collaboration by WBEZ Chicago, Michigan Radio, and ideastream Cleveland. In news reports, features, documentaries and long-form journalism, Changing Gears is looking at the future of the Great Lakes region. It also hosts public events.

Where We Are: Changing Gears' Web site is www.changinggears.org. On Twitter, follow @ChGears. Changing Gears is also on Facebook.

Who We Are: Senior Editor Micki Maynard; Cleveland reporter Dan Bobkoff; Chicago reporter Niala Boodhoo; Ann Arbor reporter Kate Davidson; Senior Web Producer George Nemeth.

Series

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37 Pieces

Changing Gears explores the economic transformation of the industrial Midwest, through the stories of people driving and experiencing this change.


Pieces

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It’s been a tough few years for teachers. Classes are bigger. Pay is down. Benefits cost more. Pensions are under threat. And, in the last year, te...

Bought by WAMC Northeast Public Radio


  • Added: Feb 20, 2012
  • Length: 03:34
  • Purchases: 1
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More than 2 million manufacturing jobs were lost during the recession. But employers are starting to hire again – the new jobs, however, require mo...

  • Added: Jan 13, 2012
  • Length: 04:03
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The Midwest has 13 percent of the country’s population, but it still produces more than a third of the nation’s cars, steel and the lion’s share of...

Bought by WRST-FM Oshkosh


  • Added: Jan 13, 2012
  • Length: 03:46
  • Purchases: 1
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Here's one way an economy can begin to turn around: a business person sees an opportunity - maybe it's a building that's been sitting empty, a bloc...

  • Added: Jan 13, 2012
  • Length: 03:22
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The industrial Midwest might not be the industrial Midwest if it weren’t for the iron-rich regions of northern Minnesota and Michigan. These “iron ...

  • Added: Jan 13, 2012
  • Length: 03:47
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All across the Midwest, cities and suburbs are tackling the problem of Empty Places. Changing Gears reporters took a look at some of the challenges...

  • Added: Dec 15, 2011
  • Length: 19:06
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Changing Gears reporters spent a week on the road, traveling to places throughout the Midwest where local economies and town cultures revolve aroun...

  • Added: Dec 14, 2011
  • Length: 20:12
Caption: Memorabilia from the now defunct AutoWorld in Flint
Changing Gears reporters will tackle a subject that’s long been a part of the Midwest mind frame: magic bullets. By magic bullets, we mean the big...

Bought by Louisville Public Media


  • Added: Dec 14, 2011
  • Length: 15:59
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Open Books program director Anna Piepmeyer and second grader Jayla Mercado. , Credit: Niala Boodhoo
Some nonprofits in the region that rely on government funding are in trouble. As a result, many are now looking at how they can get other sources o...

  • Added: Jun 24, 2011
  • Length: 03:14
Caption: Amelia Cummings celebrates her new room ... and four months clean. , Credit: Kate Davidson
Non-profits are a vibrant part of the regional economy. They employ many people and the need for their services has grown. But charities that contr...

  • Added: Jun 24, 2011
  • Length: 03:56