There were similar issues in Connecticut when WNPR refocused programming to include more news and information. WNPR took a big hit from unhappy members. Looking back, the numbers turned around quickly. If you include underwriting and membership as Listener Sensitive Income, revenue increased in the first year. So did the audience. In the long run, the biggest benefit was increased community connections and community support.
Check out the article in Trib Live.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
WCMU Gets Boost from Dervish
When it comes to fundraising, talking on your connections helps...sometimes in a big way. WCMU's PD, John Sheffler was talking with members of Dervish about their uncertain funding situation. Funds from CPB are being targeted for cuts. Dervish suggested a benefit concert with proceeds going to the station. There's more information in this article from the Midland Daily News...
Monday concert a WCMU fundraiser - Midland Daily News: Story Prep
The connections don't end there. The concert will be broadcast live on the station and the web with the help of others in Midland community.
The connections don't end there. The concert will be broadcast live on the station and the web with the help of others in Midland community.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
WHRO acquires new radio signals - dailypress.com
WHRO is expanding. Through the acquisition of new signals WHRO is expanding its audience. For the past three years, WHRO, which is based in Norfolk, has been acquiring radio stations or setting up transmitters in parts of Eastern Virginia to expand its coverage area. Part of the reason for the expansion is that the public broadcasting station is owned by 18 different school districts in the area. WHRO President Bert Schmidt wants to make sure that all of the school districts are served by a strong signal.
A benefit of the expansion is a broadened base of support. It was a strategy used by Connecticut Public Radio when John Berky was station manager and I was Program Director. If the programming is compelling, the strategy works.
Read more here: http://www.dailypress.com/entertainment/dp-fea-whro-20110723,0,1256585.story
Read more here: http://www.dailypress.com/entertainment/dp-fea-whro-20110723,0,1256585.story
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
NHPR Partners with NashuaTelegraph.com
NHPR joins in fact-check project - NashuaTelegraph.com
New Hampshire Public Radio is joining with The Nashua Telegraph in a fact checking effort for the upcoming Presidential election.
"Reporters from NHPR and the newspapers are fact-checking the presidential candidates, political parties and other groups that make claims during the New Hampshire campaign."
Another partner in this effort is PolitiFact. Launched in 2007 to fact-check the presidential campaign; in 2009, the site began fact-checking pundits and talk show hosts. If you get a chance check out their Obameter. It tracks President Obama’s 500-plus campaign promises. It has received numerous awards, including the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting.
Another partner in this effort is PolitiFact. Launched in 2007 to fact-check the presidential campaign; in 2009, the site began fact-checking pundits and talk show hosts. If you get a chance check out their Obameter. It tracks President Obama’s 500-plus campaign promises. It has received numerous awards, including the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting.
Friday, July 15, 2011
More Problems for Public Broadcasting
We're not alone here. The need for public broadcasting is being questioned elsewhere including New Zealand and Hungary. In Hungary it might be more about control of the message.
Check out Mass Extinction of Public Broadcasting and Hungary Revamps Public Media.
"Hungary’s new media law, which came into effect this year, has drawn widespread criticism for restricting the freedom of speech and increasing media controls. The government has repeatedly refused those claims."
Check out Mass Extinction of Public Broadcasting and Hungary Revamps Public Media.
"Hungary’s new media law, which came into effect this year, has drawn widespread criticism for restricting the freedom of speech and increasing media controls. The government has repeatedly refused those claims."
A Sense of Community
I
was asked to participate in the discussion for the Real
Life Survival Guide taping yesterday.
The question was posed by Bruce Barber, "What's an important lesson you've learned or story you've heard - whether in your day to day existence, your job, or a hobby or personal passion - that you think would help other people?"
I chose to focus on an experience from my teen years. I grew up about a half-mile from a velodrome. We used to go to the bike races there in the summer. One summer the Olympic trials were held there along with the national championships. One of the announcements at the race mentioned that the Milwaukee Wheelmen had community rides at the track and in the park a couple of times a week. Charged up by the races, I decided to go.
One thing led to another and I started to race my stock bike. Through the associations and friendships developed at these rides; a local bike shop owner agreed to build my fits racing bike. I started to win a few races and a couple of the older riders took an interest in me and became my coaches.
There was at least one race a week between the tracks in in Milwaukee, Kenosha and Northbrook, Illinois. The races weren't really Olympic competition. We raced in packs on these ovals. Sometimes there were as many as 30 riders on the track at one time. It was a cross between roller derby and NASCAR. There were plenty of heated rivalries and crashes. Because of the competition, riders were drawn from all over the country. Some of them were world class athletes.
There was no way I could compete with these athletes head on. Through my coaches we developed a strategy. Since not much happened in these races (the sprints) until the bell lap, we came up with a plan that made me competitive. A velodrome is a banked oval. I was able to use that to my advantage by swinging to the top of the track headed into the first turn. Then, I cranked into a sprint in the second turn using gravity to increase my speed as I swung down to the inside track ahead of the pack. If it worked, I got a jump on the competition heading into turn three and four. There was always a sprint to the finish down the final straight, but I would often have the advantage of being the front runner. It didn't always work because the competition was lot bigger, stronger and faster than I was.
The question was posed by Bruce Barber, "What's an important lesson you've learned or story you've heard - whether in your day to day existence, your job, or a hobby or personal passion - that you think would help other people?"
I chose to focus on an experience from my teen years. I grew up about a half-mile from a velodrome. We used to go to the bike races there in the summer. One summer the Olympic trials were held there along with the national championships. One of the announcements at the race mentioned that the Milwaukee Wheelmen had community rides at the track and in the park a couple of times a week. Charged up by the races, I decided to go.
One thing led to another and I started to race my stock bike. Through the associations and friendships developed at these rides; a local bike shop owner agreed to build my fits racing bike. I started to win a few races and a couple of the older riders took an interest in me and became my coaches.
There was at least one race a week between the tracks in in Milwaukee, Kenosha and Northbrook, Illinois. The races weren't really Olympic competition. We raced in packs on these ovals. Sometimes there were as many as 30 riders on the track at one time. It was a cross between roller derby and NASCAR. There were plenty of heated rivalries and crashes. Because of the competition, riders were drawn from all over the country. Some of them were world class athletes.
There was no way I could compete with these athletes head on. Through my coaches we developed a strategy. Since not much happened in these races (the sprints) until the bell lap, we came up with a plan that made me competitive. A velodrome is a banked oval. I was able to use that to my advantage by swinging to the top of the track headed into the first turn. Then, I cranked into a sprint in the second turn using gravity to increase my speed as I swung down to the inside track ahead of the pack. If it worked, I got a jump on the competition heading into turn three and four. There was always a sprint to the finish down the final straight, but I would often have the advantage of being the front runner. It didn't always work because the competition was lot bigger, stronger and faster than I was.
It
was great for my self-esteem as a teenager. Winning was fun too. But, since I
understood where I stood in the competitive order of things (there was no way I
was going to be national champ or make the Olympic Team) I became a good
winner. There was humbleness to it.
I enjoyed the competition. I also valued camaraderie and the friendships. I belonged. It was a shared experience. There was a real sense of community. It was my first meaningful lesson in the importance of community.
That sense of community and belonging is one of the key findings of Audience 98. Public Radio listeners expressed they are a part of a larger public radio audience. It is a shared experience. It is one of deciding factors in listener support.
So much of our time today is spent in isolation. It's easy to spend four or five hours on-line or on mobile media not really interacting with the people around us. Because of this are we losing that sense of community? The thinking of the panelists at yesterday's taping was there will always be a need for community.
I hope they're right.
I enjoyed the competition. I also valued camaraderie and the friendships. I belonged. It was a shared experience. There was a real sense of community. It was my first meaningful lesson in the importance of community.
That sense of community and belonging is one of the key findings of Audience 98. Public Radio listeners expressed they are a part of a larger public radio audience. It is a shared experience. It is one of deciding factors in listener support.
So much of our time today is spent in isolation. It's easy to spend four or five hours on-line or on mobile media not really interacting with the people around us. Because of this are we losing that sense of community? The thinking of the panelists at yesterday's taping was there will always be a need for community.
I hope they're right.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
AP Warns Reporters About Tweeting Opinions
The Associated Press is warning its reporters about offering opinions about news stories through social media. According to a report in Yahoo News, AP issued an internal memo that could reignite the debate over the blurry line between professional and personal use of social media. The AP is concerned that the opinions expressed may damage the AP's reputation as an unbiased news source. According to Yahoo News, reporters covering the gay marriage vote in New York and the Casey Anthony trial expressed personal opinions on Twitter.
The blurring of the lines between objective reporting, the role of the news analyst, and personal opinion heated up last fall when NPR fired Juan Williams.
It is also important to note that the AP has written guidelines about social media and personal opinion that their reporters are required to follow.
The blurring of the lines between objective reporting, the role of the news analyst, and personal opinion heated up last fall when NPR fired Juan Williams.
It is also important to note that the AP has written guidelines about social media and personal opinion that their reporters are required to follow.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Real Life Survival Guide - Crowd Sourcing
Last Thursday I was given the privilege of sitting in with a taping of the Real Life Survival Guide. The Real Life Survival Guide is "a radio show (and web community) dedicated to answering questions through a series of conversations – with a diverse group of people across a variety of media channels: a blog, an online forum, a public radio show, and social networks like Facebook and Twitter." It's also the brainchild of Bruce Barber. I'm helping to produce the show.
Thursday's conversation was populated by a cross section of New Haven are intelligentsia. The Gang of Provocateurs, as Bruce and co-host Duo Dickinson like to call them were Christine Ohlman, Mark Oppenheimer, Danielle Gianetti, and Matt Scott. The host and “Guest Provocateur”, Carey Savona of Heirloom at The Study Hotel.
Christine Ohlman is vocalist for the Saturday Night Live Band but, that really doesn't do justice to her resume. Her bio says she Teased her blonde hair into a beehive in honor of Ronnie Spector and never looked back, picking up a guitar and forging a career as a songwriter in the process. Mark Oppenheimer writes a bi-weekly column about religion for the New York Times and, "and I am a writer for The New York Times Magazine, Slate, Mother Jones, Tablet, The Forward, and many other publications. I also enjoy publishing personal essays and book reviews. I am an editor of The New Haven Review and an occasional commentator on NPR." Danielle Gianetti owns one of the best places for a cocktail in New Haven: 116 Crown with her husband John. Matt Scott is Meteorologist for WPLR he was the weekend weatherman until recently for WTNH.
Eventually there will be about 20 Provocateurs posing and looking for answers to questions about everyday life. Where are they coming from? Connections. It's like networking which is something I've become very familiar with in the past two years since being laid-off by Connecticut Public Broadcasting. It's how I met Bruce. In public radio we like to call it Crowdsourcing.
There's a more precise definition about what the Real Life Survival Guide is trying to do. According the the Website Crowdsourcing.org it is Collective Knowledge - Development of knowledge assets or information resources from a distributed pool of contributors. Crowdsourcing is used to develop, aggregate, and share knowledge and information through open Q&A, user-generated knowledge systems, news, citizen journalism, and forecasting.
The next installment is Sunday, July 3rd, at 4:30pm. on WNPR. It will be interesting to listen to the conversation and the stories presented evolve in the coming weeks.
Thursday's conversation was populated by a cross section of New Haven are intelligentsia. The Gang of Provocateurs, as Bruce and co-host Duo Dickinson like to call them were Christine Ohlman, Mark Oppenheimer, Danielle Gianetti, and Matt Scott. The host and “Guest Provocateur”, Carey Savona of Heirloom at The Study Hotel.
Christine Ohlman is vocalist for the Saturday Night Live Band but, that really doesn't do justice to her resume. Her bio says she Teased her blonde hair into a beehive in honor of Ronnie Spector and never looked back, picking up a guitar and forging a career as a songwriter in the process. Mark Oppenheimer writes a bi-weekly column about religion for the New York Times and, "and I am a writer for The New York Times Magazine, Slate, Mother Jones, Tablet, The Forward, and many other publications. I also enjoy publishing personal essays and book reviews. I am an editor of The New Haven Review and an occasional commentator on NPR." Danielle Gianetti owns one of the best places for a cocktail in New Haven: 116 Crown with her husband John. Matt Scott is Meteorologist for WPLR he was the weekend weatherman until recently for WTNH.
Eventually there will be about 20 Provocateurs posing and looking for answers to questions about everyday life. Where are they coming from? Connections. It's like networking which is something I've become very familiar with in the past two years since being laid-off by Connecticut Public Broadcasting. It's how I met Bruce. In public radio we like to call it Crowdsourcing.
There's a more precise definition about what the Real Life Survival Guide is trying to do. According the the Website Crowdsourcing.org it is Collective Knowledge - Development of knowledge assets or information resources from a distributed pool of contributors. Crowdsourcing is used to develop, aggregate, and share knowledge and information through open Q&A, user-generated knowledge systems, news, citizen journalism, and forecasting.
The next installment is Sunday, July 3rd, at 4:30pm. on WNPR. It will be interesting to listen to the conversation and the stories presented evolve in the coming weeks.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Wildfire takes KSFR off the air.
KSFR continues coverage of the wildfires in New Mexico. They continued coverage of the biggest wildfire in New Mexico's history on the internet after the fire damages their transmitter on Wednesday. They are back on the air at reduced power with some borrowed equipment.
There's more at Here and Now and at KSFR's Website.
There's more at Here and Now and at KSFR's Website.
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