Play these pianos, they're yours

Play these pianos, they're yours

Cincinnati Public Radio is celebrating a combined 150 years of broadcasting by engaging the community with "Play Me, I'm Yours," an interactive art installation by the British artist Luke Jerram. I first got a chance to witness the installation in New York in June. Dozens, then hundreds of people were gathered around a piano as people of various talents performed. There were a lot of smiles.

Cincinnati Public Radio has an interactive webpage on their Website that maps the locations of the piano and will also keep people update as the pianos move to various locations around the greater Cincinnati area. The website encourages comments. "After Play Me, I'm Yours" ends its run, the pianos will be donated to community art centers and local children in need of an instrument.

Public Radio / Community Engagement

Some public radio stations are reaching out and trying to engage the community. It's an altruistic effort that is making these radio stations a valued member in their communities.
As a public media manager  are you wondering why you should care? Check out the National Center for Media Engagement. In their website are The Top Ten Reasons to Engage Your Community Beyond Broadcast.

Montana Public Radio will offer a free workshop, “Your Mission, Message and the Media." Christine Dascenzo, MTPR’s outreach coordinator, will lead the workshop, which aims to provide tactics to improve communication that nonprofits can implement on their own, such as how to create strategic messages, maintain their brand and network online. 

Read more in the Clark Fork Chronicle.

WMPG, Portland, Maine teams up with Blunt Youth Radio to create radio and community ties. 

Since 1994, Blunt Youth Radio Project has brought together up to 50 teenagers from a variety of schools to produce a weekly, call-in, public affairs radio show on WMPG-FM, 90.9 and 104.1, the non-profit, community radio station of the University of Southern Maine. The hour-long show features two teen hosts who interview guests on topical issues, interspersed with public radio-style feature reports, produced by the team's reporters.

There's more at Seacoastonline.com

WWOZ, New Orleans has been involved in Gulf Aid. Gulf Aid was a concert to benefit to help with the clean-up and those affected by the spill. The concert was in May. Gulf Aid continues with updates on the station's Website.

In the interest of full disclosure, I did apply for a position at NCME. It's been about a month since I last heard from them which leads me to believe they've moved on. Despite this turn, I think what they propose about public media engagement makes a lot of sense. This is an idea worth any station's consideration, and something I hope to bring with me wherever I land.

Raising Awareness

In public radio circles we've often discussed raising awareness about what we have to offer. Getting outside the building and actually participating in the community is a great way to increase awareness. Just waiting for the audience to come to us can be painfully slow. The increased connections created by these events not only increases public awareness but can also enhance marketing opportunities.
Where I used to work, Where We Live goes on the road regularly. Bringing A Prairie Home Companion and Wait Wait to Connecticut greatly benefited the station, the programs and the audience.
Now Michael Barone and Pipedreams are doing the same. According to an article in the Miami Herald, "Michael Barone, the host of American Public Media's Pipedreams, is bringing the first ever Pipe Organ Weekend festival to Miami."

Cuts for Public TV and Radio

Revenues for state governments continue to decline. For public media, it means cuts in funding. For smaller stations the cuts are deeper. An article in the Duluth News Tribune interviews managers at the local public TV and radio station about what the cuts mean for them. In both cases cuts to local programming. The TV station will probably cut staff. I thought you might find the attached article interesting in light of cuts proposed by other states. 

WDUQ's Uncertainty May Make Them Stronger

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette has published a thoughtful and hopeful article by Adrian McCoy about the future of WDUQ in Pittsburgh. The strength of WDUQ's community support may make it possible for WDUQ to support itself. The help of Public Radio Capital an organization with previous experience with this type of situation, might make it possible.

The article sites a similar situation on Long Island at WLIU. I think WDUQ is in a much stronger position. The Pittsburgh station already gets 50% of it's funding from members and gets considerable support from corporations. They have robust audience figures. And, they have very little competition for the NPR news they offer (plus program offerings from Public Radio International and American Public Media). WLIU is starting from scratch. Listener Sensitive Income at WLIU was almost non-existent before the sale of the station to Peconic Public Broadcasting, and their fundraising efforts are still short of what they need. WLIU's audience is small. And, there's plenty of competition for the NPR news audience from WSHU and Connecticut Public Radio.

Also important to both stations is their community service. Local programming can create networks of support throughout their communities if done well. I think it was Audience 98 that concluded, "Community service begets community support." The formula worked for us at WNPR.