Public Broadcasting's Upward Trend

Data provided by the Pew Research Center shows modest yet steady growth among Public Radio's news oriented stations. Data shows increases from 2015 to 2016.

Take a look at these trends. How does the data from your station stack up against the benchmarks established by national trends?  (If you need help with that, let me know.)

• Listenership if up 11% among the top 20 station.

• NPR programming is up 14%.

• PRI Programming is up 12.5%.

• Public Radio's digital presence is on the rise.

• PBS NewsHour grew 22%.

• Revenue went up at the national level for NPR and PRI. APM saw a decrease. According to Pew, "At the national level NPR increased its total operating revenue in 2016 to $213 million, up 9% from 2015 levels. PRI saw gains as well, rising 26% to about $22 million in total revenue for 2016. APM’s total revenue, on the other hand, went down 6% year over year, accounting for $126 million in 2016."

• Locally, earnings have been relatively flat.

• News oriented station increased investment in their news gathering resourced about 5% from 2014 to 2015.

• Viewership for commercial network news declined 1% to 24 million viewers.

• Cable news networks increased 55% to 4.8 million viewers.

• Newspaper subscriptions dropped 8% between 2015 and 2016. Subscriptions are up slightly since the election.

Searching for Sanity in News Coverage

In Praise of Journalism

More and more, I find myself searching for sanity in news coverage. I find myself recoiling from the bombast and daily assault of half truths and false statements.

There was a time when I would avoid the PBS NewsHour. It seemed so slow, so dry. I've come to appreciate the comprehensiveness and evenhanded approach to the stories. It comes down to trust.
I trust journalism...not punditry. So much of what passes for journalism is based on the exception. The comments and assertions are based on the exception to the norm...not on what is actually going on. The exception feeds on our fears and takes our attention away from real solutions.

After the recent election and the continued avalanche of misstatements based on sketchy sources, I find myself being a lot more careful about what I read. And if something turns out  to be incomplete, I appreciate sources that continue to dig.

Other trusted sources:

• NPR
• APM
• PRI
• Reuters
• BBC
• and an assortment of newspapers, magazines and sites that take the time to check their sources.

What was it that Ben Bradlee said? Something like, "Check all your sources twice, except for your mother, check her three times.

Head of PBS Says It's Up to the Audience

When I first became involved in Public Radio we had stickers all over the station that said, "Think Audience." PBS CEO Paula Kreger says it's up the audience whether or not Public Television grows.

My experience in public radio is that the audience is indeed the ultimate judge of what they are willing to support. The question for public television will be,can their core content support itself? Is the audience loyal enough to rally around "American Experience", "Nature" and the "NewsHour?" Will more programming like this in the schedule generate enough audience and loyalty be self sustaining? And, can the local affiliates find sufficient funding for local productions?

A substantial core audience can make that happen. At Connecticut Public Radio we defined that as about 40% of the total audience tuning in 10 times a week for about an hour each occasion. CPTV had a much larger audience but, occasions didn't come close to what we had for radio.

The exception for CPTV is  UConn Women's Basketball. That has a large and loyal following.

Can Public Television offer substantial programming for a substantial audience? Will the Public Radio model work for Public Television?

There's a lot more about what Paula Kreger has to say in the Chicago Tribune:

PBS kicks off winter TCA tour: Prexy-CEO Kerger willing to 'make tough decisions' in 2012

WGBH bringing TV shows to radio

WGBH-FM becomes Boston's next public radio news and information station. They'll begin as Boston's third service behind WBUR and WBZ. WGBH plans to sprinkle their schedule with made for TV fair from WGBH-TV including the NewsHour. In an article published in the Boston Globe WGBH spokesperson Jeanne Hopkins explains, “We want to do something that is additive, that complements what is already in town and do it in another way.’’ WGBH talks about adapting this programming for radio, but does not talk about the disparity in age cohorts. Is this meant to drive new audiences to WGBH-TV or grow the audience for WGBH-FM?