Public Radio Partnerships: Strength in Numbers

If I had just one wish for Public Broadcasting it would be more collaboration and less competition within the system. We would be so much better at serving our audience if we just found ways to work together.

Unified Vision

When I first came to New England, I was working with several stations on a project that looked at better serving our audiences locally and collaborating regionally. The premise of the regional collaboration was to better serve the public radio audience up and down the I-91 corridor with a high quality service meeting the needs of the region. Despite honest efforts, it never came to pass as stations focused on their own issues without drawing on the experience of others.

The collaborative spirit was replaced by competition and distrust. 

There have been some hopeful efforts recently funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Three notable collaborations include stations along Ohio River Valley, A News Initiative in Indiana and Alaskan energy issues. The hope is these collaboratives will motivate others to do the same.

Earlier Efforts

I was involved in previous efforts. Most notably, the Environmental Initiate at WNPR, a collaborative with solid funding that involved several stations in the Northeast. Once the grant ran down, the stations were unable to sustain the regional effort. Shared funding was suggested based on listener hours, but nothing re-lit the collaboration. I also assisted in the Kentucky Public Radio Network collaborative. KPRN is still going strong and involves several of the stations working together in the Ohio River Valley project.

These partnerships are like any intense relationship. They take work and compromise to keep them together. The pay-off is higher caliber content that has a stronger appeal to the public media audience. They also have the advantage of pooled funding and shared costs.

Amateur Athletics Hurt By Public Media Cuts

When the Greek government cut public broadcasting in Greece they did a lot more than save 300 million euros.

They cuts eliminated over 2000 jobs. They eliminated opportunities for independent producers. A source of income for those producers. Thousand people out of work means less spending and a slower economy. And then there are the unintended consequences. They made content go dark for millions of viewers and listeners that relied on the services. And, they've put content partners in danger too.

Athletics-Greek is saying the elimination of public broadcasting by the Greek government has put their organization in danger. Reuters is reporting ERT was Greek athletics' main outlet for broadcasting and with its current status in limbo following the government's decision to close the organisation due to austerity measures, Kostas Panagopoulos fears for the future exposure of the sport in the birthplace of the Olympics.

Is this the true intent of trickle down economics?

Here's a link to the Reuters article:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/16/athletics-greece-television-idUSL3N0ES06M20130616

Pubcasting Cuts in Kansas

According to reports from the Associated Press and other sources, funding for Public Broadcasting in Kansas is going to be cut...not eliminated.  In 2011 Governor Sam Brownback proposed the elimination all funding.  This year's proposal is to fund $600,000 in operating grants. Brownback is proposing the same amount for the following year. The proposed figure represents a cut of 42% over the current funding level.

Some conservatives are offering resistance to the funding. According to the report from the AP, Rep. Pete DeGraaf, a Mulvane Republican said he and other Republicans question if funding for public broadcasting is a high priority. They would like the funding eliminated entirely.
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Read more:  http://www2.wnct.com/news/2013/jan/17/kansas-funding-for-public-broadcasting-scrutinized-ar-2946568/

Public Broadcasting, Grants and Accountability (Networking)

Recently, I attended a discussion about how non-profits can leverage corporate support. Many non-profits are finding themselves in the situation Public Broadcasting started to face in the 80's when the Reagan administration applied a rescission to the funding for CPB. The funding was cut by 50%.
Suddenly, membership campaigns and underwriting became very important.

The discussion got around to foundation support and grants. A key to renewal of grants is deliverables and, how the deliverables are communicated to the grantor.

The foundations we worked with in Connecticut were interested in education issues, the environment and, healthcare for the poor. The tendency might be to focus only on the obvious...audience size and the number of reports. The foundations we worked with in Connecticut wanted measurables beyond the standards of audience data and the number of reports and programs offered.  We kept track of the contacts we made when researching the issues and the reports. We kept track of the community groups we interacted with as a result of our conversations inside and outside the building. We also included information about the number of on-air promotions, Social Media mentions and interactions, phone conversations, emails, podcasts and the hits to the Webpage.

Getting outside the broadcast facility is important. It is a lot like networking. Public Broadcasting is not just what it puts out over the air or the web. It is a lot more than the one-way conversations of the 70's, 80's and 90's. The community connections created by the community service we offer are much broader than we realize.

Looking for Direction

Core Values Still Matter

I listened to a very interesting discussion today at a round table at CREG, The Connecticut Re-Employment Group. I'm asking myself, again, what is at my core. What motivates and excites me? It started some thoughts on core values. Those values are why I got into Public Broadcasting.


Public Broadcasting is a very narrow field. To do that again would mean moving across the country. I cannot do that right now.  It leaves me in a place where I'm looking outward to other fields. Those core values include:

     Credibility
      Integrity
      Honesty
      Idealism
      Believe in Civil Discourse
      Inspired by Public Life and Culture


These values align well with the socially engaged audience we served. These values can be summed up by a desire to make a difference. These values can result in the ability to communicate core values to key constituencies. Is this applicable anywhere? I hope so.
The challenge for me is to translate these values into a new direction.

FCC Committee Advises Backing for CPB

The Consumer Advisory Committee of the Federal Communications Commissions says that PBS is providing a valuable and high quality news service to the public. The committee advocates FCC backing for the Public Broadcasting Service according to a report released yesterday by RBR-TVBR.Com. CAC also liked CPB's "public affairs programming, diversity of opinion, public safety alerts, and children’s programming and a wide array of cultural content.”   

RBR-TVBR's Tom Seyler says if the CAC wants to give CPB a boost, it needs to find a way to separate CPB's funding from the political process.


That's the way the system is supposed to work now.

Public Broadcasting Cut Back in Kansas

A bid to restore funds for public broadcasting in Kansas has been rejected.

Governor Sam Brownback cut funding 70% in his budget. A House budget subcommittee restored $800,000. That has been rejected.

For some Republicans Public Radio is the target.

Panel rejects funding for public broadcasting | CJOnline.com

CPBN's Dean Orton Moves On UPDATE

He's Back. After a year at the American Boychoir school in Princeton, Dean Orton is back at CPBN.

Dean Orton, Senior Vice President Media Services and Chief Development Officer for Connecticut Public Broadcasting, takes a  new position in Princeton next week. CPBN is the parent company for CPTV and WNPR. Orton will become President and Chief Executive Officer of The American Boychoir School and the Princeton Center for Arts and Education.
There's more information about his transition from public broadcasting to the Boychoir and the Arts and Education center at Patch.
In the interest of disclosure, Dean was my boss during my last two years at CPBN.

State Underfunds Public Broadcasting

Government support of public broadcasting is an issue in places you might not normally think about. Federal funding has been an issue almost since its inception here with the Public Broadcasting act of 1967. The issue of the CPB's Community Service Grant here is political and partisan. Turns out the issues are the same in Estonia.

The researcher cited in the article also points out that commercial media needs to be more accountable for certain aspects of the public interest. Did somebody mention the Fairness Doctrine?

State Underfunds Public Broadcasting, Research Concludes | Politics | News | ERR

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."

Public Broadcasting and The Conservative Agenda

De-funding public broadcasting is not a new item on the conservative agenda. It's been a part of our politics since the 1970's.

Part of that agenda is about controlling the message.  Read the section of "Reagan In His Own Words" found at Google Books. These notes are from 1976. The Reagan administration's proposed rescission of funding for public broadcasting occurred in early 80's. At that time, President Reagan suggested that if public broadcasting were to produce programming favorable to his administration, he might spare its funding. He suggested public broadcasting be more like Voice of America. After the cut in funding failed in Congress, Reagan made sure appointees to the CPB Board reflected his views.

President Reagan was not the only conservative to take aim at public broadcasting. Read the article in Current from 1985. Most of the article is about the CPB board clash between Reagan appointees and appointees from earlier administrations. Further down you'll find information about how President Nixon wanted to control PBS and CPB.

"PBS and CPB had shared headlines a dozen years ago, when ideology once before intruded into the affairs of public broadcasting. Nixon aides, some of whom were planning and covering up Watergate during the same period, were plotting to gain control over both CPB and PBS and eliminate what they saw as liberal, anti-Nixon public affairs programming on public television."

  

WHQR Hires Station Manager

Star News Online is reporting that Cleve Callison becomes WHQR's new station manager in September. The hiring is the next step in the road back for the Wilmington, North Carolina station beset with financial troubles in 2008 and 2009. Cleve was most recently Station Manager of WUMB at Miami of Ohio.

Lawmakers give New Jersey Network time to become ‘self-sustaining’ - pressofAtlanticCity.com

Lawmakers give New Jersey Network time to become ‘self-sustaining’ - pressofAtlanticCity.com

This article articulates the challenges facing NJN in the near future. The State of New Jersey has given NJN some time as the state studies how best to restructure the public broadcaster.

Current thinking is that the State of New Jersey should walk away and NJN become independent. Standing in the way is a huge deficit of $16.7 million. According to the article there may also be irregularities in the way NJN's foundation raised support.

If NJN is able to become a non-government non-profit organization it will need to look seriously at the sustainability of its programming including their flagship program "NJN News," a nightly half-hour news program.

NJN's Interim Executive Director Howard Blumenthal is quoted in the article from a written statement, "...that all the pieces of the network were working toward a fiscal solution. “NJN management and staff are working with members of the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority (NJN’s governance board), the NJN Foundation (NJN’s fundraising board), the Governor’s Office and legislators to develop a plan that secures a healthy future for NJN and public media in New Jersey. We will continue to meet with foundations, corporations and individual donors to share our vision for a future of greater public service, and make a compelling case for support of NJN as a vital source for information and ideas."

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.

Haitian Radio Station Exemplifies Community Service

An FM radio station in Haiti was an informational lifeline for the people of Haiti in the hours and days after the quake there. NPR's John Burnett filed this story for All Things Considered about Signal FM 90.5.

Calls for Changes At the BBC

Public Television in the United States isn't the only television broadcast entity worried about its aging audience. There are similar concerns at the BBC. "The centre-right Policy Exchange said the BBC should cut the amount it spends on sports rights, popular entertainment and shows for 16 to 35-year-olds." Read more at the BBC.

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?