News Coverage - Going Deeper

Looking For Depth

There are stories that lend themselves to in depth coverage. In depth coverage is something public radio listeners expect. They want to look beyond the headlines. These stories also lend themselves to continuing coverage.

After the crash of 2008, listeners looked to public radio and television to give a broader perspective to the great recession. Because of the slow recovery and other issues, this story is still with us.

Disappointing Numbers

Lower than expected job numbers came out last Friday. The number of new jobs was about half of what was expected. NPR reports that 126,000 new jobs were created. Experts were thinking the economy would add 245,000 new jobs in March.

March Employment Report Shows Growth — But Disappointing Numbers

For U.S. Workers, The March Of Progress Slows Down

Contributing Factors

Some are saying the weather had a lot to do with the disappointing numbers. Because of the series of storms that rolled through in February and March...the construction industry took a hit. So did oil drilling.

Taking the Long View

There might be something deeper according to Doug Handler, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight. The economy has been expanding for six years. The thought is this might be a cooling in the economy after a period of sustained growth. Looking further at the longer trend, unemployment over the past year has improved from 6.6% to 5.5% in one year. March may have been a blip...or it may be the tip of the iceberg. Either way, the story lends itself to coverage that goes beyond the headlines. It can go beyond the two in depth stories linked to above.

Something Bigger

As I look through the story ideas below, it occurs to me I'm defining APM's Marketplace's Sustainability Desk. or Marketplace itself. I'm also thinking in terms of using station resources to create something that will have a lasting impact on the listeners we serve. There needs to be a place where overarching stories come to live. A program where these big issues can be discussed. A destination program where we can go deeper. You might be thinking, "No way. We don't have the resources." Think again, You don't have to go it alone. There are partnerships and alliances that can be created to find the resources.

Depth

There are other issues that are effected and effect the employment figures including:

• Unemployment in your region
• The real jobless rate.
• Have people given up?
• Underemployment/Temporary employment.
• The working poor.
• Discrimination. (Estimates of the cost of racism reach as high as two trillion dollars a year.) 
• Unemployment and race 
• Sexism.    
• Ageism.
• Faithism.
• Low wage jobs.
• Job training.
• SNAP benefits.
• Unemployment and social services.
• Unemployment benefits.

These are just some of the issues that could be explored, but I think you get the idea. Jobs matter to our listeners. The economy matters to our listeners. I think we owe it to them to cover this with more than the headlines or just one three-and-a-half minute feature.

CNC Going Dark

In the end, the struggle for funding proved too much for the Capitol News Connection. The service closes its doors at the end of the month.
We found its content to be very valuable for our listeners when I was working for WNPR. It was a reliable source for imformation about what was happening on Capitol Hill and in Washington.

http://www.capitolnewsconnection.org/news/end-news-era-cnc-2003-2011

It's The Content!

No matter the format, it's the content.
One of the stations we listened to as a kid was WLS in Chicago. One of the DJ's we admired was Dick Biondi. He seemed so cool...so outrageous and a little bit rebellious just like the music we listened to at the time. WLS was a huge success at top 40 radio and a giant in the format in the 60's.

One day I tuned in and Biondi wasn't there anymore. The rumor we heard was he was fired for telling an off color joke on the air.  That story turned out to be untrue according to the History of WLS Radio. WLS and Dick Biondi were so popular in Chicago that their marketing department had sold out all the avails and then some. According to Biondi, he went in to the General Sales Manager to complain. A fist fight broke out.  The log was so jammed with commercials he could only play six tunes and hour while the competition was playing 20. He knew there was no way he could compete. He knew the music (the content) was most important to us. Biondi was right. We kept listening even after he was gone. I think the same is true for the public radio news fan. It's the content that matters.

There were three things at work. Music that spoke to our generation. An announcer who was able to present the music in a way that enhanced the experience. On Top Of Old Pizza may seem hokey today. It was new in the early sixties. Dick Biondi's style was new and radical. Put these two key elements together and you get a true sense of community. It was a shared experience. A sense of tribe.

KPCC Poised For A Larger Role

An article by Steve Carney in the LA Times from March 20th highlights the station's willingness to take on a larger role for the communities it serves. Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) is furthering it's community involvement. KPCC is reinvesting in news and information at a time when most news media is cutting back.

• Tripled Its Audience
• Invested in a New Facility
• Hired Reporters
• Added Regional Programming
• Tapped the Support of Its Board

Without serious investment from the board and their network of contacts KPCC and SCPR's growth would not have been possible. Board Chairman Gordon Crawford touched on the core values of public radio. There is a belief among those who value public radio that civil discourse can empower us to find solutions. "Using these public airwaves for a public service that's devoted to discussing the issues of the day is kind of critical to our democracy," Crawford said. "Hopefully, the more we learn about each other, the better we'll get along."