This week: Is the hope for a public radio (NPR) "network" crumbling? Plus, the digital audio hesitation and the launch of a technology resource center for media organizations.
Changing how they manage their Facebook page would be a good start. I suspect NPR has more Facebook fans in Massachusetts than WBUR and GBH combined. That's a problem.
Lisa - There was a time when you could pitch local stories to NPR and they would post them to a geolocated market for stations. Is that still an option?
Pitching 5 times to get 1 pickup, and then replicating that across the network, isn't a structural solution. It gets some traffic to one story, but it doesn't get the affiliates more followers or give NPR's followers the sense that they should follow their local affiliate.
Tim, you should consider what state networks are or are not doing to secure our importance to news audiences in the future. I'm in Michigan and we have taken some small steps in recent years but mostly our statewide network does what it was doing 25 years ago. There is a fair amount of talk about collaboration here among a variety of news entities but, in my experience, the funders determine the outcomes and seem most interested in mixing various types news organizations together. Our public media network has yet to make a serious effort to get philanthropic support behind our collective news efforts. We hear of exciting work being done in states like Indiana, Texas and Alaska, and I am always interested to hear more about those efforts.
Thanks for your great service to our industry with this newsletter.
Really good suggestion. There's a lot of opportunities out there on the statewide front and, from my own experience, many funders love the idea of collaboration. Thanks for your comments, it's really appreciated.
Changing how they manage their Facebook page would be a good start. I suspect NPR has more Facebook fans in Massachusetts than WBUR and GBH combined. That's a problem.
(and it's a problem that is easily fixed)
Lisa - There was a time when you could pitch local stories to NPR and they would post them to a geolocated market for stations. Is that still an option?
Pitching 5 times to get 1 pickup, and then replicating that across the network, isn't a structural solution. It gets some traffic to one story, but it doesn't get the affiliates more followers or give NPR's followers the sense that they should follow their local affiliate.
All good points. And in situations like yours in a multi-station market, it is even more complicated. Thanks for posting.
Thanks, Tim. Wasn't aware you had a newsletter. Subscribed.
Tim, you should consider what state networks are or are not doing to secure our importance to news audiences in the future. I'm in Michigan and we have taken some small steps in recent years but mostly our statewide network does what it was doing 25 years ago. There is a fair amount of talk about collaboration here among a variety of news entities but, in my experience, the funders determine the outcomes and seem most interested in mixing various types news organizations together. Our public media network has yet to make a serious effort to get philanthropic support behind our collective news efforts. We hear of exciting work being done in states like Indiana, Texas and Alaska, and I am always interested to hear more about those efforts.
Thanks for your great service to our industry with this newsletter.
Really good suggestion. There's a lot of opportunities out there on the statewide front and, from my own experience, many funders love the idea of collaboration. Thanks for your comments, it's really appreciated.