“There are good, smart people working for public broadcasting who get buried inside of institutions. Their power should not be dismissed. They can be ignited. Outsiders can see these things with fresh eyes. People work in public broadcasting because they believe in it. Organizations often struggle to recognize the potential of their own teams and frequently fail to develop environments that empower them.”
—Current.org | Joaquin Alvarado on the dynamics of change, 2012 (via shaneguiter)
March 2012
25 posts
Alaska - more of this please!
I have to admit that I had no idea how much cool stuff was happening in public radio and television in Alaska. The geography and the vastness of the state means there are tons of stations, and at least two networks (the nuances of that are somewhat confusing, still have to wrap my head around it). So I know I’m only scratching the surface.
Today, I explored the sites of APRN and KTOO. These two station sites have avoided some of the most stultifying consequences of station politics — design by committee — and have tidy, nicely designed and easy to use sites that make smart use of audio, video, text and social media. Looks like the digital crews have a leash that’s long enough to innovate and stay on top of current best practices.
OK, content. From the looks of it APRN’s program Town Square 49 (what’s the 49?) is a community-driven show with pretty high production values. Citizen-uploaded Iditarod videos, commentaries from comment members and groups. My web connection failed mid-post so i’ll have to return to explore more.
The March 14 installment is themed “Cabin Fever” and features a woman’s spray tan experience in Southern California, a young guy telling how he learned to get the job done from an old guy named Billy in Hope Alaska…and…. Listen here.
I love this program and I’m enthusiastic about the growing trend of personal story programs — think The Moth Radio Hour, Snap Judgement, The Story. More of this, less of everything else, please.
Alabama - there's something about pets
Today I went from knowing very little about public media in Alabama to knowing slightly more. And I was surprised to discover that two public radio stations have locally produced shows about pets! Everybody who loves animals loves talking and learning about them, and it’s an intimate topic — though not one I’ve encountered much on the air before (aside from Gary Eichten’s regular pet expert on MPR’s now-retired program MidDay).
Alabama Public Radio airs a two-minute weekly segment called Speaking of Pets, hosted by Mindy Norton. And I can’t get over their logo!
WLRH in Huntsville AL airs an occasional segment hosted by Margie Weisman about pets. This week she talks about the right pets for senior citizens and dealing with the loss of a pet, and in February about dealing with loose dogs.
Moving off the pets theme, I wonder who at Alabama Public Television jumped at the new Facebook brand pages faster than any other public television station, claiming the URL https://www.facebook.com/PublicTelevision. Pretty savvy!
50 states in 50 days
Clearly the post-a-day thing isn’t the easiest thing to stick to. And I keep falling back on reporting I admire by my colleagues at APM, MPR and Public Insight Network newsrooms. So, a new strategy. Every week day (let’s not get crazy, now) I will post something I’ve found from a new state, until I have reached all 50 states, plus territories. In alphabetical order. Way to enforce some discipline! I’ll update the list below with links to posts as they come.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- American Samoa
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida (II)
- Georgia
- Guam
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Northern Marianas Islands
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Puerto Rico
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Virgin Islands
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
And thank you, Wikipedia — this list of public radio stations by state sure will come in handy. Here’s the Pacifica station list. And a more comprehensive list that includes commercial as well as small community stations.
List of PBS member stations via Wikipedia.
Columbia Journalism Review’s Guide to Online News Startups.
Robots Ate My Job -- timely, cheeky and observant series from Marketplace →
marketplace.org
Who better than Marketplace, really, to cover the trend of replacing workers with machines?
David Brancaccio is on a road trip to discover the human stories behind the robot horde. The series includes reports from others on Marketplace’s Economy 4.0 team. Today’s story was about the grocery checkout workers replaced by automatic checkout machines. As a listener, I was dismayed to hear how the workers didn’t view the robots as a threat until it was too late. As a grocery customer, I’ve noticed the technology improving and becoming less error-prone….but I still swear and flip the robot off at least once per shopping trip.
(Photo: pin add / Flickr)
Listen
Anna Weggel and Jeff Jones talking with MPR’s Tom Weber about the Minnesota Marriage Videos project.
More at MPRNews.org.
Want to hear a great story? →
audiofil.es
Audiofil.es smartly curates some of the best radio/audio content available. And the blog’s pretty cool too. An independent project made by two public radio producers in their spare time.
At OPB debate, Newt will debate....himself? →
news.opb.org
Apparently, Romney has better things to do. Like campaign in Illinois.
I hope this turn of events doesn’t spike the GOP debate to be hosted at OPB on March 19. If it goes on, it’ll be (I think I’ve got this right) the first time a GOP debated has been hosted by a public broadcaster. About time. And a bad signal if non-attendance makes it unsuccessful.
Listen
Great piece by Steve Henn on Utah’s tech boom. From today’s All Tech Considered on ATC.
Fun fact: Did you know that Utah has the highest percentage of people who speak foreign languages? Wonder why? Mormon missionaries, returned home. Sounds like secret sauce to me.
“Living Docs are the descendants of classic moving images, but closely resemble software in their structure and approach. Like software, these new documentaries put the user at the center of the experience. Like the best documentaries, they are grounded in real human stories and experiences.”
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Digging Downton
Just watched the first episode of Downton Abbey. And I’m hooked. The subject matter isn’t anything new but the pacing, and the modern view on gender and sexuality makes it fresh. More, please!
