Almost as though we have no right to acclaim the success of public radio in doubling its audience over the past decade, many industry leaders are predicting its eminent demise at the hands of the web, and those frightening and unthathomable aliens driving its expansion, the nation's young media consumers.
Take this piece of neurotic recreational worry from Robert Paterson, a knowledgeable leading public radio consultant who shares many of my public radio "core values". For those friends of mine (most of them over forty, of course) who are too impetuous, obsessive-compulsive and gadget-obsessed to click on the previous link, here's the nutgraph of Rob's panic:-
"As stations diet to death, what happens to NPR? They themselves also implode as their market shrinks, costs mount and underwriting and revenues shrink. They too go into bailing/survival mode. All now depends on ME. What about the [NPR's proposed] new building? Anything that does not pay today's bill, has to get cut. That includes the future!"
His premise is that traditional public radio will be gobbled up by the web, and that we must all focus on the new "delivery platforms", or die.
I don't know many public radio stations with some modicum of resources who are not focussed on this. Its why we launched The Conversation. Other sophisticated sites like NPR.ORG and WNYC,ORG offer interaction, news, information, audio, podcasts, blogs, streaming, and archives. Many stations communicate daily by email with their listeners. Like BluegrassCountry, many public stations now have cutting-edge online streams and theme-specific podcasts.
What gives them a head start? Good content, and good journalism. Which is why the best public radio (whatever it is called in the future) will survive and Rob should get some apparently much-needed sleep. Consumers will find the good stuff if its available in the right places. Which is why we've developed three different HD stations; you can talk to Diane online, download the Kojo Nnamdi Show to listen to later, or retrieve a news report in script form to share with your friends.
Here's what we really need to worry about in public radio; the content needs to be more surprising, renewed, rejuvenated, innovative, of wider and more diverse appeal, funnier, and striving constantly to stay relevant. But its the content that counts, not the platform. The job of public radio's leaders is continually to question and reevaluate the quality, scope and reach of its journalism and entertainment. Are NPR doing a good job reporting the news? Are we talking to our listeners in a way they value and appreciate us? How can we do better in our local newsroom? Are we covering the election in-depth, offering material not heard elsewhere, generating exclusive or original stories, in an appropriate and balanced way?
Lets concentrate on continuing to offer broadcast material which captivates citizens and highlights the challenges facing our nation today, and invest appropriately in the exciting emerging technology. That's the business model. And lets give our bright young broadcast professionals space to be creative, and not panic about the canvas on which they will paint.
