2008 Public Radio Programming Conference
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Pre and Post-Conference Workshops:
PD Workshop, September 14 -16.
RRC's PPM Workshop, September 20, 1-5pm
Wednesday, September 17
10:00am -Noon – News/Talk Group
This year's meeting will be wholly devoted to sharing among PD's. Come and discuss your issues, initiatives and results in the world of News and Talk. - Moderator: Jeff Hansen - Program Director, KUOW, Seattle
11:00am- 1:00pm – Jazz Station Meeting
This annual gathering of Jazz stations and producers is always a lively and productive discussion. A unique opportunity to network and address the opportunities and challenges of jazz programming with your colleagues. Moderator: Thurston Briscoe - Program Director, WBGO, Newark
Noon – 2:00pm – Classical Music Station Meeting
This meeting is the opportunity for classical music stations to share what they’ve been doing over the past year and seek feedback from peers. Moderators: Frank Dominguez - Program Director, WDAV, Davidson & Robin Gehl - Vice President of Programming, Cincinnati Public Radio.
2:00 – 4:00pm - ARRIVAL LOUNGE (POOLSIDE)
Back by Popular Demand! The Arrival Lounge featuring “A Taste of California!” Start re-connecting with colleagues as you sample an array of California treats: provided by Public Radio International, National Public Radio and American Public Media.
4:00 – 5:00pm - Newcomers Session
The PRPD Conference might seem daunting if you’ve never attended, this is especially for first timers. Fear not, we are a very friendly bunch (well—most of us). To prove it, the Board of Directors will give you the long and short of what is going on and offer advice on how to get the most of your time here. You’ll get to meet others attending for the first time too. Free food! Wacky contests! Prizes that will confound the TSA when they check your luggage!
7:00 - 9:00pm - OPENING RECEPTION sponsored by KUSC, KPCC and KCRW- Les Deux, Hollywood
Our three host stations have planned a truly Hollywood opening evening at one of Hollywood's hottest nightspots, a short walk form the conference hotel. Reconnect with your colleagues in "a plush experience of European lifestyle mixed with sexy decor welcoming LA's finest clientele" (in this case, us). The stations will graciously provide hardy hors d'oevres, beer and wine plus a cash bar amid the "clean, black, swooping curves amid an overabundance of peach-tinted mirrors to evoke a feeling of luxury and glamor".An experience not to be missed!
Thursday, September 18
7:30 - 8:30am – Breakfast with APM
There are few phrases more important to public radio programmers than “audience engagement.” Join American Public Media for breakfast as we talk to hosts, journalists and partner stations about Public Insight Journalism and the upcoming elections. Built on genuine partnership between news media and the public, PIJ combines public insight with the best principles of journalism. Find out how it’s transforming our newsrooms and those of other stations around the country.
9:00 – 10:30am - OPENING SESSION – Writer/Producer Brian Grazer, Imagine Entertainment
NPR's Kim Masters interviews one of Hollywood's top producers, Brian Grazer, partner with Ron Howard in Imagine Entertainment. A multiple Emmy and Academy Award winner, Grazer will share his experiences over a more than 25 years of making movies and television programs and his vision of the media future and how the forces in the entertainment industry are evolving.
10:30-11:00AM - Morning Break: Caffienation Station with NPR
11:00 - 12:15pm: Breakouts
1) Expanding Public Radio to All Americans: Harder than we think? (Finding Voices We Don’t Know About)
Public radio needs more listeners and different listeners to remain competitive. How do we get them? The panelists at this session believe we have to change the lifeblood of public radio: who makes radio and what public radio sounds like. These pros practice what they preach by attracting talented African American, Latino and younger producers. How do they find this new talent? What standards do they have? How can stations adopt their practices and maintain the core sound of public radio? We'll listen to some of their work and challenge their vision.
• Moderator: John Barth - Managing Director, PRX
• Maxie Jackson - Senior Director Program Development, WNYC, New York
• Julie Shapiro - Managing Director, Third Coast Audio Festival
• Raul Ramirez - Executive Director for News and Public Affairs, KQED/ Latino Consortium
2) Making the Web and Air Work Better Together - Two New Approaches to Local Talk
Some public radio programs have become multi-platform beasts, living on-the-air, online and in places you never suspected. In this session we’ll hear about the experiences of two relatively new multi-platform shows, Think Out Loud from Oregon Public Broadcasting and Word of Mouth on New Hampshire Public Radio. Think Out Loud has taken a CPB-funded, research-based approach, while Word of Mouth takes a unique “Less is More” approach, seeking to create a production model for sustainable, affordable local programming that is not call-in and that can be duplicated at small market stations. What are these program teams doing to make compelling radio and compelling Web content happen on a daily basis? What’s different about this new world, and what turns out to be the same as it ever was?
• Moderator: Sheryl Gasser - Talk Director, Wisconsin Public Radio
• Morgan Holm - VP News and Information, Oregon Public Broadcasting
• David Miller - Producer, Oregon Public Broadcasting
• Abby Goldstein - Program Director, New Hampshire Public Radio
• Andrew Walsh - Senior Producer, New Hampshire Public Radio
3) One Size Doesn't Fit All: On-Air Fundraising for Classical Music Programming
Fundraising strategies and tactics utilized for news-talk stations don't necessarily resonate with classical music listeners. What is meaningful for those classical listeners, and what will make them more likely to respond to fundraising appeals? Based on classical music research conducted by the PRPD, as well as CPRN research conducted in Los Angeles and Denver, you'll learn how listeners value and respond to classical music and how to shape your fundraising appeals to classical listeners' motivations.
• Karla Walker - Program Director, KVOD/Colorado Public Radio
• Robin Gehl - Vice President of Programming, WGUC, Cincinnati
4) Million Dollar Branding On A Nonprofit Budget
You don’t have a million dollar ad budget? So what! Creative marketing guru, Stephanie Ross, will give you the tools to create innovative strategic marketing plans that get results without wreaking havoc to the bottom line. Learn how you can hit the ground running to position and promote your station with techniques that are cost effective, deliver audience and most of all reinforce your station’s core message.
• Stephanie Ross - CEO, Idea Ventures Inc., Los Angeles
12:30 - 1:45pm - NPR Power Lunch
Have your people talk to our people: All Things Considered hosts Melissa Block and Robert Siegel, and executive producer Chris Turpin. While they tell it like it is, you can savor your LAvish repast before joining in.
2:00 – 3:30pm - The Changing Job of the PD– GENERAL SESSION
Ten years ago, PD’s could afford to manage and think like the program directors of a generation earlier. Like it or not, the job responsibilities of the public radio PD have changed. We are now managing in a very different environment. We are required to have more business savvy and to understand how our stations operate on the macro level. We are forced to think “multi-platform.” The technology we use has changed, our listeners’ relationship with various media is ever shifting, and our new employees (when we can find them) act and are motivated differently than our seasoned vets. These are some of the many things we must consider. This panel discussion will explore how our job has evolved. More importantly, the guests will underscore the basic leadership and management traits as well as the new thinking necessary for PDs to succeed in this new paradigm.
• Moderator: Bruce Warren - Assistant General Manager for Programming, WXPN, Philadelphia
• Denise Oliver - President, Oliver Media
• Bill Lueth - Program Director, KDFC, San Francisco
• Todd Mundt - Director of New Media Strategies, Louisville Public Media
3:30 - 4:00pm - Afternoon Break: Break it Down with NPR
4:00 - 5:15pm: Breakouts
5) The NPR Listener Media Day
Observing media behavior for the whole day, and listening in-depth to people as they narrate their perceptions, experiences, and opinions can create a rich portrait of the role of public radio in our listeners’ lives, and lead to powerful new research questions. This session will include insights from two groundbreaking studies from NPR Research –an observational NPR Listener Media Day study from Ball State University and an ethnography of KUT Austin listeners. We look at questions such as: what media are people actually using, and for how long are they using it (rather than what they report)? What motivates the media choices people make? What does public radio mean to them?
• Ben Robins - Research Manager, National Public Radio
• Tara Susman-Peña - Research Manager, Special projects, National Public Radio
6) Making the Most with the Least - How radio stations with limited resources do the cutting edge
Think you are too under-resourced to be multiplatform or to have your station delve into the world of social networking? Learn the basics, what other stations have tried, how to staff and train your station to respond to these opportunities and find out how stations of all formats are tackling the problem. Learn how to prepare your staff so they can take advantage of low-cost, turnkey tools to improve the interactivity of your station service. You’ll be tweeting your friends about it!
• Moderator: Bruce Warren - Assistant General Manager for Programming, WXPN, Philadelphia
• Ken Freedman - General Manager, WFMU, Jersey City
• Mark Fuerst - President, Innovation4Media, Inc.
• Leng Caloh - Convergence Editor, KPBS, San Diego
7) The Morning Edition Air Check Project: A Pledge Refresher for Everyone - (with DEI)
Morning Edition accounts for half of all the pledge revenue a many public radio stations, so with help from NPR, DEI airchecked pledge drives for 24 large market stations and examined their ME pitching in relation to their listening and giving. This session reports on best practices for pledge with plenty of audio and some ideas worth stealing.
• Scott Williams - Program Director, KJZZ/KBAQ, Phoenix
• Jay Clayton - Individual Giving Coordinator, DEI
• Jane Kelly - Senior Manager of On-Air Fundraising and Promotion, National Public Radio
• John Sutton - President, John Sutton & Associates
8) Midday Classical Project Application
Since January, the twelve partner stations in the PRPD Classical Music Testing Project have been applying the results we presented at last year’s conference to their midday music selection. We’ll talk about what they’ve done, what reaction they have received, and preliminary audience data results. There will be practical tips on applying what we now know about listeners’ preferences in midday classical music on radio, including samples from playlists, music selection polices, implementing scheduling software and much more.
• Frank Dominguez - Program Director, WDAV, Davidson
• John Silliman Dodge - Program Director, KBPS, Portland
• Craig Cohen - Program Director, WITF, Harrisburg
• Robin Gehl - Vice President of Programming, Cincinnati Public Radio
• Peter Dominowski - Market Trends Research
9) Case Studies In Format Focusing: New Triple-A Stations
Three public radio stations with long histories of eclectic and community-based programming have recently evolved into primarily Triple-A music stations. The stations are part of CPB’s station-renewal project that identifies public-radio outlets that were not reaching enough of their potential audience, yet had strong support from their licensees. This session looks at strategy and methods of change, lessons learned and early results.
• Moderator: Ken Mills, - Ken Mills Agency
• Nico Leone - Program Director, KDHX, St. Louis
• Dale Spear -Senior VP for Operations and COO, WMFE, Orlando (consulatnt to WUMB)
• Ryan Tronier - Program Director, KRCL, Salt Lake City
5:30 - 6:30pm – CPB Talent Quest Meet and Greet Reception
The search is over! Meet the winners of thePublic Radio Talent Quest as they talk about their plans for launching public radio’s newest programs. Join Majora Carter, Al Letson and Glynn Washington at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel’s Poolside Terrace (Hotel 5th floor). Stop by for refreshments and a chat with the rising stars of public radio. Hosted by CPB and Bruce Theriault, Senior Vice President, Radio.
6:30 - 7:30pm – Reception with The Splendid Table
Fresh from off the tour for their bestselling cookbook, “How To Eat Supper” (now in its third printing), Lynne Rosetto Kasper and Sally Swift welcome you to eat, drink, and find out what’s in store for this James Beard Award winning program that’s become a “must-have” on stations’ schedules.
7:30 - 9:30pm - Evening Soiree with NPR West (& East) - Twist Restaurant
Rub elbows Hollywood-style and enjoy a tasty array of West Coast cuisine while chatting and dishing with your favorite colleagues and NPR hosts. Join in the Twist(ed) fun and unwind after the first full day at the conference. Whether it's grilled, roasted, reduced, iced, wrapped, Gorgonzola’d, or all of the above, there’s something for everyone.
Friday, September 19
7:30 – 8:45 am - PRI's Breakfast of Opportunities
Discover your audience growth opportunity: define your local news brand, reach new audiences and make the local-global connection. Join PRI and partners BBC World Service, The Takeaway and The World for breakfast to see — graphically — the importance of the international perspective to the American listener. Meet the talent and see why PRI programs are essential to your local brand.
9:00 – 10:30am – GENERAL SESSION:
a) Keynote: Reinventing Public Radio -Bruce Theriault - CPB Senior Vice President of Radio
The world around us is rapidly changing – from disruptive technology to dramatic shifts in demographics to evolving audience expectations. Are these changes huge threats or wonderful opportunities? Bruce Theriault, Senior Vice President, Radio at CPB will share his perspectives on what lies ahead and why he’s excited about the opportunity to reinvent public radio. He will also discuss how CPB’s current initiatives and funding priorities address the challenges public radio faces.
b) Awards for Creative excellence (ACE) hosted by Kai Ryssdal, Marketplace Host
We honor the best work in 6 programming categories: Promotion/Station Imaging, Classical Music Programming, News and Information, Jazz, Triple-A and On-Air Fundraising. Join is to hear samples of some of the best in public radio - from a record number of entries.
10:30 - 11:00am - Morning Coffee Break
11-12:15pm: Breakouts
10) Our Best and Brightest Producers and Stations: What Next? - (with AIR)
With the ever- burgeoning number options for reaching listeners directly, some of today's most innovative audio producers are finding new channels and outlets for their work beyond public radio. We'll listen to how today's producers and their creative process have to moved beyond simply making a product to include anticipating distribution. We'll explore some of the new alliances being formed with publications and on-line outlets that are delivering a new audience to producers. We’ll hear work from producers who have expanded beyond radio and are actively working or experimenting or working in other listening environments.
• Moderator: Sue Schardt, Executive Director, AIR
• Jad Abrumad - Host/Producer, Radio Lab, WNYC
• Curtis Fox - Independent Producer
• Dmae Roberts - Executive Producer, Media Rites and Crossing East
• Amy O’Leary - Multimedia Producer, New York Times
11) Lorna Ozmon workshops, Part 1: The Art of Coaching Air Talent; from analysis through application
This session will answer questions like: What is the most effective form of air talent performance analysis? How can I be more consistent in my coaching analysis and process? How do I reach the different and diverse air personalities on my staff? How do I keep the coachin