SUPER-REGIONAL REDUX: GOOD KARMA IS GEMMA HOOLEY’S “SECRET SAUCE” • ATLANTA & PHILADLPHIA SUMMER RATINGS

Gemma Hooley

Gemma Hooley, Senior VP for Member Partnership for NPR, has spent a sizable chunk of her career building relationships between the network and member stations. 

Last week those stations had the opportunity to say “thank you” by honoring her with the PRRO Award at the Super-Regional Meeting in Atlanta.

Hooley, a veteran “road warrior” for NPR, is as much at home at NPR stations as she is at corporate headquarters in DC. 

She has built a remarkable sense of trust at stations. As a representative for NPR, she wears many hats: Diplomat, organizer, coach, problem solver and explainer.

Her work in all of these areas is successful because she puts people first. She told Spark News in an e-interview:

Gemma Hooley is a well-known voice

artist and audio producer

Hooley: Relationships are so important in our work, and they’re becoming increasingly complex as stations, producers and NPR forge multiple identities with multiple audiences.  

In working through business issues with decision-makers, I try to stay focused on listening closely, and on working the problem.  

There’s always a way forward to be found; respect and empathy will help get us there.  

A sense of humor goes a long way, too!

According to people who attended last week’s Super-Regional Meeting in Atlanta, the event provided valuable information, new ideas and a collegial vibe. The annual meeting, sponsored by four public radio regional organizations (hence the name “PRRO”), has become one of the public radio system’s “must attend” gatherings.

Each year the PRRO Award is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to public media. Now Hooley joins previous PRRO Award winners including Doug Eichten, former President of Greater Public (2017); Bruce Theriault, former Senior VP for Journalism and Radio at CPB (2016); and, Patty Cahill, former Chair of the CPB Board (2012).

NPR’s Female Executives

From left to right: Meg Goldthwaite, Stephanie Witte, Anya Grundmann, Loren Mayor, Gemma Hooley, Deborah Cowan, Gina Garrubbo - Not pictured: Marjorie Powell (Photo credit Lauren Zillinger/NPR)

Hooley’s work requires a lot of travel, something she finds of great value in her work:

Hooley: I do get to travel quite a bit, whether it’s to meet with station staff on-site or to attend conferences.  I’m always grateful for the opportunity to spend 1:1 time with station colleagues and to immerse myself in their work. 

The 2019 PRRO Super-Regional Meeting
will be October 15 – 17
at The Jung Hotel in New Orleans

Spark News asked Hooley if there are any downsides of frequent travel, she could only think of one:

Hooley: People on planes who recline their seats all the way with no warning.

Most of all, Hooley is like many people who work in, or listen to, public radio: An inquisitive life-long learner and news hound who is in constant touch with her world. Spark News asked her about her daily media menu:

Hooley: First thing in the morning and throughout the day, I check the usual slew of social media accounts, plus email and Slack.  

I generally use news aggregators to keep tabs on headlines and main stories. I check in on two South African online newspapers for news from home. 

I listen to Morning Edition and All Things Considered on my commute, or on the local station(s) of whichever city I’m visiting. 

In the evening, I’ll scan the daily digest of public-media newsclips that our media relations team compiles, and I’ll go back to longer pieces I’ve saved during the day from NY Times, Washington Post, the New Yorker and a handful of environmental and sports sites. I’m currently trying to switch out my late-night email/social media/TV habit for books.

CURRENT RECOGNIZES ALASKA PUBLIC MEDIA FOR “LOCAL THAT WORKS”

Also at the PRRO Super-Regional Meeting, Current, the publication of record for public media, presented the winner of their annual Local That Works contest to Alaska Public Media (APM).

APM’s entry, Community in Unity, was one of four finalists chosen by a panel of judges from 122 entries in the contest. Attendees at the Super-Regional Meeting voted for the winner from the four finalists.

APM won a $5,000 cash prize. The contest is a partnership between Current and the Public Media Futures Forums. Complete information about the awards and APM’s Community in Unity initiative is available here.

NIELSEN AUDIO SUMMER QUARTER PPM TRENDS: ATLANTA & PHILADELPHIA

Speaking of Atlanta, all four Nielsen subscribing noncom stations in the market saw their estimated weekly listeners drop by double-digit percentages in the 2018 Summer Quester PPM ratings compared with Summer 2017.   

Both NPR News stations in the market – WABE and Georgia Public Broadcastings WRAS – had dropping numbers in both AQH Share and weekly listeners.

Jazz music WCLK also saw a decline in estimated weekly listeners but their AQH Share stayed steady.

In Philly, NPR News/Talk WHYY had a nice gain in AQH Share in a very competitive radio news market. However, WHYY’s estimated weekly listeners dropped 8% when comparing data from Summer 2018 with Summer 2017.

The decline of weekly listeners continues for dual-formated Classical and Jazz WRTI, down 17% in the past year. WRTI’s AQH Share was up a bit, meaning fewer people are listening to WRTI but those who do are listening for longer periods of time.

WXPN’s AQH and weekly cume remained steady over the past year.