WWNO’S NEW REGIONAL NEWS DIRECTOR IS PATRICK MADDEN FROM WAMU • NIELSEN RATINGS FOR FULL-TIME NPR NEWS/TALK STATION IN DIARY MARKETS

Patrick Madden

Patrick Madden, an all-purpose reporter who specializes in investigative and political journalism, has been chosen to be the first WWNO/WRKF Regional News Director. Spark News featured the search for leader to build the new news collaboration in November, 2018 [link].

Madden appears to be a wise choice for the challenging opportunity. In November Paul Maassen, General Manager of both WWNO and WRKF, told Spark News he was looking for someone with the vision to make the regional center world class. Maassen wants the collaboration to be a source of regional, national and international reporting.

Madden’s star has risen quickly at WAM started at WAMU in 2006 after working at NBC and C-SPAN in the early 2000’s. Soon Madden’s investigative reporting on political corruption in Washington DC’s City Hall, made him the “go to” specialist on the power and influence beat.

Madden’s 2015 investigative series on police misusing assault charges prompted city lawmakers to change the law. His coverage of pay-to-play at the local level has also forced the D.C. Council to tighten the city’s campaign finance laws.

Madden has frequently partnered with the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University. 

He also has worked with Reveal, the Center For Public Integrity and NPR. 

He has won several Murrow Awards and was awarded the Daniel Schorr Prize, a major honor for public radio journalists

What may have caught Maasen’s attention was Madden’s experience in political and governmental reporting. Louisiana seems to have an endless supply of malfeasance to investigate.

13 FULL-TIME NPR NEWS/TALK STATIONS IN DIARY MARKETS ARE THE TOP RADIO NEWS SOURCE IN THEIR MARKETS

Our analysis of Fall 2016 Nielsen ratings for more than three-dozen full-time NPR News/Talk stations reveals that in many markets the NPR station has a greater AQH share that all local commercial news and talk stations.

The chart on the left shows 25 News/Talk stations that had a 3.0% AQH share or greater in the Fall 2018 ratings. Thirteen of the 25 (52%) performed better than all commercial News/Talk stations in the market.

NPR News/Talk stations were number one in well-known NPR-friendly places like Burlington, Ann Arbor and Eugene.  But NPR News/Talk stations beat all commercial news and talk stations in Anchorage, Roanoke and Grand Rapids.

NPR News/Talk stations also scored the top spot in multiple metro areas. KCLU had the highest AQH share in Oxnard-Ventura and Santa Barbara. Michigan Radio, shown on the chart as WUOM, was the number one News/Talk station in Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor.

Michigan Radio was also the top performer in the number of estimated weekly listeners in Fall 2018, followed Vermont Public Radio News, Maine Public’s news channel and WAMC in Albany.

Overall more stations (64%) had a declining number of weekly listeners in Fall 2016 than Fall 2018. Ten stations (36%) had more estimated weekly listeners in Fall 2018 then they did in Fall 2016. Here are the Nielsen ratings for the top 30 full-time NPR News/Talk stations in Diary markets: