REVIEW: PRPD 2019 SHINES A LIGHT ON 2020 ELECTION COVERAGE

Last Monday (8/ 26) through Thursday (8/29), approximately 370 public media programmers, managers, content creators and news folks gathered at the Marriott City Center in downtown Minneapolis for the annual Public Radio Content Conference. 

By most accounts, attendees said this was one of best conferences in recent years.

We were pleased to be welcomed back to the annual PRPD conference after an absence of five years. 

This was the seventeenth PRPD we have attended dating back to the early 1990s. 

Abby Goldstein

PRPD CEO Abby Goldstein thanked attendees on the group's Facebook page [link]:

“Thank you all for attending this year’s PRPD Content Conference, [particularly] all of our sponsors. A special shout out to APM and MPR for hosting us so brilliantly."

"Minneapolis welcomed us with open arms and classic Midwest hospitality. See you all next year in New Orleans, Sept. 14-17.”

There were a number of outstanding sessions but the one moment that stood out for us happened late Wednesday 8/29 afternoon. The session was Election 2020: Coverage that Matters to our Audience. 

Joshua Johnson (second from right)

A surprise guest joined the panel: Joshua Johnson, the host of 1A, the daily news and interview program produced by WAMU and distributed by NPR. Johnson lit up the room with his vivid descriptions of recent success in news reporting by NPR and stations. To us, the public radio system has never been so unified and motivated as it seemed in this session.

Public radio demonstrated a real sense of purpose about covering the 2020 election. Plans are being prepared for coverage of races from the statehouse to the White House.

The Election 2020 session was kicked into high gear when the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced a $1.9 million dollar grant to KCUR, Kansas City to lead the public radio community’s coverage and engagement. CPB calls the project, Election 2020: Listening to America.

CPB’s support was timely because of the dramatic growth in listening to news on public radio stations and companion digital platforms. Spark News estimates that 30% of NPR News stations in Nielsen rated markets are now the top radio news source in their market. Often NPR News stations are replacing commercial radio news and talk stations that were number one since the days of Marconi. This is a sea change in electronic media usage.

Though news about news programming dominated conference conversations, there were notable cultural and music sessions. One of the best was The Sound of Public Radio Music. 

(l to r) Brian Newhouse, Anne Standley, Nick Spitzer, Mike Henry

Nick Spitzer, host and Executive Producer of American Routes moderated the discussion that included Anne Standley from the noncomMUSIC Alliance; Brian Newhouse, longtime Minnesota Public Radio Classical music manager, host and performer; and an overview of the new Urban Alternative format by consultant Mike Henry from Paragon Media Strategies.

We will be covering many of the PRPD sessions in the coming weeks.

REVIEW OF CONFERENCE BASICS

We attended the PRPD all day on Tuesday (8/27) and Wednesday (8/28) but did not attend the evening events because of our issues with low vision. These are our personal opinions, based on attending past PRPD conferences and other similar media gatherings.

We want to thank new PRPD CEO Abby Goldstein, Jessica Frantz and members of the PRPD Board for their excellent work planning and staging the conference.

• LOCATION

Though the Twin Cities is a popular meeting destination, the hotel – the Marriott City Center – has seen better days. Meeting rooms were often stuffy and/or cold. The acoustics were awful and the site-lines were awkward.  Some of the meeting rooms, such as Ballroom 4, was dreary and appeared to dirty. The food was okay, but not great. The hotel staff was friendly and competent.

• SCHEDULE & SESSIONS

The number and variety of panels and events was good. As usual, some sessions were excellent and a few were forgeable. Given the fact that planning time was limited, the organizers made good choices about panels and panelists.

We were very pleased that the PRPD is moving back to September dates in 2020 when the PRPD will be held September 14 – 17 in New Orleans.

• ATTENDANCE

As in recent years, representatives of some key stations did not attend. We saw no one in attendance from KCRW, KNKX, WFUV, WXPN, KUHF, WWNO, WVXU and KNPR. These stations are all important to the national conversation about the future of public media.

Perhaps the August dates and the cost was the reason some shops did not attend. We hope it was not a mistaken perception of the value and relevance of the conference. In our opinion, the PRPD has never been more important and relevant than now.

• EXHIBITORS

There seemed to be fewer exhibitors than in past years but several major vendors still attended. Perhaps the drop in exhibitors was due to consolidation within public radio industry. For instance there are now fewer independently produced programs in distribution. The August dates may also have been a factor.

• FREEBIES & SWAG

My wife’s comment was “They are so small”

Folks who attended PRPD conferences in the 1990s and early 2000s will recall receiving tote bags packed with freebies, gifts, trinkets and promotional items. 

In 2019 things have changed. On the right is sole freebie in this year’s tote bag.

Though the tote bags this year were almost empty, the bags themselves were very nice.