BEST NEW THING IN PUBLIC MEDIA: “NEXT” FROM NEW ENGLAND NEWS COLLABORATIVE

I am listening to the debut edition of NEXT, the new weekly regional news magazine and podcast from the New England News Collaborative (NENC) [link].  It is splendid! You can listen to NEXT at [link].

 

NEXT is hosted by WNPR’s John Dankosky, perhaps the best talk and interview strategist, producer and personality in the NPR system.  Dankosky is a master at finding topics and guests that resonate with listeners. He uses a straight-ahead approach and a tightly woven narrative to keep folks listening.

The second segment of the first show – Questioning Yankeedom – provides a summary of the purpose of NEXT and NENC. Here is a portion of the segment description:

Imagine a map of the United States that’s not divided into 50 states — a map where eleven distinct “nations” sprawl for hundreds, maybe thousands of miles, connected not by our current governmental boundaries, but by a common culture. An America envisioned by historian Colin Woodard in his book, American Nations.

The map at right is from Woodward’s book. It shows the regional affinity of folks with common cultures, backgrounds, beliefs and behavior. One such place is Yankeedom, a swath of geography the stretches from Maine to Minnesota. One of the major parts of Yankeedom is New England, where the Yankees first settled and proliferated.

The common weave of New England is focus of NEXT.  Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine are among America's oldest places. All are now experiencing profound change. New England has old rules, customs, and well-worn pathways. NEXT asks and answers questions like In what ways does New England really function as one large state, instead of a collection of tiny colonial outposts?

John Dankosky

NEXT is a weekly one-hour show that originates at WNPR in Hartford. It airs on WNPR’s stations Thursdays at 2pm and Sundays at 6pm; on Vermont Public Radio on Sundays at Noon; and on New Hampshire Public Radio Saturdays at 10pm.

The NENC is one of one several regional collaborations around the country advanced by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in conjunction with PRX, NPR and BBC. The collaborations reflect the wise leadership of former CPB radio executive Bruce Theriault, a person who has served public media well for over three decades.

For more information about NENC and NEXT, contact Executive Editor John Dankosky at (860) 275-7301 or jdankosky@wnpr.org.

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CONFERENCE UPDATE: AIR IS OFFERING NEW VOICES SCHOLARSHIPS TO THIRD COAST FESTIVAL

AIR is encouraging newbies involved with radio and podcasting to apply for scholarships to attend the Third Coast Festival November 11^th – 13^th in Chicago.  The scholarships make available up to $1,500 per person.  Applicants are not required to be AIR members. The deadline is August 29. More information about the AIR Scholarships is at [link].

You can learn more about sessions and fun events planned for Third Coast at [link]. It has been several years since I attended Third Coast but I have enjoyed it in the past. Third Coast is a unique public media gathering.  It is more about the "art" of creating audio than the “commerce” of audio.

Meanwhile, there is still is no word about what is being planned for the Public Radio Programmers conference (“the PRPD”) September 19^th – 22^nd in Phoenix. The PRPD site [link] said the conference overview would be provided by August 1^st, then August 8^th. PRPD is now promising the conference overview by August 12^th.

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MARK RAMSEY ASKS AREN’T YOU TIRED OF PPM, YET?

I recommend two commentaries about Nielsen Audio’s PPM methodology by blogger/consultant Mark Ramsey [link] and journalist/historian Tom Taylor [link].

 

When Ramsey and Taylor talk I listen. They both are both asking: How many PPMs does Nielsen allow in one household? Answer – up to 16. 

NIELSEN PPM METER

Nielsen currently allows an in-tab household to have 13 Portable People Meters (PPM) including nine for people under the age of 17. Ramsey and Taylor say that such a high concentration of meters in one household may skew the results over several “books.” Ramsey comments:

This is one of those shockingly unfair and non-representative elements of PPM that broadcasters overlook far too easily.

Ramsey and Taylor say Nielsen is doing this to cut costs because it is cheaper to install and maintain multiple meters in one location.

TOP 10 MEDIA USAGE CHARTS & GRAPHS

Sometimes a good graphic illustration is the best way to convey complex information in a digestible package.  Other times, like today, it is fine way to fill a blog post with content.  Today’s post is a bit of both. 

I save charts and graphs that seem interesting at the time I saw them but I seldom get a chance to use them in a story.  Today I cleaned my closet of charts and graphs thst I’ve saved recently. I present them for your education and perhaps a laugh or two.

#10 – THE NEXT CONSUMER GENERATION

This slide comes from Holland Cooke’s presentation at the Talker’s Magazine conference a few weeks ago. It compares the size and age composition of US citizens in the Millennial and Baby Boomer generations.

#9 – WEEKLY REACH BY MEDIA DEVICES DISPLAY BY AGE GROUP

Nielsen Audio periodically publishes Comparable Metrics, a study of device and platform usage for the various stuff they measure.  In this slide and the next one you can see that radio is still hanging in there as a frequent media experience.

#8 – AVERAGE DAYS PER WEEK USAGE OF DEVICES

#7 – PERSONS USING RADIO BY TIME PERIOD

I created this chart several years ago for a client who didn’t understand that a program airing on a station on Saturday nights reaches fewer people than it would airing on a weekday a Noon.  They still didn’t believe me.

#6 – SHARE OF EAR

The most recent overview of media usage during an average day from Edison Research’s ongoing Share of Ear study.

#5 – WHY iTunes RADIO IS SUCH A SMART MOVE FOR APPLE

It is all about the Smartphones.

#4 – GOOD OLD RADIO TRUMPS ONLINE SERVICES FOR MUSIC DISCOVERY

#3 – HOW FREQUENTLY PEOPLE LISTENING TO RADIO CHANGE THE STATION

This slide is from a presentation by Westwood One.  I thought people changed stations more frequently based on my own habits.

#2 – NPR PROGRAM MENU FROM 1975

Promotional slide used by NPR in 1975 to woo new stations.

#1 – SMARTPHONES & MILLENNIALS’ SEX LIVES

I used this slide from Coupofy a few weeks ago but I am still amazed by all aspects of this study.  Who are these people and where are the pictures?  Maybe this should be called TSS – Time Spent Screwing.

WDET CHANGES THE GAME IN DETROIT WITH “CULTURE SHIFT”

A very interesting battle is emerging in Detroit. For many years WUOM and WDET have competed head-to-head with news programming.  Now WDET is taking a page from KCRW’s playbook by putting significant blocks of Triple A “music discovery” programming into the mix. The key is WDET’s new daily program Culture Shift, Monday – Friday Noon to 3pm [link].

There are a number of ways two NPR News stations in the same market coexist: In Boston both WBUR and WGBH look for advantages of local and national coverage; In Seattle KPLU’s Jazz programming is a strong contrast with all-news KUOW.  In LA, KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic is a signature show, unlike anything on all-news KPCC. Culture Shift reminds me most of Morning Becomes Eclectic.

Culture Shift hosts Travis Wright and Amanda LeClaire play tunes from a playlist of new and iconic artists with a special emphasis on Detroit’s musical legacy.  The Sample Playlist on the right demonstrates the vibe: Spicy tracks from John Lee Hooker and Jeff Buckley combined with can’t miss oldies from Elvis Costello and The Decemberists. Count me in as a fan!

In addition to great tunes, Wright and LeClaire present short features and interviews with musicians, chefs, poets, filmmakers, visual artists and storytellers  - the people who create and nurture Detroit culture.

Culture Shift presents a multi-platform curated calendar of events.  Wright and LeClaire provide recommendations of the most interesting upcoming events and places in the Detroit metro.  Listeners interact in real-time via Twitter and Instagram.

WDET created a cool YouTube video to introduce Culture Shift and the hosts:

Both WDET and WUOM are doing well.  According to estimates for June 2016 from Nielsen Audio, WUOM had 190.900 weekly cumulative listeners (up 21% from a year earlier), and WDET had 184,200 weekly listeners (up 26% from the previous year).

Ann Delisi

To me, one of the best shows on WDET is Ann Delisi’s Essential Music, heard Sundays from 11am to 2pm [link]. Delisi is an iconic Detroit music host, writer and scene-maker.

PODTRAC DEBUTS NEW PODCAST CHART

Podtrac [link], which claims to be the leading podcast measurement and advertising service, has debuted a new top podcast chart.  Public media//radio appears to be doing very, very well according to Podtrac’s initial chart:

WBUR GAINS NEW WEEKLY LISTENERS ON CAPE COD

Nielsen Audio data via RRC continues to roll in.  Today we have three markets (Cape Cod, Roanoke & Boise) where we compare estimated weekly listeners in Spring 2016 with Spring 2015.

I wish there was data available for Triple A WMVY but apparently they did not subscribe to this “book.”

WVTF’s two stations continue to add listeners in Roanoke and Lynchburg.  WNRN’s Lynchburg repeater WNRS has helped add new listeners.  We will have more about WNRN’s multi-market performance later this week.

The biggest change in Boise is not on this chart.  It is Tom Michael, the new GM of Boise State Radio after building the legendary KRTS in Marfa, Texas.  Best wishes for Tom’s continued success in the Gem City.

Monday-Sunday 6AM-Midnight Persons 12+

These data are provided for use by Nielsen subscribers ONLY,

in accordance with RRC's limited license with Nielsen Inc. Data Copyright Nielsen Inc. Format distinctions are the sole responsibility of Ken Mills Agency, LLC.