AIR & NPR PARTNER ON NEW “STORY/TALENT CURATOR” JOB • INNOVATION & EMERGING NEW TALENT BLOOM IN MILWAUKEE

Assocation of Independents in Radio (AIR) is adding new staff to continue their work expanding and strengthening public media’s talent pipeline. 

An important part of AIR’s mission is bringing together independent producers and public media content providers, particularly NPR and the network of stations it collaborated with through its Localore project.

One of the most interesting new AIR jobs is the Story/Talent Curator position, a joint effort between AIR & NPR. The person who is chosen for this job will be the point-of-connection between NPR and AIR’s rich and diverse talent pool of more than 1,300 independent producers based in 46 states and 30 countries.

Major responsibilities of the Story/Talent Curator include finding new voices and producers who are “diamonds in the rough.” The Curator will work with chosen talent to hone their story ideas and build relationships with editors and others at NPR, people at NPR member stations, other networks, and related organizations.

Sue Schardt

Sue Schardt, CEO of AIR, told Spark News about the need for the Story/Talent Curator:

“This person will act like a talent scout, pro-active and focused on new platforms.  There’s more freedom for how stories are made these days. Demand for our most creative and diverse audio talent is at a highpoint now because there is a lot of competition for our work.

“All of us have to work harder to make sure we keep things interesting in public media if we want to attract and hang on to our best and most creative people.”    

The assignment includes attending meetings at NPR and attending conferences and other gatherings to identify and recruit talent and story pitches. In many ways, the job is similar to liaison role played by Paul Ingles for the past decade.

According to the job description, the Story/Talent Curator will be based at AIR’s headquarters in Dorchester, a suburb of Boston.  The salary is commensurate with experience and skillset of the right candidate.

AIR is also currently searching for a Content Director and an Engagement Strategist. The Content Director is a new senior position with the organization. Complete information for all three gigs is available on the AIR website [link]. 

MORE REASONS TO LOVE LIVING IN MILWAUKEE

Milwaukee is becoming a great public radio city. The creative and business sectors are growing and the area thrives on new ideas. These are good reasons why all four noncommercial stations increased their estimated weekly listeners in Nielsen’s PPM ratings for February 2018 compared to February 2017.

Two of Milwaukee’s top audio shops, NPR News/Talk WUWM and Triple A WYMS, have both announced new initiatives aimed at making life by Lake Michigan even better.

WUWM, a/k/a/ Milwaukee Public Radio, is launching a fully-funded reporting position focused on innovation. 

This new “beat” will assignment will explore innovation in education, the environment, the arts, race/ethnicity and other critical issues.

There is plenty to report on, particularly for an enterprising communicator who wants to establish this approach. 

The Milwaukee area is home to a new Center for Technology Innovation, the Milwaukee Industrial Innovation Center and the Great Lakes Water institute. WUWM is now searching for the right person for this opportunity.

Dave Edwards

Dave Edwards, Director and General Manager of WUWM described the opportunity:

We think this will be a pretty cool job for someone who is inquisitive and likes to work in a newsroom that focuses on long-form reporting rather than spot news. We need someone with a creative spark.

More information is available here.

Meanwhile WYMS, a/k/a 88Nine Radio Milwaukee, has co-created Backline, an initiative designed to help area musicians succeed and promoting the city’s reputation as an emerging music center. The project is sponsored by WYMS and business accelerator gener8tor [link].

The grant will be used to recruit four Milwaukee area musicians or bands for a 12-week session this summer, modeled on gener8tor’s nationally ranked business start-up accelerator. Selected musicians and groups will be eligible to receive grants of $20,000.

Gary Kleinam

Gary Kleinam, Executive Director of 88Nine Radio Milwaukee said in a press release:

 “Our goal is to help Milwaukee become known as one of the country’s most vibrant music cities. This will help our musicians, but also help our companies attract the young employees they need. Our research has shown the two biggest hurdles limiting the success of talented Milwaukee musicians are funding and knowledge of the business side of music. ‘Backline’ directly addresses these needs.”

Musicians and bands of any genre in the Milwaukee area can apply for the accelerator through June 29 at the Backline website [link].