PRPD News for Programmers

The Official PRPD Transition

2014-12-31T16:43:00.000-05:00

As I leave the office for the last time as PRPD President, just want to thank you all for 8 great years in that job and over 36 wonderful years in public radio. PRPD is now in the capable hands of Jody Evans... and, of course, the PRPD board.

My own plans are to take a little time to kick back but remain open to selected advising and consulting projects. Hope I'll get to work with some of you in my "semi-retirement".

Happy New Year to all and all the best wishes for a thriving future.

Arthur Cohen

PRPD Office Move in Progress

2014-12-26T15:14:00.002-05:00

As the year end approaches, PRPD files and records are "in the mail" from Hamilton, NY to Asheville, NC - the new World HQ of PRPD. Jody Evans is now on board and officially becomes new PRPD President next week - Thursday, January 1, 2015.

As of January 1, the new PRPD contact info will be:

PRPD
150 Hilliard Ave.
Asheville, NC 28801
(802) 373-7934
info@prpd.org

Nielsen: Milennials DO Listen to Radio

2014-12-11T12:22:00.001-05:00

A new Nielsen report, THE MEN, THE MYTHS, THE LEGENDS: WHY MILLENNIAL “DUDES” MIGHT BE MORE RECEPTIVE TO MARKETING THAN WE THOUGHT reports that:

Millennial men are also heavy music listeners. Eighty-eight percent of all Millennial males in the U.S. listen to radio each week, spending more time than their female counterparts tuned in (11 hours and 42 minutes vs. 10 hours and 46 minutes). They also show greater interest in personalized streaming audio services—think Spotify or Pandora—than other demographics.

Not surprisingly, they are major digital users:

Millennial males spend less time on average each week consuming traditional TV—only 20 hours, compared to 23 hours for Millennial females, 28 hours for Gen X males and 38 hours for Boomer males. However, they make up much of the difference online. This group spends significantly more time per week (2 hours 15 minutes) than any other demographic watching videos on the Internet

Thompson to Atlantic, Wilson to NY Times

2014-12-04T10:58:00.000-05:00

More news about NPR staff (current and former) this week.

Matt Thompson

1) Matt Thompson will be leaving NPR to become Deputy Editor of The Atlantic. Matt was NPR's Director of Vertical Initiatives (and Mischief). Among his many accomplishments, he originated the Code Switch blog. He also led NPR's Project Argo. Earlier this year, Sr. VP of News Margaret Low-Smith left NPR for the Atlantic.

2) Last week the New York Times announced that former NPR EVP and Chief Content Officer Kinsey Wilson will "oversee innovation and strategy" for the organization. He will begin working for the Times in February

Total Radio Cume Up, TSL Down

2014-12-04T10:40:00.000-05:00

Nielsen's latest Total Audience Report, December 2014 shows that radio cume rose year to year for the 3rd quarter. All Access reports:

"...radio's overall number of 2+ users was up to 258,734,000 in Q3 2014 versus 257,420,000 in Q3 2013. TSL, however, was down to 58:53 in Q3 2014 from 60:42 in Q3 2013."

The report, which mostly discusses TV usage, also shows the same trend among African-American and Hispanic listeners.

"According to the report, this fragmentation doesn't apply just to technology; consumers' viewing and listening habits are following suit. The recent proliferation of new devices allows consumers to connect with content anytime and anywhere. TV is affected the most..."

Baldwin's Podcast Returns

2014-12-01T10:52:00.001-05:00

Photo: WNYC/Mary Ellen Matthews

"Here's The Thing", a weekly podcast series hosted by Alec Baldwin has returned. The WNYC produced show posted its first in the latest series last week.

According to All Access, the latest (3rd) season will be released every other Monday. "Guests slated for the new season include JULIANNE MOORE, SARAH JESSICA PARKER, JULIE ANDREWS, and JOHN MCENROE."

Hoban, Abramovitz to Fill PRPD Board Positions

2014-11-14T13:17:00.001-05:00

Matt Abramovitz

Jon Hoban

Two PRPD board positions vacated by recent resignations were filled today by Matt Abramovitz, PD at WQXR, New York and Jon Hoban, Chief Content Officer at KJZZ, Phoenix. They will assume their seats immediately and will serve oout the terms of Dale Spear and Gabe DiMaio. The latter has taken a job outside of public radio and Spear resigned in light of the retirement of WFAE's GM (and former PRPD chair) Roger Sarow.

A complete PRPD Board listing is located at http://www.prpd.org/aboutus/board.aspx

Note: The next PRPD Board Election is coming up soon. Nominations will begin in December.

Greater Public Announces New Board Leadership

2014-11-14T09:54:00.000-05:00

Starting January 1, Paul Jacobs (Jacobs Media) will assume the chair of the Greater Public board of directors. Connie Walker (WUNC) will be secretary and Norm Silverstein (WXXI) will assume the treasurer post.

Sample clocks for fundraising with the new Morning Edition

2014-11-11T12:50:00.002-05:00

Editor note: This is a companion piece to an earlier post about fundraising with the new clocks.

It may be shocking to realize that the new newsmagazine clocks for NPR start on Monday.   While many stations are busy planning their regular schedules with the new clock, it won't be long before you'll have to figure out your fundraising clock with the new format.

Since Morning Edition is the most changed of the clocks, Greater Public's Jay Clayton put together a few sample approaches for how you can pitch during Morning Edition after the clock change.   Both of these examples try to get 20 minutes of pitching an hour spread out into four breaks. You can use these as you create your own fundraising clocks for Morning Edition.

Here are the two examples:

FOR STATIONS THAT DON'T TIME-SHIFT

NPR news 01-04
Station news 04-7:30
NPR A seg    07:30-12
Pitch 1 12-19
Newscast 19-20:30
Station news    20:30-22:50
NPR B seg 22:50-27
Pitch 2    27-33:35
NPR C seg    33:35-41
Pitch 3    41-45:35
NPR D seg 45:35-49:35
Funders 49:35-51
NPR E seg    51-55
Pitch 4 55-01

FOR STATIONS THAT DO TIME SHIFT

NPR news    01-04
Station news 04-06
Pitch 1 06-12
NPR A Seg    12-23:30
Pitch 2 23:30-30
NPR B Seg    30-37:10
Pitch 3    37:10-43
NPR C/D segs    43-54:30
Pitch 4    54:30-01

AIR to Expand Localore Projects

2014-11-05T11:02:00.000-05:00

The Association of Independents in Radio (AIR) has received funding to expand three of its Localore projects - Curious City, iSeeChange and Sonic Trace. The funding will allow producers of those projects (located at Chicago Public Media, KVNF, Paonia and KCRW, LA.)

With the grant from the Wyncote Foundation, AIR has established a "...New Enterprise Fund, a grant distribution that will spread new models and best practices from three Localore productions to stations and producers across the public media system."

Joyce Mac to CPB

2014-11-04T17:26:00.002-05:00

Continuing the changes at NPR, Joyce MacDonald has accepted the position of VP of Journalism at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. According to a note to the NPR Areps from Jarl Mohn:

"In this role, Joyce will be able to amplify what she has done so exceptionally for so many years, advocate for the critically important work of local journalism throughout the system and across all platforms."

MacDonald is also quoted:

“I am very grateful for the unique opportunity NPR has given me to be on the front lines of delivering on our mission to provide high quality national and local public service journalism. I look forward to continuing this important work on behalf of the American public at CPB.”

Joyce worked for many years in NPR station relations and recently spent 2 years as Chief of Staff under Gary Knell. In the past year has been Interim President and CEO for NPM.

According to a CPB release, MacDonald will start at CPB next Monday, Novembber 10.

Jody Evans Named Next PRPD Prez

2014-11-03T16:38:00.000-05:00

The Public Radio Program Directors Association (PRPD) has named Jody Evans its next President and Chief Executive Officer. Evans is currently President and CEO of Western North Carolina Public Radio, Inc., which operates WCQS-FM in Asheville, NC. Evans joined WCQS in 2010 and led a highly successful turnaround effort. In 4 years, Evans eliminated the community licensee’s debt through a successful partnership with the organizations’ Board of Directors and significant community leaders.

Prior to WCQS, Evans has been a national thought leader and successful programmer at Vermont Public Radio and KUT, Austin. Evans was a PRPD Board member from 2005-2009 and has long been a national thought leader in the areas of programming, development and effective public media organizations. She will step into the President and CEO position on January 1, 2015, succeeding Arthur Cohen who is retiring after eight years at the PRPD helm and a decades- long career in public broadcasting.

“We are excited that Jody will bring her passion for mission driven content, forward thinking ideas about our industry, and her inspirational leadership abilities to PRPD,” said Tamar Charney, chair of the PRPD board and Program Director at Michigan Radio. “She is driven by her love of our industry and her excitement about the strong future that is possible for public media. We were impressed by her track record in content creation, fundraising, fiscal management, and working with stakeholders. We look forward to working with her to ensure that PRPD remains a vital force in support of great content across all our platforms.”

PRPD is known for its annual Public Radio Programming Conference, and has evolved into a leadership organization that elevates the role of the program director in each station and throughout the system. Under Evans leadership, PRPD will lead the discussion about the future of content and develop the research needed to move forward in a strategic manner. Evans has expressed great enthusiasm about “the ability to be part of and possibly ignite a national dialogue about what we do and how we are going to move forward.”

Evans has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

Cara Erickson, president of NewCoordinates, LLC partnered with PRPD's Board search committee to conduct this search. NewCoordinates is a boutique retained executive search consultancy specialized in the media, digital media, and information industries.

Car Talk's Tom Magliozzi Dead at 77

2014-11-03T16:00:00.000-05:00

Co-host of the popular program Car Talk program has passed away at the age of 77. Tom Magliozzi had been battling Alzheimer's for some time. Much more at NPR.org.

Clock Tips From NPR

2014-10-29T18:46:00.000-04:00

In advance of the introduction of new broadcast clocks for NPR, here are some tips from NPR:

1. Download and review the new clocks- Clocks are available for all NPR shows at NPRstations.org.
    You'll also find more resources there, including FAQs and sample audio of how ME and ATC
     will sound with the new clocks. Information on that page is valuable to local hosts, engineers,
     traffic coordinators, etc.

2. Subscribe to the new newsmagazine evergreens- New evergreens are coming for all NPR shows.
    For the newsmagazines, there are new Content Depot program subscriptions and you'll need to
    subscribe in order for them to download automatically. For the other NPR programs, you will
    find the new evergreens at their respective general program pages. All evergreens will be in
    place by November 17.

3. Subscribe to the new funding credit feeds- If your station makes use of the NPR-voiced
    funding credits available from Content Depot, you will need to subscribe to the new feeds.
    There are also changes coming to the break names for the newscast credits.

Bannon Named PRPD Secretary

2014-10-28T16:16:00.000-04:00

Chris Bannon of WNYC, New York, has been elected Secretary of the PRPD Board of Directors replacing Gabe DiMaio, who has accepted a position outside of public media. As Secretary, Bannon will now be part of the Executive Committee of the organization. The PRPD Board Development Committee is currently in process toward filling DiMaio’s board position.

Bannon is Vice President of Content Development and Production at WNYC. From 2006 through 2012, he served as Program Director for WNYC AM and FM. During that time, he also led the teams that launched WQXR and New Jersey Public Radio. In addition to leading the development of new content for WNYC's platforms, he oversees The Leonard Lopate Show, Soundcheck, Studio 360, Freakonomics Radio, Here's The Thing, and collaborations with other broadcast partners. Prior to joining WNYC he worked on a variety of national radio shows, including Here and Now, Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know? and A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor.

Gomeshi and CBC Split

2014-10-26T17:34:00.000-04:00

The CBC has fired Jian Gomeshi, host of Q. In an announcement today, the CBC said in an online statement

"The CBC is saddened to announce its relationship with Jian Ghomeshi has come to an end, This decision was not made without serious deliberation and careful consideration. Jian has made an immense contribution to the CBC and we wish him well"

According to the Globe and Mail, Gomeshi will file a $50 million suit when courts open on Monday.

UPDATE: KPCC reports on underlying issues.

1-0/28/14: Jian Gomeshi Facebook post

Adobe & Nielsen to Launch Digital Content Ratings

2014-10-23T10:12:00.001-04:00

In a new partnership, Adobe and Nielsen have announced plans for a Digital Content Ratings system. While initially focused on TV and online video, the announcement states that it will include all kinds of digital content, including audio.

In an article today, Inside Radio reports:

The company’s long-awaited Digital Audio Measurement product will be rolled into the new more comprehensive digital service. “To be clear, Digital Content Ratings is not replacing or changing our Digital Audio Measurement plans,” a Nielsen rep tells Inside Radio. “The new audio service will be a component of the larger, comprehensive product that is Digital Content Ratings.” Incorporating streaming audio, from both broadcasters and pureplay streamers, into an all-encompassing digital ratings service may help elevate the medium in the eyes of the large ad agency holding groups that have already expressed support for Digital Content Ratings, including IPG Mediabrands and Starcom MediaVest Group

Working on fundraising breaks and the new clocks? Greater Public's Jay Clayton has some tips.

2014-10-22T14:40:00.000-04:00

Today's blog post deals with on-air fundraising with the new clocks. Thanks to Greater Public for making this post available to PRPD.

by Jay Clayton

On November 17th NPR will begin using new clocks for Morning Edition, Weekend Edition and All Things Considered, including Weekend All Things Considered. The new clocks will not affect the fundamental strategy behind your on-air fundraising approach. They will require you to rethink where your station decides to run pitch breaks during your drives.

Before I offer specific recommendations about how to get your fundraising breaks into the new clocks, let’s revisit some fundamentals of on-air fundraising that are important considerations when mapping out your breaks.

Converting listeners to donors (and therefore to revenue) through on-air fundraising requires that your listeners hear your message, have time to absorb it and respond to it in large enough numbers to allow your station to achieve its full fundraising potential. In other words, the number and length of your fundraising breaks in any given hour are critical to your station’s fundraising success.

The optimal amount of pitch time is 20 – 22 minutes per hour, broken into four breaks distributed as evenly as possible throughout the hour. This recommendation is based on findings from the Morning Edition Air Check Project conducted by NPR and Greater Public.

Why this amount?

Consider the average weekly time spent listening to Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

Morning Edition:	2 hours 11 minutes*
All Things Considered:	1 hour 25 minutes*
Weekend All Things Considered:	37 minutes*

The typical listener simply doesn’t hear many pitch breaks. And time spent listening doesn’t take into account how much, or how little, a listener pays attention to the breaks. Therefore, it takes many breaks, implemented consistently over time, to reach enough listeners and generate enough response to achieve an optimal outcome.

So, how can you get 20 - 22 minutes per hour of pitching into NPR’s new clocks? When your station is fundraising on-air, NPR relaxes its requirements around content you are required to broadcast. During an on-air fundraiser your station may cover anything except funding credits, which must run within the hour in which they are fed. If your station opts to run any newscast, it must run live.

Here are the new clocks:

· Morning Edition

· All Things Considered

· Weekend All Things Considered

· Weekend Edition Saturday

· Weekend Edition Sunday

Your strategy around pitch breaks will not change substantially. Your breaks should preempt part or all of the A, B, D and E segments depending on each day’s news content and whether or not NPR includes one or multiple stories in each segment.

Preempt as much of each segment as you need to, and as frequently as you need to, in order to get 20 - 22 minutes of pitching into each hour. Keep in mind that you may not be able to pitch as much time as you’d like during each hour, depending on each program’s rundown. Remember to distribute your pitching as evenly as possible throughout the hour. Ideally you’d have about 10 minutes of news content followed by about five minutes of pitching in each quarter hour.

The exception to this approach is Weekend All Things Considered. Here you’d run breaks in the A and B segments and then run two breaks in the D segment, one at the start of the segment and one at the end. Between these two breaks you’d run a story from the D segment or one from earlier in the hour.

While the new clocks may take a bit of getting used to, the fundamentals of on-air fundraising remain the same. Join me for my upcoming webinar on this topic, and if you have specific questions please contact me directly. I’ll be happy to help.

JAY CLAYTON is an Individual Giving Advisor for Greater Public.

NPR offers details on November 17th clock changes

2014-10-21T13:07:00.000-04:00

Throughout October, PRPD's blog will be offering posts about the upcoming clock changes to the NPR newsmagazines. Today's piece is a summary of a recent clock webinar by NPR. This was initially published on NPR's ENGAGE blog.

By Brendan Banaszak

The NPR clock changes are now just weeks away. On November 17th, the NPR Newsmagazines and other NPR produced and acquired shows will implement their respective new clocks. However, there are four exemptions to this: Here & Now, Fresh Air, Fresh Air Weekend, and Only a Game will NOT implement new clocks on November 17th. The new clocks for those programs will undergo a collaborative review with stations before the new clocks are implemented. That process will begin after November 17th, with an expectation that the clocks to go into effect in the New Year.

Since the PRPD conference some changes have been made to the Newsmagazine clocks and to the business rules around using the clocks.

In Weekend Edition Saturday, Weekend Edition Sunday, and Weekend All Things Considered the produced promos have been added back to the show.

Changes have also been made to the rules around how much national content a station may cover over and which Newscasts are must carry. Previously NPR proposed rules stated that a station can cover 11:30 worth of segment time in ME, and 12:25 in ATC. Also proposed, stations must carry Newscast 1,3, and 4 in ME, and 1 and 3 in ATC. Initially NPR required a waiver if a station was going to program outside of these parameters. Now, if you plan to regularly cover more time in either ME or ATC or cover those newscasts on a regular basis NPR asks that you contact your station representative and have a ‘good faith conversation’ about your programming decisions. NPR wants to produce a show that is the best it can be and knowing how stations are programming the shows helps achieve that. Please remember that for breaking news and fund drive stations may cover over whatever content is necessary. The only items that are required to be carried are the national funding credits.

While the clocks are changing on November 17th, there are NO changes coming to the ContentDepot subscriptions for the programs. For the newsmagazines and other NPR produced and distributed shows the subscription information all stays the same. However, there will be changes to the underwriting feeds and the newsmagazine evergreen subscriptions.

The naming conventions for some of the NPR funding credits and their respective cut IDs are changing. There will also be changes coming for stations who automate the ingestion of the Newscast funding credit text. More information about the changes can be found here.

There are also new Evergreens on the way for the newsmagazines and the other NPR produced shows. All the Evergreens will be in place before the November 17th implementation. For the newsmagazines, this will require new subscriptions for the programs. For the other shows the evergreens will continue to be available through the general show page.

BRENDAN BANASZAK is a producer at NPR.

Handling newscasts and breaks with the new clocks. MEGS trainer Tanya Ott offers some ideas.

2014-10-17T15:59:00.000-04:00

By Tanya Ott

Now that we know what NPR is doing with its newscasts in the New World Order, we have to figure out how we handle ours.

Each station is different – different size, different resources, different news philosophy. So every station will have its own way of handling news in the new clocks. In our “Clocks… Clocks… Clocks” presentation at the PRPD conference, Michigan Radio PD Tamar Charney, MEGS founder Scott Williams and I suggested the following structure for Morning Edition, which has much more dramatic changes than All Things Considered.

Morning Edition

1:00 – 4:00 NPR Newscast

4:00 – 7:30 Station Newscast

18:00 – 19:00 Forward promote, followed by other station “business” including program vertical or horizontal promotion and underwriting (see tips on stacking here)

19:00 – 20:30 NPR Headlines

20:30 – 22:00 Station Headlines and weather

41:00 – 42:00 Forward promote, station business

42:00 – 43:30 NPR Headlines

43:30 – 45:00 Station Headlines with weather

45:35 – 49:35 Feature

59:00 - :00 Forward promote, station business, and legal ID

The top of the hour newscast is very straightforward. Stations with more journalists can easily fill the 3+ minute station newscast. Stations with fewer journalists, or those stepping back from spot news for strategic reasons, can scale commit to fill 6:00 – 7:30 with local news. (But remember, MEGS suggests not calling it “local” on the air. Many listeners equate that with local commercial TV news.)

The 20:30 and 43:30 breaks are also fairly straightforward. Stations can take the full 1:30 for newscast (we suggest following NPR’s lead). For stations who can’t or don’t want to fill a full 1:30, the most recent clock revision provides for an imbedded promo for the first 30-seconds of that break. Keep in mind, though, that it could sound odd to go from an NPR newscast, to a promo, and then back to station headlines. You might consider doing your newscast for the first minute, then playing the program promo yourself for the last 30-seconds for a smoother flow.

By far, the trickiest break in the new Morning Edition clock is the bottom of the hour. There’s a 3:30 hole.

Do you keep the return or dump it?

Do you do a station newscast or headlines?

Do you put a SuperSpot in that space?

How do you fit “station business” around any news content you might choose to include?

Even stations that started planning their clocks months ago are struggling with that break and continue to make tweaks. If you haven’t heard them yet, check out the early audio samples prepared by Michigan Radio. And props to NPR for a visually cool player!

One final thought: When we presented our PRPD session, I was asked how to do an effective newscast in less than 2 minutes. My response? “There’s a lot of fat on the bones of current newscasts. Use these clocks as a training tool to tighten up your writing of your staff.”

My comment elicited some gasps, some nods, and several tweets. But I stand by it. Next week I’ll share some tips for embracing (and employing!) the mantra I learned from WBHM Program Director Michael Krall: “Fewest, Most Powerful Words.”

TANYA OTT is the Vice President of Radio for Georgia Public Broadcasting and a consultant and trainer with the Morning Edition Grad School (MEGS).

Newscasts and the NPR clocks: MEGS trainer Tanya Ott gets the scoop

2014-10-15T16:09:00.000-04:00

PRPD continues its series of blog posts about the new clocks for Morning Edition and All Things Considered. In this edition, Tanya Ott talks offers the first of two posts about newscasts.

by Tanya Ott

NPR’s new newsmagazine clocks will go into effect in just four weeks and programmers across the country are scrambling to wrap their heads around how to best serve listeners in the new world order. You can bet your news departments – from News Director down to morning host – are equally, um, nervous.

Where should we put our newscasts? Should they be traditional newscasts or super spots? How often should we repeat stories? How will we fill the time (for newsrooms who’ve back away from spot news) or find the time (for newsrooms with a robust commitment to day-of reporting)?

One guide is how NPR plans to approach its part of the equation. I chatted with NPR’s Newscast Unit Executive Producer Robert Garcia about how his team is handling the move to three newscasts an hour in Morning Edition and he offered these insights:

The top of the hour newscast will be a traditional mix of readers, cut & copy, voicers and wraps; but the :19 and :42 newscasts will not be using traditional reporter “spots.” Instead, NPR will be using newsmaker soundbites and excerpts from debriefs with staff reporters and, hopefully, member station reporters. (Note: when station and freelance reporters file an NPR spot they’ll be asked to do a brief Q&A too. I asked Robert if they’d be paid extra for that Q&A – which could, conceivably, result in multiple stories for NPR – and he said that wasn’t his department. Disclaimer: I haven’t followed up with NPR, but would still love to know the answer. AIR?

NPR expects to be able to fit four or five stories into each 90-second newscast, with two to three pieces of sound on average.

NPR recognizes that listeners may well be hearing both newscasts since they’re roughly 20 minutes apart. To cut down on repetition they’re going to vary the stories as much as possible. But some days the “lead” story is THE “lead” story and will have to appear in several newscasts in a row. In those instances, NPR will work to vary the writing and angle on each version, then follow it up with different “B” and “C” stories.

The most obvious place to insert your local newscasts is adjacent to the NPR newscasts (4:00, 20:30, and 43:30 in Morning Edition and the usual 4:00 and 34:00 in All Things Considered.) What should you place in those spots? We’ll tackle that in the next blog post. Stay tuned. (How’s that for a forward promote?)

TANYA OTT is the Vice President of Radio at Georgia Public Broadcasting and a trainer and consultant for the Morning Edition Grad School (MEGS).

MEGS Trainer Scott Williams Offers Tips on the New Clocks

2014-10-14T16:54:00.002-04:00

                                     Consider These Tips as you Prepare for November 17th

Programmers at stations across the country are working through new plans for Morning Edition and All Things Considered breaks as the deadline approaches for the clock change in November.
As you consider the new clocks, MEGS trainer and veteran programmer Scott Williams has some tips to consider about promotion and underwriting.

Promotion During Morning Edition-

When planning your breaks for Morning Edition, give the highest priority to forward, vertical and horizontal promos.   If you have more than one promo in a break, be sure they are in chronological order to make it easier for the listener. If you have limited vertical promotion opportunities, give highest priority to what is on after Morning Edition and prioritize promotion of today’s All Things Considered.

Local Underwriting during Morning Edition-

When planning where to place local underwriting in Morning Edition, avoid stacking the credits. Listeners have clearly said that they can tolerate two underwriting announcements in a row but after that you are in danger of losing them.    Also, try not to begin a break with local underwriting as I have yet to meet a listener who specifically tunes in for this content. Whenever possible, begin breaks with your positioning and local content that is important to the listener. Note that the hour no longer ends with national underwriting credits.

PRPD will offer more clock tips through the PRPD blog in the coming weeks.

Knight Names VP Journalism

2014-10-08T09:54:00.002-04:00

Award winning NY Times journalist Jennifer Preston will be joining the Knight Foundation at VP of Journalism. Preston has 30 years of experience in newsrooms and senior management and in 2009 was named the Times' first social media editor. The announcement on Knight's site states:

The move completes a reorganization designed to boost Knight Foundation’s ability to help accelerate digital innovation at news organizations and journalism schools, while accelerating the pace of experimentation that drives that innovation.

Preston will begin in her new position on October 20.

Leadership Reorg at NPR

2014-10-06T11:57:00.000-04:00

Mayer new NPR COO

Wilson out at NPR

In a message to their areps NPR announced a major reorganization of its top leadership. Loren Mayer
will now be NPR's Chief Operating Officer. She was formerly Senior Vice President of Strategy.

Leaving NPR will be Kinsey Wilson, Executive VP and Chief Content Officer. His last day will be Friday.

With these two major changes come reshuffling of reporting lines that are detailed in the memo:

"...areas that will report up to Loren are: Corporate Strategy, Digital Media, Digital Services, Diversity, Engineering/IT, Human Resources, Member Partnership, and Policy and Representation. "

When appointed, the new SVP of News will report to the CEO (Jarl Mohn). Chris Turpin will remain in that role until the hiring is complete. Other changes:

"Anya Grundmann, Director and Executive Producer of NPR Music, will report to the SVP of News, and Sarah Lumbard, VP of Content Strategy and Operations, Zach Brand, VP of Digital Media, and Bob Kempf, VP of Digital Services, will report to Loren. Eric Nuzum, VP of Programming, will report to Chief Marketing Officer Emma Carrasco, whose portfolio will expand to include audience development and the alignment of promotion and marketing across all platforms. All news-focused programming will eventually shift to the SVP of News, while non-news programs will continue to be led by Eric."

Webinars Scheduled Re: NPR Clock Changes

2014-09-29T13:36:00.000-04:00

With changes to the NPR news magazine clocks set to begin on November 17, PRPD and other organizations will be holding webinars to aid stations in planning the transition. Tomorrow (9/30) PRNDI is offering the webinar outlined below

Next week, Tuesday 10/7, PRPD will offer the first of three webinars, this one with Scott Williams and friends reviewing material form the recent PRPD conference session. More details on that soon - watch your email for an invitation.

Are you scratching your head over the new NPR clocks, trying to figure out how to fit your local programming into the new segments? Well, we all are. That’s why PRNDI is bringing you a webinar that looks at what other stations are doing, Tuesday Sept. 30 at 3:00 p.m. EST.We’ll hear from programmers and news directors at large, medium and small stations on how they will use the new clocks to meet their local programming needs.
Join WBUR’s Sam Fleming, WJCT’s Karen Feagins, and WRKF’s Amy Jeffries as they go over what they’re adding, subtracting or re-jiggering to fit local into Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

Sign up for the webinar here: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/157528062