A vision of station-driven messaging as the third Lab wraps up
A lot has changed in the four months since we started the third iteration of the Public Radio Incubation Lab. The news and programs of NPR and its Member stations experienced record demand as our nation sought information and comfort in this time of crisis. Yet in our early research, we discovered that young adults who are new to NPR often don’t know they have a local station actively working in their communities.
Geographic locality does matter to our new, young users, no matter how globally digital they are. It’s a form of connection and often has direct impact. This and other research and concept testing over the past few months led the Lab to its final proposal:
Our local-national network is what makes public radio uniquely valuable, but not everyone knows that. We can make it easier for new users to discover our value by creating spaces for station-driven messaging across NPR platforms.
What might this look like? We shared a few examples for new users arriving at NPR.org in our previous post, but that’s just a kernel of an idea that could be applied more broadly as a concept to the entire network. You are welcome to watch our entire presentation for full context, or catch the highlights here in this post.
It’s critical to note that it is not possible to launch an end-to-end example of what we’re envisioning immediately; rather, the portfolio of messages we created would require a significant investment in infrastructure to facilitate sharing information between NPR and Member stations with ease and accuracy. Luckily, we’re already making strides in this area, with editorial newshubs and the integration of a new CMS. It will take a decisive effort to get 100% there, but we can do it, if we do it together.
Some ideas
We started with the idea of station-driven messaging that appears in a relevant, unassuming way on NPR.org. How else could local ties appear?
Email: Welcome series includes local station content and newsletters
Social media: Facebook lead ads to contextually encourage subscriptions
NPR app: Local event alerts and a robust station profile
Podcasts: More experimentation with local podcasts and dynamic insertion
We’re sure you can think of others. If you don’t know where you fit into this or where exactly to start, we’d like you to consider integrating our “Thinking Like a Network” framework into your work.
A practical guide
NPR and its Member stations are equally responsible for improving the consumer’s journey to feel informed and connected. We’ve made a framework that can help guide you when you are starting a new project or refreshing an existing one. Download it here: n.pr/thinkinglikeanetwork
It has two sides. One is for stations, to consider how to reach more people and leverage the NPR brand to engage with their communities more effectively. One is for NPR staff, to remind them of local integration opportunities that will help listeners understand the value of the system. You can look at both to better understand where each group can shine.
Thinking like a network
“Thinking Like A Network” is not about how NPR and Member stations work together, but how they work together to serve audiences. To “think like a network” we must agree our users aren’t only the people we are currently serving, but the audiences we want to reflect in our journalism and programming. As we’ve written throughout, these audiences are younger and more racially and ethnically diverse. To reach that audience, we need to foster the internal culture that enables us to connect with them throughout the entire network.
Like other spaces that drive innovation, the Lab affords a rare opportunity for relatively autonomous, self-directed project development. This Lab has maintained the intention of addressing systemic issues of lacking diversity — but good intentions are not enough when the people researching, ideating and proposing are all white. Diversity must be both centered as a focus and reflected in team composition when any project is meant to address problems within the network. Failing this, we damage the fibers of that network and perpetuate the existing system.
This Lab team recommends that racial and ethnic diversity be considered a prerequisite for any network space that is given a mandate to innovate. We as a group believe that the best solutions addressing questions of network sustainability will come from diverse teams. On that note, we wish the best to all present and future innovators within the network, and look forward to making ourselves available to support your work.
Louisa Conklin contributed to this post
