How should public media measure success?

Must we use the same yardsticks created by and for commercial media?

Or do mission-driven media have other "ways and means" to evaluate themselves and assess if they are making enough of a difference?

What does success look like in the saturated, digital, multiplatform world of engagement?

Is sustainability "all that" in our rapidly evolving media environment?

These are some of the questions tossed and tackled by AIR Executive Director Sue Schardt and media researcher Jessica Clark in their new paper: Spreading the Zing:  Re-imagining Public Media through Makers Quest 2.0.

Clark is the Director of the Future of Public Media project at the Center for Social Media, part of the American University School of Communications. Schardt is the creator of MQ2, the CPB-funded project to support producer-led innovation in digital storytelling and social networking. Their groundbreaking report is being released this week.

They write, "There is an opportunity to move beyond established standards of success that have defined public broadcasting productions of the past. These standards, such as listener loyalty, were defined by the limitations of the broadcast technology. The profound evolution of media forms and approaches to craft as demonstrated by projects like MQ2 call for a new vision of who public media users are, what effect multiplatform work has on them, and whether they are being encouraged to learn, debate, and act as informed members of a democracy."  read more »

From time to time, I come across innovative media content that gets under my skin, wows me with its sheer beauty or gravity, its simplicity or complexity. Often, I discover these projects serendipitously. Sometimes, I'm tipped off by other blogs I follow that track inventive storytelling.

Since I'm the kinda gal who likes to share and connect people to new and inspiring ideas, I offer these fascinating ongoing projects to you. Despite digital divides, the internet makes the world a much, much smaller place. Digital media can give us a sense of what it might be like to be a child in India, an elder in Africa or even someone who lives just a few blocks away.

1. The Global Lives Project.  Global Lives is a cross-continental, cross-platform collaboration aimed at building a video library of the human experience online. It started with a grassroots effort to document a day in the life of 10 regular folk around the world who represent the diversity of the world's population by age, race, religion, culture, etc.

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AIR Executive Director Sue Schardt was among the public media leaders invited to participate in today's historic workshop on Public and Noncommercial Media in the Digital Era at the Federal Communications Commission. As part of her presentation, she shared this video about the role of independent producers in driving innovation in public media.

AIR Presents on Future of Public Media before FCC from MQ2 on Vimeo.

Most of us have heard of crowd-sourcing in the news: stories developed through user-generated content, aided by social networks. If journalists can tap into the wisdom of the crowds, can we also tap into their wallets?

Crowd-funding is making a spash in media circles, and some in public radio are giving it a try, with mixed success. Crowd-funding turns the traditional public radio funding model around. instead of waiting for on-air beg-a-thons to invite listener support, the crowd-funding model puts the story pitch out to the public and invites up-front investment to enable the reporting to happen. 

Spot.Us is leading the way in this new media economic experiment. Spot.Us was developed by whiz-kid entrepreneurial journalist David Cohn, made possible with a $340K grant through the highly competitive Knight News Challenge. In a climate where journalism is struggling to survive, Cohn had faith that the public would be willing to directly support investigations that improved their communities. All you had to do was ask. Micropayments could add up to fully-funded reporting. And, if you're concerned about conflict of interest, as all journalists should be, well, contributions are fully transparent. Cohn calls this "community-powered reporting."

Spot.Us - Community Funded Reporting Intro from Digidave on Vimeo.  read more »

This Friday, April 30, 2010, the Federal Communications Commission is hearing from leaders of public media, including our very own Sue Schardt, the Executive Director of the Association of Independents in Radio/AIR.

The FCC wants to know what's on the minds of makers, deciders and funders in public radio and TV as we face the digital transition, and deal with the dramatic changes in how Americans get information. The FCC recognizes that noncommercial broadcasters have a unique role and responsibility for serving communities, and that economic forces and technological changes are creating both challenge and opportunity. FCC Advisor Steven Waldman explained the purpose of the FCC's Future of Media project here:

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It's no Susan Boyle, but I think public media may be on the verge of having a genuine viral hit. ITVS, the source of some of the hippest and most inventive cross-platform storytelling (King Corn, World Without Oil) has launched a new project called FutureStates. It includes awesome interactives, such as this super cool must-experience Predict-o-meter. FutureStates is a series of 11 powerful digital shorts on social issues, one of which (according to the Washington Post) is already on its way to viraldom: Plastic Bag by Ramin Bahrani with German actor/director Werner Hertzog narrating as V.O.G (voice of God).

Be honest: did that short film make you cry? Feel anything? Are you finally ready to sack the plastic bags for good? But, more immediately: how many people are you going to share that link with today?  read more »

Here's an easy riddle: What do you get when you gather up some of the strongest public media programs and networks and ask them to share content on a single platform? Answer: EconomyStory.Org.

The idea behind this effort is that the sum is greater than the parts, that public media can have a deeper impact and reach a broader audience by working together, helping each other. In short: duh! It means tearing down the walls between TV, radio and online, and building bridges of cooperation between institutions that typically compete for slices of CPB and foundation pie. It means cross-platform, cross-pollination, cross-promotion. Check out this new video about Economy Story:

The Economy Story is slated to end April 30: just one week from now. Does that mean the recession is over? I wish.  read more »

I'll never forget my first audio slideshow...it wasn't something I produced, but something I discovered serendipitously online. It was the fall of 2007, and by chance I stumbled upon "Just Words," a series by Baltimore radio host Mark Steiner, which brought out the real voices of the city's working poor: day care workers, ex-convicts, waitresses, etc. The segment I found was an audio slide show, with photos by Eli Lopatin, about a middle school girl who was a victim of gun violence:

It was the first time I experienced how photography could enhance an audio narrative, and vice versa. I’ve always appreciated excellent photojournalism and, of course, compelling radio. But it hadn’t occurred to me that they could work together so well together create something distinct and, in many cases, more powerful than video.  read more »

I hope that when you're finished reading this post, you'll do whatever it takes to get your hands on a copy of Reality Radio: Telling True Stories in Sound. How often does a book come out the celebrates the art of audio? Like, never. My copy, which only arrived last week, is already dog-eared and highlighted in several neon colors.

This well-curated collection of beautifully-crafted essays makes me feel proud to say that I work in the magical universe of public radio. The pieces within detail the backstory of public radio creation; the inspirations, aspirations, perspirations of the masters and makers of meaningful media.  

In this era of bloggarrhea, where intimate details of life are seemingly "broadcast" 140 characters at a time to fans and followers and friends and fauxs, it's an unusual treat to read the thoughtful voices of respected producers who have captured and shared some of the most intense, powerful, memorable stories of humanity with all of us. From Scott Carrier to Maria Martin, Jay Allison to Dmae Roberts, Sandy Tolan to  Jad Abumrad*, these contemporary griots have garnered more awards for their work than they could probably count. But most importantly, they've won ears.   read more »

In his inaugural address, President Barack Obama said that independent public media producers deserve credit for American progress.

Well...he didn't say those exact words, but if you read between these lines, maybe you'll hear what I hear:

"In reaffirming the greatness of our nation we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those that prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."

Certainly, indie pubmedia people, members of AIR, are among the "risk-takers, doers, makers of things," who work without seeking "the pleasures of riches and fame."

The long, rugged path towards prosperity Obama spoke of has no doubt taken a turn for the worse in the face of recession, mortgage crisis, high unemployment, bank bailouts, state budget shortfalls, sky-rocketing personal debt, rising college tuition, shrinking endowments, Bernie Madoff, and the list of fiscal woes goes on and on, as detailed in the public media collaboration the EconomyStory.org.

Last year, Congress passed the American Recovery and Re-investment Act, a.k.a. The Recovery Act. It was (and is) a massive federal investment ($787 Billion) aimed at rebuilding the economy and the country from the bottom up. So, that begs the question: Are you stimulated? Have you been touched by the tentacles of this new deal? 
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