SPONSORED
By: Susannah Winslow
Public media is at a critical and challenging juncture. We are facing a media landscape that is evolving at such a breakneck speed it can be difficult to keep up. While a handful of public media organizations are still experiencing growth, CDP is committed to replicating their success across the entire system.
With serious and realistic threats to our funding, public media must be more agile. We must face and respond to the rapid, unpredictable changes in the media which are upending longstanding strategies and the ability for public media organizations to reach their fundraising goals. There can be no doubt that public media must adapt and innovate to ensure our individual and collective sustainability.
That’s where CDP comes in.
CDP has an internal task force that is focused on understanding and addressing the needs of public media organizations in the immediate, mid-term, and long-term. We’re working collaboratively across the public media community with groups like Greater Public, Public Media Company, Station Resource Group (SRG), America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) and others to help tackle these challenges head-on together.
Local matters more than ever
The importance of your public media organization’s local efforts cannot be overstated. For many businesses, being “local” is a critical part of their brand identity. Whether you’re a hometown bakery known for fresh croissants or an independent retailer offering personalized service, local loyalty can be a differentiator that large national organizations can’t easily replicate. This emphasis on local connection is not just a sentiment—it’s supported by data.
Over half (54%) of U.S. consumers say they prefer to buy from local stores than national chains whenever possible, according to a 2019 Forbes study. Additionally, local word-of-mouth recommendations remain powerful, with a study by BrightLocal finding that 77% of consumers regularly read local business reviews before spending money.
While none of us can control the debate in Washington about CPB’s appropriation, we can influence conversations and raise awareness with our local audiences and the communities we serve. The importance of your local public service mission and its essential impact on your community is crucial to any discussion around state or federal funding. Now is the time to lean into your local efforts and leverage your solid reputation for continued community support and growth.
Effective messaging and encouraging advocacy
The most effective place to start is with messaging that emphasizes your organization’s inherent value and highlights your critical mission and impact in the community. Clearly communicating the challenges faced by public media and your organization, while reinforcing your values and commitment to the community, can help build trust and investment from your audience. We’ve put together some sample messaging to support organizations with a versatile framework for sharing the significance and impact of federal and funding of local public media.
Activating constituent involvement is also imperative to amplify the importance of public media during this time. Consider promoting Protect My Public Media. Engage your board of directors and community advisory boards, or other local advocacy groups, to organize a campaign inviting viewers and listeners to do whatever they can to make a difference: Spread the message on social media, urge friends and colleagues to join the campaign and record audio and video testimonials about why they love your organization and what they would lose if it disappeared.
Rocky Mountain Public Media created a webpage to share information on how Coloradans invest in their organization’s vital work through taxpayer dollars and how that money makes a difference across the state. Friends of South Dakota Public Broadcasting (SDPB) is sending a personalized video through Gratavid to anyone who donates, thanking them and encouraging them to join the Legislative Action Committee to support SDPB’s state funding. What is your station doing to communicate your unique and irreplaceable value to listeners, viewers and readers? Please share in the comments below so we can spark a vital, transparent conversation.
Engaging your community through Public Media Giving Days
Giving Day(s), or Day(s) of Giving, are focused 24–48-hour mini-campaigns designed to rally support and unlock new friends around your mission. Giving Days are a powerful tool to illuminate local community members coming together to sustain a mission they love.
Public Media Giving Days (PMGD) is an annual national giving campaign specific to raising awareness and financial support for public media in local communities. PMGD started as an idea at CDP, and it’s been inspiring to see this fundraising initiative come to life in partnership with Greater Public, NPR, PBS, American Public Television and local public media organizations across the country. PMGD’s ability to increase awareness around the importance of public media will be more vital than ever this year. Save the date, set a goal, and start planning for this year’s coordinated campaign: May 1-2. And start messaging your audience(s) in late April to get the ball rolling.
With the potential funding threats, adaptable messaging will be essential which is why the PMGD station toolkit is designed so you can modify and tailor assets to your specific market needs. Campaign messaging covers all public media, including radio, TV, music, news, education, and community outreach, highlighting everything that #PublicMediaGives to local communities. Resources for fans and donors to share their love for public media will be available at publicmediagivingdays.com on April 2, 2025. And the PMGD Slack channel is open to anyone to join and is a great platform to ask questions and share ideas with other public media organizations.
A resource for public media
CDP works collaboratively on behalf of more than 200 public media organizations and 50 Member Service Bureau (MSB) Co-op partners. We believe in the inherent strength of our Co-op model to act quickly and deploy messaging efforts at scale to support our MSB organizations during this critical time. And for any public media organization we stand ready to be a resource for you too.
By joining forces throughout the public media community, we’ve gathered a number of helpful resources that can help you convey the imperative value of public media during these uncertain times. If you’re looking for help, reach out. We’re here to provide guidance, thought leadership and innovative solutions that ensure the future sustainability and growth of public media.
