Upcoming Webinars
TBA
Previous Webinars
Bey0nd the Broadcast: — August 28, 2024 Does public media play a vital role in the preservation of American democracy — one that differs from its role in the past? That’s the question posed by Paragon in a discussion co-hosted by Current about a new documentary “Join or Die” and its relevance to public media’s mission. The film is a follow-up to Harvard professor Robert Putnam’s groundbreaking 1995 journal article and 2000 book “Bowling Alone,” which documented the decline of civic engagement in the U.S. in the 20th century. This webinar features clips of the film and a provocative conversation with experts outside of public media. The panel discussion includes:
- Rebecca Davis, producer and director of Join or Die
- Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, director of Wayne County (MI) Department of Health and host of the America Dissected podcast
- Carrie Melissa Jones, co-author of Building Brand Communities and a community consultant to major brands
- Mike Henry, founder of Paragon and Seth Resler, Paragon’s Community Building Consultant.
Watch
Press Forward: Opportunities for Local Public Media Organizations — July 10, 2024 As newspapers shutter or shrink across the U.S., communities are thirsty for news that matters, journalism they can trust. Can public media fill that need and if so how to fund it? Press Forward, a $500 million initiative to boost local news may be one place some stations can gain investment for their public service journalism. Cosponsored by Public Media Company, and hosted by PMC CEO Tim Isgitt, this webinar is a frank conversation with a power panel of people leading the Press Forward project:
- Dale Anglin, Director of Press Forward
- Jim Brady, VP for Journalism at Knight Foundation
- Silvia Rivera, Director for Local News at MacArthur Foundation
Watch
Universities + public media + Election 2024 = an amazing opportunity — May 2, 2024 Election 2024 is an incredible opportunity for public media stations to grow audience and provide essential information to your community. If your station hasn’t engaged Gen Z yet, this webinar offered ideas and strategies for tapping a tremendous resource for election coverage: students. Cosponsored by the University Station Alliance and the University of Vermont’s Center for Community News this webinar shared case studies showing how student-led journalism can help your station reach new audiences and approach political coverage in a fresh way. Guests:
- Moderator: Scott Finn, Finn Advising and former CEO, Vermont Public
- Chelsea Nebeker-Naughton, Digital Engagement Manager, America Amplified
- Jenna Dooley, News Director, Northern Public Radio
Innovate With Current: A Live Users’ Guide to Generative AI Tools — Jan. 18, 2024
Seize the day to learn more about the thousands of ways generative artificial intelligence (gAI) is affecting and shaping your public media work, whether you are involved in content creation, editing, social media, fundraising, product development, IT, scheduling, hiring, tracking digital metrics and other areas. Guests:
- Ernesto Aguilar, Executive Director of Radio Programming and Content DEI, KQED
- Mikey Centrella, Director, PBS Digital Innovation Team
- Alex Goldmark, Executive Producer, NPR’s Planet Money and The Indicator
- Lauren Paatela, Game Producer, Nebraska Public Media
- Host: Mike Janssen, Digital Editor, Current
Retaining Employees in Public Media: Why People Are Leaving and How to Reverse the Trend — June 15, 2023
The so-called “Great Resignation” has not spared public media. The system’s total workforce shrank last year, according to CPB data, and recent high-profile departures of NPR hosts, many of them women and people of color, spurred wide-ranging concern about public media’s ability to retain talent and stay competitive. What’s driving people out of the industry, and how can we change our institutions to buck the trend? Watch
Local that Works Grand Finale — Nov. 17, 2022
Watch powerful presentations by the five finalists in the annual Local that Works contest as they compete for the $20,000 Grand Prize. Learn all about these bold initiatives: Great Salt Lake Collaborative, “After the Assault,” by CapRadio, “Minnehistories” from TPT/Twin Cities PBS, “Check Your Judges” from InjusticeWatch and “Vote with Confidence: A Guide from Detroit Documenters,” from Outlier Media. Watch
Becoming a News Go-To: 3 Stations’ Strategies — July 12, 2022
Many public radio stations have been scaling up their news operations, aspiring to fill the gaps left by shrinking legacy newspapers. As they make this move, they are often led by former print journalists. This webinar featured the news chiefs of Colorado Public Radio, KPCC and WLRN discussing the decisions they’ve made to gain greater traction and emerge as vibrant multiplatform news providers in their communities. Guests: Kevin Dale (CPR): Megan Garvey (KPCC) and Terence Shepherd (WLRN). Watch
Exploding the Classical Canon: How to Diversify the Playlist— May 17, 2022
Classical music is dominated by white male composers, conductors and performers. The Recording Inclusivity Initiative strives to change that by opening the radio waves to musicians from underrepresented communities. All Classical Portland’s Recording Inclusivity Initiative was the winner of Current’s 2021 Local that Works contest. In this webinar, All Classical Portland’s Suzanne Nance and Kristina Becker share the how-to of their project and bring us up to date on the movement to make classical music playlists look and sound more like America. Additional guest: Bob Lord of Parma Recordings. Watch
Lessons from a Sustainable Local News Startup – April 19, 2022
How do you sustain digital local journalism beyond the nation’s big cities? Ask Richland Source. Launched nine years ago in America’s rust belt, Richland Source has earned its reputation as one of the strongest local news services rooted in “flyover country.” How did they do it? What’s the secret for growing digital service and revenue in smaller cities and rural areas? In this webinar, Richland Source Publisher Jay Allred and Head of News Product Zac Hiser discuss how they build trust through solutions journalism, and their innovative revenue and audience development strategies. Watch
Leading the Way on DEI – March 30, 2022
Since the killing of George Floyd in 2020, public media organizations have been confronting the lack of diversity, equity and inclusion in their institutions. What progress has been made and what’s working? What are best practices for engaging employees in this work and providing accountability on DEI. Check out Karen Everhart’s conversation with two people leading the charge: Whitney Maddox, DEI Manager at NPR, and Kim Salvaggio, Chief DEI Officer at Rocky Mountain Public Media. Watch
Secrets of Successful Local Podcasts – March 8, 2022
Everybody and their mother has a podcast. The competition for our ears and our time is intense – and growing – as local news media step up to produce podcasts aimed at their communities. What makes a local podcast successful? What works? In this webinar we hear from Emily Means, co-host of KUER’s State Street podcast, Andi McDaniel, Chief Creative Officer for City Cast, and Harry Clark, Chief Revenue Officer at Market Enginuity. Watch
Building Statewide News Ecosystems – February 15, 2022
In the effort to rebuild local journalism, attention is shifting to the importance of “ecosystems” that can act as supportive networks to connect media makers, marshal funding, coordinate news coverage and more. In this Local that Works webinar we hear from two people who have been building state “ecosystems”: Rashad Mahmood, from the New Mexico Local News Fund and Stefanie Murray, from the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Watch
Serving Spanish Speakers: Engaging Latinx communities – Jan. 18, 2022
How are public media stations responding to the needs of Latinx communities? What strategies are local news organizations developing to reach and engage Spanish speakers and bilingual audiences? Watch
Focus on Digital Fundraising — Nov. 18, 2021
Panelists with marketing experience inside and outside of public media discuss how to use social media, email, text messaging, paid digital advertising and analytics to improve donor acquisition and retention. Watch
Pathways to Philanthropy: Funding Local Journalism — Oct. 19, 2021
How much of your organization’s journalism can be funded through philanthropic support from your audience, donors and foundations? What is the role of community listening in crafting a compelling case for funding? Watch
On the Money: Pay Equity in Pubmedia — Sept. 8, 2021
How can you advocate for yourself when it comes to getting a fair salary? What information about public media salaries is available, and how can the system do better? We answer these questions and more. Watch
In This Together: Collaborations & Consolidations — July 21, 2021
Public TV and radio stations in the same city or even within a single university have sometimes seen each other as competitors for the loyalty of local viewers, listeners and members. But as mergers, signal expansions and newsroom collaborations have showed the benefits of coming together, those attitudes are shifting. Watch
Keeping It Local: How the National Trust for Local News aims to sustain community journalism — July 13, 2021
What happens when foundations, venture philanthropists and nonprofit news organizations join forces to prevent another local news desert? Watch
Listening Up: How WFAE made inclusion the North Star of its content strategy — June 8, 2021
WFAE’s open ears, minds and doors approach is proving that a public broadcaster can grow trust, diversity, membership, revenue and produce impactful, award-winning journalism by putting the community first. Watch
The Way We Work Now: Public media’s pandemic pivot and beyond — May 26, 2021
It’s been 14 months since COVID-19 forced stations to send home staff and — at the same time — ramp up service to their communities. Two leaders share how they and their stations adapted in the face of unimaginable challenges. Watch
Democratizing Journalism: News of, by and for the People — May 11, 2021
City Bureau, a digital startup on the South Side of Chicago, has been attracting attention and funding for bringing “journalists and communities together in a collaborative spirit to produce media that is impactful, equitable and responsive to the public.” Watch
Talking Tech Transitions: Engineering New Paths for Public Media — Feb 12, 2021
Learn how public TV stations are preparing for ATSC 3.0, the NextGen TV transmission standard, and how public radio stations are doing with HD Radio. Watch
Building Resilience — The Imperative of Inclusion: Hiring and Retention — Aug. 25, 2020
Doug Mitchell, founder of Next Generation Radio, and Vinnee Tong, managing editor of news at KQED in San Francisco, advise public media managers to be more intentional about hiring and retaining diverse talent.
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Building Resilience — Diversity & Inclusion: The Leadership Level — Aug. 11, 2020
Ronnie Agnew, executive director of Mississippi Public Broadcasting, and Deanna Mackey, director of the Public Television Major Market Group and founder of Public Media Women in Leadership, argue that public media’s efforts to cultivate a diverse workforce need to go beyond training to embrace deeper institutional change.
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Building Resilience — The Imperative of Inclusion, Part Two — July 14, 2020
Matt Martinez, director of content at KNKX in Tacoma, Wash., and Bill Johnson, GM of WRTI in Philadelphia, share how their stations have responded since the killing of George Floyd and their experiences as people of color in an overwhelmingly white public radio system.
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Building Resilience — The Imperative of Inclusion — June 30, 2020
Ju-Don Marshall, chief content officer at WFAE in Charlotte, N.C., and Jordan Lee, PD at Radio Milwaukee, discuss their experiences as people of color in public radio and how their stations are addressing diversity and inclusion.
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Building Resilience — Resilience of Revenue — June 16, 2020
Luke Dennis, GM of WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and DeLinda Mrowka, chief audience officer for KQED in San Francisco, discuss their stations’ revenue strategies and how their thinking has shifted during the pandemic.
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Building Resilience — Connecting Our Community — June 2, 2020
Molly Davis, assistant GM at WFDD in Winston-Salem, N.C., and Kristen Muller, CCO at KPCC in Pasadena, Calif., describe steps they’ve taken in response to COVID-19 that have enabled them to provide information and other assistance to underserved audiences in their communities.
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Building Resilience — Small and Smart Stations Rise to the COVID-19 Crisis — May 20
Sarah Bohannon, news director at North State Public Radio in Chico, Calif., and Tom Michael, GM of Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, discuss how their small newsrooms have produced timely coverage while facing new budgetary challenges.
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Building Resilience — All Hands on Deck: Leading Staff During COVID-19 — May 6, 2020
Debbie Hiott, GM of KUT in Austin, Texas, and Nico Leone, CEO of KERA in Dallas, share details about how they’re managing the coronavirus crisis.
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