Benediction 2.0

Last month's PRPD conference in Atlanta was so much fun for me. The sessions I attended were filled with lots of great information.  It was a lot of new information about radio production I didn't know before. I got to see many old friends. One of them I've known since 1986.  I had an opportunity to meet many new people who I now count as friends.

And getting away from the daily grind and getting to see a new city was a blessing. Indeed it was a great conference but the last session floored me.

The Kitchen Sisters, Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva, brought a special magic to the closing session called Benediction 2.0.  The audience participated by reading actual complaint letters from listeners, there was a real, live high school marching band and it was capped off with fresh pie for everyone in the room. It was the perfect end to a perfect week. Let's go to the videotape -

I'm not sure this closing of the PRPD conference can ever be topped. And I'm really happy to have been there to see it in person.

A New Way Forward

I was recently turned on to a series of exciting new storytelling projects. It's a whole new way to look at public media.

The different projects are referred to as Localore.

Here's a bit from their website...

"AIR's nationwide Localore production accelerates innovation at public radio and TV stations and sinks new taproots into local communities with "full-spectrum" models that blend on-air, screen, and street media. Together, Localore's 10 lead producers—with their stations, interactive storytelling partner Zeega, and a team of more than 230 collaborators—are laying the ground for a more inclusive 21st-century public media."

I got to listen to some of the Localore producers speak at a recent conference and they described an environment where public media R&D can occur, where new tools are used to create new ways of telling stories. I've heard some of these stories on the radio and they blew me away. Sounds awesome.

Here's a link to a shorter 34 minute version on Vimeo

Here's a 1-hour + LONG YouTube video that describes Localore.

GPB Is So Friendly

On the first evening of the recent Public Radio Program Directors (PRPD) conference in Atlanta, Georgia Public Broadcasting held a welcome reception. I estimate about 200 people attended. The food included tasty small desserts, meats and cheeses, breads and a station where they made a gourmet corn salad dish.  The open bar got everyone really loosened up.

It was really fun and a good informal venue to meet new people.  I got to meet the "public broadcasting" famous Rick Steves. There was a great jazz band there laying down a smooth jam.  It's a great gig that gets your band in front of a bunch of radio station programmers!

PDs Make it Better

In September I attended the Public Radio Program Directors Association (PRPD) annual conference. This year it was in Atlanta. No, I'm not a program director. I'm a member of a related organization of radio producers.

If you listen to public radio the PDs make decisions about what and when programs get on the air. They do audience research and analysis to see what programs listeners like and dislike. They help with training to make the on-air hosts better. If you send hate mail or make a phone call they are often on the receiving end of your communication.

To learn more about PRPD and how program directors make radio better visit their website at or read the PRPD Blog.

AIR is Everywhere

For the past year or so I've been wanting to do more radio production. I've been away from it for a number of years so I thought it would be a good idea to get plugged back into the producers community.  Maybe I could meet some people, see what others are working on and learn a few things.

I joined the Association of Independents in Radio or AIR.  What a great resource! There are just over a thousand members spread all over the world. It's a good mix of station-based and independent producers. Probably the best thing about AIR is the mailing list AIRDaily. 

I get a daily digest of all the messages. Producers ask questions, talk about successes, offer technical tips and much more about audio production.

To learn more about AIR visit their website.