Collaboration is key to healthy public radio - Part 3

An interview series with station leaders

Part 3: Todd Callahan, Director of Technology, KUT/KUTX

(Miss parts 1 or two? Read them.)

…  the spirit of cooperation and collaboration … exists in public radio. Imagine 24 or so commercial stations (owned by different companies) pooling their research in an effort to make a greater contribution to their medium, not worried about any issues that might arise from sharing proprietary data with others … it could only happen in public radio. (Fred Jacobs)

This may be an obvious point, but it bears repeating: the world should be really thankful for public media. Setting aside the equally-essential national version for a second, local public radio, in its relative freedom to program without being beholden to larger corporate or commercial interests, maintain ties to local communities, and more, is a unique gift to listeners. 

Personally, I appreciate that gift constantly. Sure, almost anything is available on-demand now. But there’s something different about, say, driving in your car and having some gem of a song (that would never get airplay on modern commercial radio) just come on, almost magically. In my world, when a track from Aimee Mann’s brilliant, first solo record suddenly plays, I'm undoubtedly listening to WFUV. Or when Bill Evans’ “Minority” is suddenly and perfectly soundtracking a walk around the city, that’s definitely compliments of WBGO. 

But, just as obviously, that same independence that gives local public radio its magic also presents challenges. More competition for the world’s attention than ever (from the biggest digital audio services, streaming TV… not to mention big commercial radio), less institutional support for small stations, and more, have all fed a general decline in local radio listening since 2018 (source). 

Some of the challenges are equally about the way local stations operate – sometimes almost too independently. There is a scrappy, “go it alone” spirit that’s admirable and powerful. But, as Billy Bragg exclaimed in “There is Power in a Union'' (though he was talking about a literal union), collaboration can be even more powerful. Stations working together is fundamental to the future growth of public radio.

We asked some public radio leaders to weigh in on this and more. Next up, KUT/KUTX Director of Technology, Todd Callahan.

SK: What's most surprising about what you’re seeing in public radio right now?

Todd Callahan (KUT/KUTX):  Genuine and broad collaboration between regional stations. KUT News is a founding partner in The Texas Newsroom (TTN) consortium which represents dozens of stations across Texas. CapRadio in California and the New England News Collaborative have a similar purpose--sharing reporting and information regionally for the public radio audiences. The Texas Newsroom has editors and producers that coordinate daily news efforts so we're complementary and not competitive. TTN recently had an election night coverage meeting addressing how we're all going to provide local and statewide race information. Stations like Marfa Public Radio are participating and are bolstered by the reporting shared into the collective newsroom.

It's not all about newsroom cooperation either. Our music station, KUTX, provides videos of live music performances into NPR Music's Live Sessions website. More than a dozen stations from across the country help curate the performances and webcasts that public radio music lovers can watch and discover. KUTX also works with several of these stations during the SXSW Conference in Austin each spring to pull off the Public Media Day Stage highlighting emerging artists and giving them nationwide airplay.    

SK: What are some ways you’re bridging the awareness gap?

TC: We are hosting and participating in a lot of in-person events in ways that weave us into our community. Seven times a year we put on family-oriented music at Rock the Park. Well more than 1,000 people attend each show, some of our sponsors get exposure, our hosts emcee and we meet a lot of our listeners in person. We've also started an ambassador program where some of our P1 listeners represent us and engage with their circles, both online and IRL. Additionally, several on-air staffers and the development team do meet ups at different coffee shops, host newsy Q&A sessions at venues and we've also started a local running group. Around our fund drives we get a bit cheeky with our reels and digital. So much of it is about expanding and solidifying our community connections to nudge people further into our funnel and to welcome folks that might not know who we really are.

SK: What's an example of collective action that can help public stations?

TC:  Our music station consistently contributes in conferences and isn't afraid to try new partnerships. KUTX joins other non-comm stations on panels, sharing ideas and results from things they've tried. Once a month there's a broad call with the Live Session and VuHaus group. We've said, "We're in!" on an I-35 holiday road show series. From Austin, Texas up I-35 to Minneapolis, there are several stations that will be promoting bands that will be touring that stretch of the road. 

In a similar way, our newsroom partners with other local and niche news organizations to share content with our audiences. These types of collaborations can prevent duplicative work and actually provide the community with more news, not just the same story written differently.

SK: How much are you using data to help in your decision making?

TC:  KUT in Austin and KERA in Dallas share a full-time Audience Insights Analyst. While this is internally focused, we can act collaboratively on what the data is telling us. Each station receives a weekly summary of the “top 10” news stories on our sites, and it’s not just numbers. Our analyst gives it context -- ties in how social tactics boosted these stories and provides both comparable content and historical traffic information. With this shared resource we can even do some A/B testing in different markets in our newsletters and social approaches. We have an open exchange of ideas and analysis with the other stations in the Texas Newsroom when it comes to ratings and statewide sponsorship opportunities. We're also using data to hone our funnel onboarding approaches. Frequency of touches, methods of communication and level of support asks are now more based on data than gut instinct.

SK: Is that a common perception among local stations? 

TC:  I think it's becoming more common. We're fortunate to be a mid+ sized station and have the resources to leverage and analyze much of the data that we gather. And the agility to act on it in different ways. Many in smaller markets are reliant on NPR and efforts like Edison's to share what they've collected, digested and recommended. Regardless of where you are, really listening and responding to the direct feedback given to you over social media, calls and emails is vital, even if you don't agree.

SK: Can a collaborative approach help here?

TC:  For sure. Many stations are leaning into this approach, mostly regionally, but given the commonalities of the industry, there's no reason to go it alone. As for data, NPR's made some improvements to their Looker-based analytics dashboard as well as the weekly content and streaming digest they send to participating affiliates. It's a great start and certainly helpful to stations that don't have the resources to do this work. If there's a shortcoming, it's lacking good context from across the network and suggested approaches on how to leverage this information. Unfortunately, there's no easy answer to engagement and turning a listener into a member, but through collaboration and the sharing of ideas and efforts, successful or not, it’s a step in the right direction. 

SK: Funding is obviously a major issue in public media. Is there a collective strategy that helps ensure stations are consistently generating enough revenue five years from now?

TC:  Not necessarily a collective strategy, but one that many stations could apply to help diversify their revenue streams is expanding their sponsorship opportunities directly into the community. As mentioned, KUTX hosts several music events, like Rock the Park. Initially it was just a free family-centered concert at a park. Now we have several booths and tents for partnered sponsors to engage directly with the attendees. We did a similar thing for KUT’s ATXplained podcast which is about answering very local questions about Austin. We turned this into a semi-annual live storytelling performance with an expo for the audience prior to the show. In other words, we’re physically in the community with our sponsors and not just mentioning their support in the on-air promos. 

Leveraging local media partnerships has as much potential to save money as it does to generate some. Not every newsroom in a community needs to cover every beat. Partnering with small and independent journalism entities can provide stations with more local content that you don’t pay for through staffing. Does every newsroom have to have an education reporter or can you share those resources and content? There’s seemingly a finite amount of philanthropic dollars out there. Asking donors to support a collaborative news effort could be more broadly beneficial to the community, and your station, than them choosing one entity over another, potentially leaving you with nothing.