I'm an unabashed fan of DJDeedle, the mixing genius behind the weekly Deedlecast music mix podcast. Like clockwork, every Friday morning, there's a new mix in your iTunes: 40 minutes of mixing and mashing artistry, a collision of 80's pop, current hip-hop, chill, hits, and the regular surprises.
I highly recommend you subscribe, and while you're waiting for the next episode, here's my highly subjective list of the Top Ten Deedlecasts of 2010:
The Range and Maturity of the DJ: These three favorites showcase the eclecticism and vision of DJDeedle. Lots of mashups, musical twists and turns.
Beating Heart - any mix with a credible Yes mashup will get my attention. Takes me back to 1985 - in a good way.
Glitch - extended mashy playfulness with "Murder on the Dance Floor"
Rewind - George Michael's "Flawless" meets Depeche Mode, with some Billy Idol thrown in for good measure.
Music for Airports: The Detroit Metro Test At one mile in length, Concourse A at Detroit Metro Airport is the world's second-longest airport terminal. I spend a lot of time at Metro (about 40 layovers this year), and one of my favorite recreational activities is a fast-paced 2 mile walk from one end of the terminal to the other and back. DJDeedle mixes that pass the Detroit Metro Test have 1) a beat that syncs with my walking speed, and 2) an intense mix, usually "chunky beats" or funk, although not always. This remains my favorite category of DJDeedle mixes and favorite mixes get repeat plays at the airport.
First: goes to a surprise 11th entry, which appeared at the last minute, December 24th. Time Released is probably the longest DJDeedle mix ever, at just over one hour, it's mostly chill/downtempo. I've listened to this mix 4 times in the week since its release and I love it because it's one of the most enjoyable music spaces I've had the pleasure to inhabit for an hour. I'm certainly hard-wired to love chill music, but even if you're not a fan, I dare you to listen and tell me you're not rewarded for the hour you've spent.
Make it part of your weekly listening - SUBSCRIBE!
News has become Entertainment, and most media are riding the wave of the Sensational and the Trivial, on a never-ending quest for more eyes and ears
Turn on your radio or TV and you’ll discover plenty of shouting and chest-beating. You’ll get an earful of extreme opinions, conspiracy theories, and gossip from a herd of paid political pundits, talking heads, and host/demagogues with their lemmings trailing behind. It’s all quite entertaining on some level. There’s nothing quite as exciting as watching a big fight over immigration or Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, right?
But we’ve lost something. We’ve lost the news and we’ve lost most of the space for serious, thoughtful discussions about issues.
A thoughtful conversation about health care reform, for instance, has little to do with slick, prepared talking points, or the pundit who is for it versus the pundit who is against it. When we talk about health care, we’re really talking about what happens when we or our loved ones get sick. We can certainly reduce the discussion to barbs about death panels and socialism, but if you get diagnosed with cancer tomorrow, the first question on your mind will be “Am I properly insured for the costs that lie ahead?” The last thing on your mind: a pundit’s stale talking point. For something that important, we shouldn’t decide what we believe based on a televised shout-fest or a 30-second attack commercial.
A democracy depends on civil discourse in order to function. Many news organizations have provided a platform for superficial give-and-take; but we need a place for the serious discussions that help us understand the issues, the competing opinions and visions, that help us grasp what’s at stake, so we can decide for ourselves how to think, act, and vote.
Public radio is one of those places.
Public radio in Louisville means different things to different people. For some, it’s a spot on the dial for beautiful classical music 24 hours a day. For others, it’s the connection to the vibrant local music scene. But for most of our listeners, it’s a source of news and public affairs that’s sorely missed elsewhere.
Louisville Public Media’s journalism is independent and free of commercial interest: most of the funding for it comes from about 10,000 individuals and families in the Louisville metro, not corporations or the government. In an era when media increasingly divides our community, NPR and WFPL bring people and differing perspectives together. Listeners expect to encounter multiple viewpoints and dissenting opinions, the voices not often heard in local and national matters. The conversation on public radio is respectful, yet challenging of those in authority. Diane Rehm and Terry Gross look for answers, not the ambush.
We think this kind of news and discussion is more important than ever. We’re not the only ones: as many other media enterprises have struggled with smaller audiences and revenues, public radio has its largest audience ever. As Louisville Public Media enters its Fall Membership Drive (October 16-22), listeners will help determine the strength and future of this community resource.
If thoughtful discussion and objective reporting are more important than ever, how will public radio serve Louisville in the year ahead? At WFPL, we’ll increase our local news team with new reporters, and a renewed commitment to cover the issues that matter to our listeners. Our Arts and Humanities initiative, and our regional environmental news service, The Ohio River Radio Consortium, will continue with new vigor. And public radio will remain unmatched in national and international news, with seasoned reporters on the scene, providing context to the day’s news. It’s a grand vision, but it builds on a 60 year tradition of service to the community.
A vibrant democracy requires informed citizens. Our listeners are informed by important news and discussion on public radio every day. Our members make it possible.
We've seen an interesting memo this week - an appeal from Wyoming Public Radio’s Jon Schwartz on behalf of stations faced with the potential of new platforms, but challenged by the lack of a clear strategy or business model to take advantage of the opportunity. Schwartz notes that even the largest stations aren't seeing much use of their online services, and they're certainly not making money from them. He appeals to NPR to help stations place the right bets so they can create online ventures that support themselves.
We at PRPD offer some thoughts - not as a response to Schwartz, per se - but a point of view about the important issues he raises.
The Internet is real. The opportunity for service isn't hype. Millions of public radio listeners are spending many hours every day online, consuming news, engaging with their friends on Facebook, listening to streaming audio and watching video.
Public media certainly has a long way to go, but many entities are already providing models of excellence and we're beginning to see the results. A recent NPR study finds listeners to Weekend Edition feel a much stronger connection to the program because of the opportunities they have to engage with it online. More than a million people follow NPR News on twitter; NPR's iPad app is well-designed and is one of the most downloaded apps for the device; the Public Radio Player has been downloaded more than two-million times; and WBUR has significantly increased the utility and value of its web site as the result of a recent redesign that was relatively inexpensive. In fact, Public Media Metrics reports an increase in online audiences generally, particularly for news station web sites.
This content we're delivering serves people, but doesn't make a profit and doesn't (yet) generate revenue to cover costs. Frankly, some digital efforts don’t cost money, either. But for the purposes of this discussion, let's focus on the stuff that does require money: web site redesign, a full-time staff (of one or more) for online service, and the daily creation and delivery of new and re-purposed content. Ads on the web site offer a new stream of revenue, but it - and other revenue streams - don't cover the full cost of the service.
The response we hear from many seems to imply the following: we can't move forward until it pays for itself. Or we won't increase our service until we have a strategy or we know it’ll break even.
Here's the hard truth: it isn't going to pay for itself - probably for awhile.
Here's another hard truth: since when has that stopped us from making an investment that we felt was important and justified?
Everyone references Jon McTaggart's statement from a couple years ago: that revenue is covering only around 30-40% of the expenses of MPR's online service. So why hasn't he eliminated the service? Why hasn't he cut back to the break-even point? I asked McTaggart, and his response merits a lengthy quote (the emphasis is mine):
We invest in digital platforms for one simple reason, our audience. Our slogan is "It's About the Audience" and that imperative applies to all media we use to serve them. Public media audiences are early adopters of new digital platforms and devices, and they expect to find our content on the screen or the device they favor. The shortest path to irrelevance is to ignore what our audiences are telling us, and our audiences are increasingly using digital media.
Given the piles of misinformation, raw opinion, strident commentary and polarizing personalities that litter the media landscape, public media has a responsibility to be a trusted, centering public service. We have developed that position for more than 40 years through our broadcasts, and we must prove that on our digital platforms.
A side note on the revenue question: McTaggart says, despite increasing its investment in digital, revenues now cover 85% of the expense of the regional MPR service. He adds, "We have not discovered or created a guaranteed digital revenue model. Rather, we are applying the same revenue principles, plans and disciplines to our digital audiences that we have developed with our broadcast audiences."
Prudent investment in digital services is not an option for public radio stations. Our listeners expect it. Increasing that investment thoughtfully over time isn't an option either. Stations need to add digital media to the list of priority activities, like the news department and the local talk show. And then stations need to make sure their budgets are aligned with that priority. Again, Jon McTaggart:
Few innovations immediately pay for themselves, at least not in the earliest stages. The reality for most media companies right now, commercial and public, is the necessity to trade some 'legacy' activities for the new services that are expected to create greater value for audiences. For most public radio stations, and in the current economy, that means stopping some services, even some radio activities, in order to invest in new digital programming.
Every station has different capabilities, and each manager will have to make hard choices, including ending some activities that have a lower priority.
Don't wait for NPR to ride to the rescue with The One True Strategy for local stations on the Internet. CPB, NPR and other entities are developing initiatives to increase local capacity - Local Journalism Centers, Argo, and The Platform among others. These are exciting and hold promise.
Strategies and practices are emerging, but strategies and best practices emerge as a result of doing. It's testing, experimenting and learning. It is risk and innovation and failure. How can you collaborate with other stations to create and gain efficiencies? How might you pool resources and talent? What are low-cost or no-cost ways to engage with your listeners on Facebook, for instance? And really work it, not just dabble. Are there a couple of things you could easily add to your web site that would make it more useful and essential to visitors beyond your broadcast footprint? Do your station’s services matter beyond the immediate horizon?
If you're waiting for a multiple platform strategy to be handed to you, you are in a position of unenviable weakness. If you think the effort is about ‘saving radio’ you are not paying attention to the biggest revolution in media in a few generations.
One is tempted to jump up and down and scream that the sky is falling. Well, the sky is still above and people are still listening, sometimes to the radio and sometimes to audio from anywhere. But do not make the mistake of assuming that our listener habits are static. If you assume that because millions of people listen to us on the radio, you can let multi-platform service slide into the future, you will pay a price: your credibility with your audience.
PRPD is a powerful forum for hashing out how we do better at serving and reaching audiences; how programming is more than shows on the radio. Excellence is more than great news coverage. It includes smart approaches to design, technology, revenue growth, and engagement. "Programming" is about how we touch, serve, and embrace audiences wherever they are.
We have to take bold steps forward if we want to fulfill the promise of serving our audience.
I've had the privilege of serving alongside Ron Hull in a couple of situations, including at the National Endowment for the Arts in 2006. He's one of the pioneers of the second age of public broadcasting and he continually inspires.
Check out this video interview for a little of his story, including a wanderlust that stills carries him all over the planet.
