New Public Media

Hundreds of community radio broadcasters gathered at the National Federation of Community Broadcasters’ annual conference in St. Paul, Minn., last week to exchange ideas and answer some tough questions about the future of radio.

NFCB is an organization that serves hundreds of noncommercial broadcasters across the country, and its makeup is reflective of the diversity of public and community radio, which includes NPR affiliates, college stations, rural low-power broadcasters and large noncommercial stations in major cities. Despite station differences in programming and music, all of these stations share a common mission: to produce media that truly serve local communities.

Community broadcasters face many challenges today – from adapting to technological changes to developing new strategies for connecting with their communities. But at NFCB, it’s clear that the people behind the institutions are passionate and committed to making it happen.

I attended a workshop where experienced leaders discussed what it means to be an “engaged station.” The session was led by the National Center for Media Engagement, an organization funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to help stations better meet community needs. A group brainstorm yielded a range of definitions of engagement, including: broadcasters getting out of the station, being open to suggestions, and having a variety of perspectives. As I listened to their discussion, a theme began to emerge. Engagement is a lot more than counting your listenership. Engagement is about serving the community’s needs, not the station’s.

It’s hard to imagine these conversations happening inside the walls of the major commercial radio conglomerates that dominate the airwaves. For commercial broadcasters, the theme is reversed: Serve the needs of the station first… and feed the bottom line.

This is why public media are so valuable. The result of community radio’s “community first” mission is that these stations have deep connections to the people and institutions in their towns and cities. They have high levels of trust and deep relationships with the people they serve. It is an asset that commercial media have tried to buy, but simply can’t. And despite the many accomplishments of community broadcasters, they are still gathering at events like this one to discuss how they can do even more.

Jerry Brocklehurst from KKCR, a community radio station in Hanalei, Hawaii, cites his station as a model of community engagement. He points to KKCR’s conscious decision to change the way it approached its work, describing the station as a group of people standing in a big circle facing one another. So Jerry asked them to turn around and face out, toward their community.

This 180-degree turn is a useful metaphor. Radio, often conceived of as a one-way medium, has the potential to be interactive. It’s all in how you use it. Take Thousand Kites, an interactive hip-hop radio program that used the airwaves to connect prisoners’ families and fight problems in the criminal justice system.

This use of radio for communication and engagement is nothing short of critical in today’s media landscape. A radio tuner is all it takes to get connected. Unlike the Internet or cell phones, with radio there’s no monthly fee to prevent people from tuning in. And with the commercial void in public service broadcasting, having stations that are actually invested in their community is crucial. “The end of radio? We don’t think so,” reads the NFCB’s website. So long as there are stations like the ones represented at last week’s event, I’m inclined to agree.