The Local News Initiative has selected seven target proposals for further development as part of its capacity-building Hubs Initiative. These target Hubs- --intended to bring multiple stations together around a common interest, beat or geographic area--include several multi-state, regional collaborations that focus on issues and ideas of critical importance to public radio listeners. Other target projects will explore and pilot an array of training and professional development activities with the potential for strong regional and national impact.
The seven target projects were selected from among thirty proposals submitted in response to the LNI's first "Call for Hubs Proposals." The LNI will now work with these collaborators to further refine these target Hubs projects, shape them in to funding proposals, and then aggressively seek support to make them a reality. With many thanks to all those who submitted proposals, the following target projects have been identified to advance:
Statehouse Reporting Hub Planning Grant
This project would explore what can be done to support and strengthen the work of public radio statehouse reporters throughout the country. Public stations devote considerable airtime and resources to the coverage of state legislatures and governments, giving this pilot project the potential for high listener service impact. WITF in Harrisburg, PA (which operates a statehouse service) would reach out to those who cover this important beat by designing and conducting a national assessment survey. The survey results would shape meetings of statehouse reporters to further identify tools and strategies that would most effectively strengthen their editorial capacity, research support and connectivity. More > WITF/NPR LNI Statehouse Hub Report > New site: www.statehousehub.org Join the conversation: www.statehousehub.wikispaces.com
Southern Region Editing/Reporting Pilot Project
This proposal would bring southern stations together to pilot the development of training for reporters throughout the region. It would also explore how higher capacity stations might support and/or mentor stations with fewer resources. Other activities in this pilot project would include a region-wide "Train the Editor" workshop, and an editor/editing mentor who would work as the primary editor for one-person newsrooms. The mentor would provide editorial support for News Directors who also work as reporters and hosts at their stations. At the close of the pilot phase, a "lessons learned" workshop would gauge the impact, effectiveness and sustainability of the project. The project's major station partners are WBHM Birmingham, WKNO Memphis and Georgia Public Broadcasting. More > Stations Join Southern Region Pilot > Dale Willman hired >
KNAU Pilot Project: Proposed NPR Producer Residency Program
This project would pilot a possible NPR residency program to work with stations to produce in-depth coverage on issues of particular importance and resonance in their communities. As a partner station in the PRPD/LNI "Sense of Place" research project, KNAU heard listeners in its Flagstaff, AZ focus groups describe life in their community as "Poverty with a View." The phrase captured their love of Flagstaff's natural beauty and the challenge of residing in a town with low-paying jobs and a high cost of living. KNAU has developed a detailed editorial plan for an in-depth series that would explore the many facets of this unique "Sense of Place." All of the steps involved in producing the series would be documented to clearly define the scope of work, to gauge the feasibility of other possible NPR residencies, and to serve as a blueprint for others who wish to develop this type of in-depth local coverage about their communities. More > Poverty with a View >
Minnesota Public Radio Training Hub
MPR's expertise, facilities and Midwest geographic location can potentially serve as a national training center for public radio. In the first step toward developing such a center, MPR will design and host a print-to-radio training workshop for public radio stations actively working to tap the in-depth beat expertise of local print reporters, and for those working to diversify the voices and issues heard on their stations by creating partnerships with ethnic newspapers in their communities. The workshop is seen as a way to encourage and support public radio's efforts to expand local reporting capacity by tapping a talent pool that is both deep and available. More >
Northeast Environmental Reporting Hub
This multi-state northeast environmental bureau would give reporters from New York and the five New England states the opportunity to produce "connect-the-dots" coverage of environmental issues affecting their communities and their region as a whole. Working with a Managing Editor based at WNPR in Hartford, CT, reporters would design, produce, edit and share stories on compelling and timely issues relevant to that region. More >
Northwest Regional Latino Affairs News Project
This project would add bilingual reporting and strengthened editorial capacity to the three-state Northwest Public Affairs Network (NPAN). The project would also support the network's five regional correspondents as they cover the impact of education, employment, labor, and immigration laws on both an underserved Latino community and the region as a whole. NPAN is governed and supported by stations in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, and is a model for how large urban stations and smaller rural stations can benefit by crafting equitable cost-sharing arrangements to finance regional spot news and feature reporting. More >
Southwest Border Bureau
With centralized editing and reporters stationed throughout the Southwest U.S., this Hub would initially focus on immigration with contextual, in-depth reports on region-specific issues and events, and the international forces at play behind them. In addition to coverage on the U.S. side of the border, a Hub reporter based in Mexico City would travel throughout Central and South America to explore the forces that drive so many people to make their journey north. To benefit public radio reporters throughout the country, in its second year the Hub would host training events, featuring presentations by leading institutions and experts on historic and current public policy trends in immigration. Station partners for this Hub include KUT Austin, KJZZ Phoenix and KPBS San Diego. More >
All seven of these target Hubs proposals are being further developed to include a number of recommendations made by the Hubs evaluation panel. Once these proposals are in final form, NPR will work with each target Hub collaborator to pursue major funding appeals to make this portfolio of projects a reality. Longer narrative descriptions for all of these target Hubs projects are available here. LNI Hubs Proposals – Working Narratives >
The evaluation panel for the target Hubs included:
- Dana Davis Rehm, NPR Senior Vice President for Strategy and Partnership
- Peggy Girshman, Managing Editor of NPR's Newsroom of the Future Project
- Betsy Gardella, New Hampshire Public Radio President and CEO
- Wayne Roth, KUOW General Manager
- Connie Walker, WUNC News Director
- Chris Straw, CBC Director of Learning and Development
- Marcia Alvar, LNI's Manager of Station-Based Projects
Planning a possible California Hub
On a parallel track, the California Endowment has provided a grant to the LNI to explore the establishment of a training/production support Hub in California. In March 2007, the LNI convened a meeting at NPR West in Los Angeles where California station management and news staff talked with representatives from USC's Annenberg School of Communications and the University of California at Berkeley about the region's needs and solutions for expanding local news coverage. Key strategies include mini-hubs to serve smaller stations and sharing resources to cover specific issues affecting the majority of Californians. Additional discussions are planned to further shape and refine planning for the California project because additional editorial and production resources are needed to fully leverage a Hub structure.
