The goal of the Local News Initiative is to foster new and collaborative thinking in public radio about ways to provide sustainable local news service to our communities. "Hubs" are one of the organizing frameworks through which the LNI hopes to accomplish this transformation.
A Hub brings multiple stations together around a common interest, beat, geographic region, or concern to more effectively and efficiently use resources. A Hub can be physical or virtual. This "Call for Hubs Proposals" is open to stations, organizations, and individuals throughout the public radio community. We are looking for innovative ideas that bring stations together to strengthen locally produced news and/or news programming. Up to five of these ideas will be selected as candidates for piloting.
The ProcessThe proposals will be shared with an evaluation panel (see below). In addition to members of the LNI team, we will engage others with media-related experience and expertise outside of public radio to participate in the evaluation process.
Proposals selected for piloting will be further refined and shaped. Major funding appeals will then be developed and pursued by the LNI to make them a reality.
We'll be looking for support from a variety of sources. We'll also ask you for suggestions about potential funders - those you know and/or feel could have an interest in supporting your Hub idea.
What are some examples of what a Hub might look like?A Hub might have participating stations organized around a variety of affinities such as:
- Regional interests/geographic region
- Newsroom size (particularly smaller newsrooms lacking editorial oversight)
- Local "stand-alone" daily news/talk programs
- Editorial beats
These groups would share resources as well as contribute to news-sharing and sharing of best practices. A Hub could include new positions for editors and producers. The primary focus of the Hubs and the extra staff would be to generate local programming for stations, and only as an ancillary and occasional benefit, material for national programming.
Hubs might incorporate these editing, production and/or training components:
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A supervising editor with both managerial and production skills who runs the Hub and works with
stations on a day-to-day basis.
- Assumes a mentoring role for participating News Directors on managing, story selection
- Works to help frame and shape stories.
- Edits pieces.
- Reviews and critiques pieces.
- Identifies other training/expertise that could strengthen stations.
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A field producer or producers.
- A floating producer who is sent round-robin to stations to work with individual reporters in the field.
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A representative from a participating University partner who:
- Identifies resources at the University available and brokers delivery of them to participating stations.
- Steers promising journalism students into "real work" jobs, part time or otherwise, at the Hub and/or participating stations.
The whole notion of Hubs implies decentralized structures. Once we have a clearer picture of the kinds of Hubs that will be most useful, the LNI will work with the station groups to build the appropriate and necessary administrative structures to support them.
Proposal Submission
- Section 1: Narrative -- explain the basics of your Hub idea - describe the audience need it would fulfill, the type of programming that would be produced, the production cycle and output, the scope of topics that would be covered, etc.
- Section 2: Key Players -- may include but are not limited to current and/or proposed staff, community partners, station-university relationships and trainers from both inside and outside public radio.
- Section 3. Budget -- we're looking for rough best estimates for later refining.
Please download the following template, fill in your budget proposal.
The first call for proposals is now closed, and selections will be made by mid May 2007 [this date has been revised.]
How Many Ideas Will Be Selected?30 submissions were received, and seven were selected. More >
Evaluation Panel
The evaluation panel for the target Hubs includes:
- 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
Questions?