There is good news from stations that participated in the first four Morning Edition Grad School (MEGS) workshops. The first examination of the Morning Edition Grad School's impact on audience shows that 80% of 'graduating' MEGS stations increased listener service during Morning Edition, while only 20% did not. These increases in audience service were determined by comparing listener hours to Morning Edition from Fall 2006 and Fall 2007.
The average number of listeners (AQH) for Morning Edition also increased on 'graduated' MEGS stations.
"This growth in service is encouraging and exactly what we hoped to achieve with Morning Edition Grad School," said Marcia Alvar, head of station-based projects for the NPR Local News Initiative, which funds the workshops. "With the help of the MEGS team, the participating stations have worked very hard to improve their sound, formatics, and journalism, and the positive effects are already beginning to show."
MEGS workshops are facilitated by Strategic Programming Partners (SPP), the consulting practice of Peter Dominowski, Scott Williams, and Tim Emmons. The MEGS team also includes journalism consultant Tanya Ott (in cooperation with PRNDI), and underwriting analyst Marlene Schneider (in cooperation with DEI). Station audience data is analyzed by Craig Oliver, through a grant from the Radio Research Consortium (RRC).
Scott Williams of the MEGS team observed, "The growth in listener service on most MEGS stations proves once again that when stations concentrate on improving their sound, pay attention to formatics and promotion, and provide good journalism, listeners take notice."
"We're proud of how positively stations have evaluated the workshops," said MEGS team consultant Peter Dominowski. "Three-in-four participants gave the workshops a '1' - the highest possible rating. In fact, the lowest rating the workshops received from any participant was a '2' on a 1-5 scale."
"The MEGS team has a long history of working with stations. We know that when best practices are applied, audiences increase, but it is always gratifying to see the evidence firsthand," said MEGS team member Tim Emmons.
Registration is now open for two of the remaining 2008 MEGS workshops:
Chicago - Saturday, August 23
Austin - Saturday, November 15
Registration and information for all workshops is at: www.localnewsinitiative.org
Six stations will be selected to participate in each MEGS workshop.
Since its launch in 1970, NPR has evolved into a leading media company, primary news provider and dominant force in American life. In partnership with 815 public radio stations, it attracts almost 26 million listeners to the nearly 150 hours of broadcast programming it produces and distributes weekly. A privately-supported, non-profit membership organization, NPR is also active in digital media through www.NPR.org, its successful NPR Podcasts, two 24/7 NPR channels on Sirius Satellite Radio and five 24/7 multicast music channels for HD Radio, a technology in which it has led industry research and development. NPR Worldwide serves nearly 150 countries with a full schedule of programming offered through terrestrial, satellite and digital radio; national cable, and American Forces Network.
Strategic Programming Partners was formed in 1998 to serve the programming needs of public radio stations across the country. Peter Dominowski, Scott Williams and Tim Emmons have a combined 96 years experience in radio programming, research, management and fundraising.
Peter Dominowski is a public radio researcher and consultant. An award-winning program director in public and commercial radio, he is a founder of PRPD and the original PD Bee programming workshops. Dominowski is also President of Market Trends Research, where he has conducted national research projects including The Local News Project I & II, and the Public Internet Consumer Insight Study (PICIS).
Scott Williams has been a public radio program director for 31 years - at KPLU in the Seattle market and currently at KJZZ/KBAQ in Phoenix. He has co-taught 12 PD Workshops sponsored by PRPD. He was also instructor in the RRC's Arbitron University.
Tim Emmons has worked in public and commercial radio since 1978, in programming, production, news, fundraising and management. He currently manages WNIJ and WNIU in DeKalb, Illinois, one of the leading small market public radio operations in the nation. As a programmer Emmons was a PRPD "FLO Award" winner.
For additional information contact:
Marcia Alvar
NPR Local News Initiative
310-815-4254 or malvar@npr.org
Peter Dominowski
Strategic Programming Partners
303-823-5811 or SPP@MarketTrendsResearch.com
