As a sign of the trend of radio increasingly going digital, National Public Radio is getting a $1.5 million injection of funding to ramp up its web training and content at member stations nationwide.
The grant, which is being awarded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, will earmark $1 million to training at 70 local stations and the remaining funding is allocated toward further integration of radio and digital coverage in NPR’s (News - Alert) newsroom.
“NPR is a great news organization and has become an essential part of American democracy. We want to support their embrace of the Internet,” said Alberto Ibargüen, president and CEO of Knight Foundation, in a company statement. “They will solidify their lead if they continue to expand their use of digital and social media to effectively engage listeners and users.”
John Bracken, the Knight Foundation’s program director for journalism and media innovation, said the foundation hopes NPR will be seen as a model for digital news even as it has seen a “tumultuous year” of leadership changes at the radio network. NPR welcomed to arrival of new CEO Gary Knell earlier this year.
“In making this grant, Knight Foundation is betting on NPR,” Bracken wrote in a blog post Wednesday. “Our expectation is that NPR will not just continue to provide quality journalism, but that it will become a model for nimbleness in the digital age and that it bring some stations along with it.”
The training project will span a two-year period and will be led by Kinsey Wilson (News - Alert), senior vice president and general manager of digital media.
“Public radio is an essential source of news and produces some of the most compelling journalism available today, whether for broadcast, web or mobile distribution,” said Wilson. “Our goal is to ensure that our journalists are in a position to serve their listeners and readers, however they get their news.”
In 2007, the Knight Foundation awarded NPR a similar $1.5 million grant to boost its national digital initiatives.
“Increasingly, radio will be delivered digitally,” Wilson said.
Erin Harrison is Executive Editor, Strategic Initiatives, for TMC, where she oversees the company's strategic editorial initiatives, including the launch of several new print and online initiatives. She plays an active role in the print publications and TMCnet, covering IP communications, information technology and other related topics. To read more of Erin's articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Rich Steeves
