G3 Vision Report
Steve LindbeckBill LegereJake Poole
G3:
Transforming
Alaska
Public
Media
General managers from KTOO‐Juneau, KUAC‐Fairbanks and APTI‐Anchorage have met frequently, either by telephone or in person, from August 2008 to July 2009 to discussemerging needs and pressures in public media and to imagine better futures. These wide‐ranging discussions settled upon the view by late spring 2009 that nothing short of transformation is required for public broadcasting and its core values to survive andflourish in our communities in a transformed media environment. What follows is themanagers’ vision of what belongs in a new entity we propose to call Alaska Public Media.his vision is distilled from dozens of hours of brainstorming and conversation, and is theeneral managers’ shared proposal for how public media should evolve in our communities.Tg
V
ision:
Alaska Public Media (APM) will be Alaska’s leader in news, education and publicaffairs – a community‐builder, a unifier, a convener and an aggregator of content from many sources. Its tools will be news, community engagement, participation,dialogue and a spectrum of program production ranging from premiumdocumentaries to twitter tweets. APM will be based on the news and programmingvalues exemplified by NPR and PBS, yet it forthrightly proclaims that its centralmission in the emerging world of global media lies in the Alaska content it produces.This content is the news, public affairs, education and cultural programs that willenrich and inform the lives of Alaskans, and also engage them in networks of connection and dialogue with each other and indeed with a global media audienceand environment. APM will present content on multiple platforms and willexperiment deliberately in social networking, crowd sourcing, citizen journalismand emerging digital media. Its scope, its definition of “community,” is statewide,though its operations take place in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau. APM willprovide a full package of media streams rooted in NPR/PBS values, approach andquality, and covering news and events at the local, state, national and internationallevels. The work of the Alaska Public Radio Network, AlaskaOne, 360 North, Gavel toGavel and UATV will be incorporated into a unified network. The entities that combine to form Alaska Public Media will reach new levels of public service byworking together, in a mission that serves the shared experience of life in Alaska.Mission language will strongly evoke unity and Alaskan ownership of a public, not‐for‐profit service entity operating under a new economic model. Alaska PublicMedia is the forum for Alaska to redefine itself again and again as time andcircumstances evolve.
W
hy:
With the issues and public‐interest stakes higher than ever, Alaskans need anddeserve information, understanding, connection and context in order to solveproblems, create prosperity, build communities, unify the state. Yet even as digitalmedia cut the costs of distribution, Alaska is left behind in the new world of content production. Commercial media budgets are slashed as business models arerewritten and deeply strained. A building crisis in journalism threatens the flow of quality news and public affairs and heightens both the challenge and need for strong
G3: Transforming Alaska Public Media 2
public media. Alaskans are grossly underserved by media and, despite beingrelatively well wired for the digital age, stand at risk of being left behind in themedia revolution now under way. Very little of Alaska’s media services are Alaska‐owned or cognizant of the importance of a statewide voice. Hence the problemsdividing us are seldom addressed in a unifying way. Dennis McMillian’s report of takeholder interviews this spring captures in a powerful way the missionwareness we enjoy:sa
“The
consensus
as
to
the
mission
of
public
broadcasting
was
overwhelming.
In
my
opinion,
this
is
one
of
the
clearest
understandings
of
an
institution’s
‘brand
proposition,’
or
the
public’s
expectations
of
an
organization’s
purpose
and
how
they
deliver
on
that
promise.
In
the
interviews,
I
documented
the
first
words
that
came
to
mind
when
I
asked
the
question
regarding
mission.
In
high
to
low
sequence
the
words
most
used
were:
news/journalism,
local
voice,
connecting
local
-
state
-
nation
-
world,
unbiased,
and
quality.
There
was
almost
unanimous
agreement
that
public
broadcasting
does
very
well
in
accomplishing
its
mission.
However,
many
felt
that
local
and
statewide
news
has
diminished
over
the
past
both
in
terms
of
quality
and
quantity.”
few
years,
And later:
“If
any
question
evoked
a
constant
message
from
constituents,
it
is
that
news
is
a
core
function
of
public
broadcasting
and
quality
news
is
what
draws
almost
all
of
those
interviewed
into
passionate
support
and
appreciation.
Only
three
people
mentioned
a
perceived
‘liberal
bias.’
Most
truly
think
that
public
broadcast
news
is
as
unbiased
as
possible.
Of
the
state’s
most
influential
leaders
we
interviewed,
all
voiced
extreme
loyalty
to
and
confidence
in
NPR
journalism.
NPR
was
identified
as
the
source
they
trust
most
to
learn
about
news.”
E
lements
that
belong
in
the
new
Alaska
Public
Media:
Statewide news/public affairs service operating on all media platforms, with stories,sources and content producers from all regions of the state. Broadcast productioncenters and production talent in each community. Synergies developed betweenradio, television and web operations.
Deepened and strengthened local roots in radio broadcasting in all communities,including expanded use of digital radio and multicast.
Expanded and unified news operation involving both local reporters in eachommunity or region and statewide reporters based in Washington DC, Juneau andcelsewhere as needed.
New media unit empowered to experiment in social media and other emergingdigital platforms. This unit is resourced to incorporate new opportunities as theyarise, encouraged to innovate, expected to root its work in new media rather thanlegacy platforms, and tasked to bring Alaska Public Media to the forefront of emerging media activities.
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