#PRPD19 is Gonna be 

The heat is building for #PRPD19. This year’s Content Conference has a massive and varied agenda with something for all skill levels, disciplines and formats. You will return from this conference filled with great ideas, fresh thinking and lots of inspiration! It’s just two weeks away (so register today and get off the fence!) 

Public radio's successful future will be shaped by our talent, our innovation and our ability to be strong with the values that differentiate us. YOU should be a part of this conversation. This year's conference is loaded with panels and networking opportunities that prepare you and your teams for 2020 and beyond. Join us in Minneapolis, August 26 - 29 for a seat at the tables where the hottest conversations in the industry are taking place. Here are some of the sessions you won’t want to miss.
 

View the full agenda here

Events That Strengthen Public Radio
In a time of deafening online chatter and digital isolation, live events have become a powerful force for good. Attending live events makes people feel more connected to each other, the community, and the world around them. In this session, we'll explore a variety of different events, from policy discussions to live podcasts to music performances, that engage with passionate audiences and create positive impressions for your brand.

• Amy McDonald, Director of Community Engagement, WBUR
• Candice Spring, Associate Director of Community Engagement, WBUR
• Sarah Jenness, Executive Producer, The Moth
• Laura Hadden, Executive Producer, Live Wire
• Luke Burbank, Host, Live Wire

How to Talk To Talent
Sometimes its difficult to talk to on-air talent about things like presentation, style, energy or nerves. We know how to identify what we need, but sometimes we can’t articulate effectively when coaching our on-air talent. This session will help you better understand the relationship and will give you language to talk to your on-air staff so you can get immediate results. Join NPR’s Jessica Hansen for this enlightening discussion about coaching talent. Jessica is the voice of NPR’s funding credits and she serves as in-house voice coach, working internally and with member stations as well as for corporate groups, professional theatre companies, hosts, journalists and private clients across the country. She began acting at age 5 and has performed guest star roles on NBC’s Parks & Recreation and HBO’s Veep, working with Amy Poehler and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, respectively. She has performed on stages across the country and in dozens of commercials and independent and industrial films. Jessica has taught children and adults of all ages from Shakespeare to musical theater to microphone and audition techniques.  

Five Things You Can Do To Make Your Station Sound Better Next Week
PDs and GMs are busier now than ever before, and sometimes that means you might run out of time to think about the basics. Take an hour during the conference to learn (or remind yourself) about 5 things that you can do starting Monday to make your station sound better. Along with well-established best practices, we'll talk about how you can be ahead of the curve on smart speaker listening, and hear real-world experiences from your PD colleagues.

• Steve Nelson, Senior Director of Programming, NPR
• Jeff Rowe, Programming Consultant
• Kari Anderson, Program Director, Vermont Public Radio
• Jonathan Blakley, Executive Director, Radio Programming, KQED

Ethics Can Be Fun….Really!
In stations and newsrooms across the public radio landscape, challenging ethical decisions are being made every day and sometimes it’s difficult to know where to draw the line. Ethics can seem like a dry topic. But this session will be interactive, entertaining and fun, helping you navigating ethical issues at your station. We’ll be digging into real situations you’ve faced with our panel of ethics experts. If you have an example you’d like to share at this session, send an email with the subject line ETHICS to info@prpd.org. All names and stations will be changed to protect the innocent (or guilty).

• Mike Arnold, Chief Operating Officer, Wisconsin Public Radio (moderator)
• Elizabeth Jensen, Public Editor, NPR
• Mark Memmott, Supervising Senior Editor, Standards & Practices, NPR
• Nancy Cassutt, Executive Editor, News & Programming, Minnesota Public Radio 

 

Who Are We Making This For?
A new look at audience for podcasts and more. Anyone can make a podcast, but not everyone understands their audience. In this interactive session, you will go beyond market research and audience analytics and walk away with a road map for content development that holds the listener at the center of your key decisions. The panel will share real-world stories about how their stations have served new audiences, retained talent and strengthened their content development process through their podcasts. Panelists will lead you through an audience-centered, design-thinking activity that will allow you to map key stakeholders and talk to potential listeners.

• Joel Meyer -Director of Programming and Promotion, KUER (moderator)
• Kerry Donahue – PRX, Director of Training
• Stephanie Kuo – PRX, Project Catapult Project Manager
• Je-Anne Berry – Public Broadcasting Atlanta, Director of Marketing and Business Strategy & Executive Producer, WABE Podcasts
• Brad Turner – Colorado Public Radio, Senior Producer, On-Demand Audio