PRX $45k Showcase Show Support
For Immediate Release Contact: John Barth, john (at) prx.org
PRX Announces $45k Programming Support for Showcase Shows at Six Public Radio Stations
New Creative Approaches to Local Programming
(Cambridge, MA) November 1, 2005 -- The Public Radio Exchange (prx.org) announced today that it has awarded $45,000 to six public radio stations to support “showcase shows” - programs that highlight new work from PRX and other sources.
Showcase shows are created locally by station-based curators, highlighting radio work from the Public Radio Exchange and a variety of other sources. The goal is to develop innovative approaches to programming and introduce diverse new voices and perspectives outside of the current public radio offerings.
All of the new programs are expected to begin production in early 2006 and be broadcast at a minimum once a week.
“Showcase shows can spark new creativity in public radio,” said PRX Executive Director Jake Shapiro. “Stations have the opportunity to generate new local programming and producers now have more outlets for independent work”.
Requests for proposals for Showcase Show funding were posted on PRX.org and stations were alerted through email and on public forums. Proposals were reviewed by an outside consultant and the PRX staff.
PRX plans to work closely with these and other stations pursuing showcase shows to share best practices and ideas, attract additional support, and evaluate the project with a view to expanding the effort in 2006.
Funding for the Showcase Show project comes from a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, with matching support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Ford Foundation.
Stations that were awarded support are:
Vermont Public Radio is creating a weekly hour-long showcase program called The Infinity Project that VPR says will rely upon “a team approach to the editorial process. We’ve set up a cross-departmental group of VPR staffers as well as outside individuals to conceive this program. This model will continue as we execute our vision of a sound-rich hour that is unique to public radio.”
In the Twin Cities, KFAI’s Listening Lounge plans to bolster and stabilize its existing, all-volunteer program with a part-time producer who would “ensure a higher level of consistency both in terms of the quality and the creative tone of the show. The producer would also be responsible for weekly on-air promo production, updating the show’s web site, editing pieces as needed and corresponding with independent producers whose work will be aired.”
KGLT in Bozeman, MT intends to create a showcase program called The Plan. Producer Barrett Golding says “the sound and approach of VoxPop will be closer to the way a music DJ presents a show than to the typical public radio ‘informational’ style. The Showcase will mesh with the format of an eclectic, music-based station.”
New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) is taking a very ambitious approach to its showcase program. NHPR proposes to “take the traditional Morning Edition model and flip it on its head. For years, public radio stations have squeezed varying degrees of local content in between Morning Edition's national stories. Now we have a way to take a locally produced show and strengthen it by including material from some of the industry's best new talent.”
Marfa Public Radio (KRTS FM) in Marfa, TX is a brand new signal due to launch in January 2006. The station is already planning a daily slot (6-days per week) for PRX and other acquired radio work. Marfa Public Radio’s proposal outlines how such a show could become part of regional culture: “The noon hour in Far West Texas [is] when people break for lunch,” says KRTS’ Tom Michael. “[The show] would become known as the time to hear the eclectic mix of documentaries, commentaries, dramatic pieces, and sound portraits.”
WMPG in Portland, ME has been taking bold steps with programming, especially youth radio. The station proposes a new weekly showcase program called The Local Option that producer Kerry Seed says “will be like listening to an off-beat, highly informed conversation about the issues of the day.” The show will take a strong local focus enhanced by acquired works.
Additional information about these and other showcase shows can be found here: http://www.prx.org/articles/224
About PRX The Public Radio Exchange (PRX) is a web-based service for distribution, review, and licensing of radio content. PRX brings new voices to new audiences, creates a fair market for creative radio, and helps radio stations assemble diverse and exceptional programming. PRX is a collaboration of the Station Resource Group (http://www.srg.org) and Atlantic Public Media (http://www.atlantic.org), with support from public radio stations and producers, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Ford Foundation, NTIA's Technology Opportunities Program, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Open Society Institute, and the Surdna Foundation. For more information about The Public Radio Exchange visit http://www.prx.org.
