If I Were Running A Company…Reunions

Today is a special day for me because it is the 8th Anniversary the 2005 NPR Interns first met. I still remember that group because we all came to be part of the NPR experience. To this day, I still say the 2005 NPR summer internship was not only the best working experience I ever had, but the best class I ever been with. Sadly, I learned last year that NPR has cut out Intern Edition and I was hoping to listen to the current crop of intern’s stories each semester. If there is any consolation, Next Generation Radio is returning after a 3-4 year hiatus to collaborate journalists in journalism schools with local public media affiliate stations.

Another event I can’t wait is #SHRM13 in Chicago (Of note: if a company wants to sponsor me for hotel and travel, let’s talk). Although I have been to four SHRM conferences, last year, I felt I was accepted in the HR community when I met most of the HR bloggers for the first time because of the community SHRM and Dice enhanced.

Moments like the NPR internship and the SHRM Conference makes me want to come back to the place because it gives me joy seeing old friends. If you’re planning your event for your department, do plan attending relevant events for your profession and industry, but put a couple of events that are outside your profession that makes you feel  excited to be part of. Either it’s a book club, attending a sporting event, or a reunion, these events makes you reflect who you really are outside of work.

To this day, I still email to the ’05 NPR interns wishing a happy anniversary, wish each individual (or try to) a Happy Birthday and if I’m lucky, meet them face-to-face again. Going to networking or industry events shouldn’t be a job; it should be an experience.

The State of Public Broadcasting, Part Deux

The last time I mention about public broadcasting, I was talking how public media should be funded and how as public media employees and supporters must help. Two weeks after I wrote that post, things have changed.

If you do not follow the public media inner circle, you heard of the secret tapings of NPR fundraisers, including Ron Schiller, about accepting $5 million form a fictitious group. This sting has cost not only Ron his job, but CEO Vivian Schiller‘s (no relation) job. Include Ellen Weiss’s exit at the beginning of the year, NPR does not have a President, Senior Vice President of Programs (in this case, News), and Senior Vice President of Fundraising/Development for its Foundation. It is not the question if how NPR and the local stations should be funded, but the question of what will NPR do?

Those answer, if you like it or not, have to come from the NPR Board of Directors. There has been controversy of how the Board reacted to the “resignations” of the three people. If you want to have an outsider’s view of how public media supporters feel, check Jeff Jarvis’s post and to see the insider’s view of how the Board works, read Dennis Haarsager’s post (he was an interim CEO at NPR). In this instance, the board has to decide what direction it is heading.  There are five directions the board can go:

1. The Inner Circle

The board could select a station manager since 1) the boards is mostly consist of station managers and 2) stations have the biggest to lose if Congress does defund public media.  Putting a station manager to handle NPR would help put influence to local stations, but can this station manager transition to head of an 800-employee organization where you have to not only deal with the news department, but the many departments inside NPR, plus traveling to events to speak and network and dealing with Congress?

2. Broadcasting Governing Board

The board could go to the Broadcasting Board of Governors or the International Broadcasting Bureau to find someone since they are a government agency and should know the politics of what is going on in Congress. It might work short-term with influence Congress to regain some (or all) of the money, but in the long-term, how this affect the news would and development department if the board hired that person just to regain trust in Congress. The board has gone this route and selects Kevin Klose, who was CEO of NPR for 10 years before stepping down in 2008.

3. Blast from the Past

Speaking of Kevin Klose, the board might want to consider someone who help bring NPR back like Klose or someone in the radio news industry who have been in the business for a long time. It might boost morale and influence for the short-term, but will they have an open mind of the trends going on like technology and the pace the business is heading?

4. An updated Vivian Schiller

When Vivian Schiller was CEO, she helps put the NPR budget back in the black and move the organization to the digital age. However, if there was a downfall, it was her attention to detail that failed her from the Juan Williams fiasco, to the fundraiser sting, and to the Rally to Restore Sanity memo confusion. A great candidate would be Jim Brady who has the same pedigree as V. Schiller working with a big newspaper and made him famous in digital media. What Jim had an advantage over Vivian is that he understood community relations, hence the TBD Community Network for bloggers. V. Schiller probably understood the concept, but didn’t implement it since she had to deal with both NPR, as an organization, and the local stations who think Vivian was focusing too much on the NPR. Jim would be a great candidate since he has a chip on his shoulder after the falling out with Allbritton (who owns TBD), but since there was no VP of News and he’s relatively young, would the board take a chance at him?

5. The Frontrunner

Poynter points out the new NPR CEO will have four key challenges:

1. Embracing change while also upholding NPR’s values, history
2. Restoring morale at NPR and member stations
3. Addressing arguments for — and against — federal funding
4. Responding to criticism of NPR’s governance

Put it this way: NPR wants to kill four birds with one stone (sorry animal activists). Also, NPR is in reset mode since there is no CEO or a Vice President of News. Is there anyone that fits the bill who can cover all four? In the Poynter article, it mentions Kevin Klose a lot and insiders think NPR should re-hire him to take control of the organization. Kevin might be great, but what if he’s not available? There is one person out there who can come close to match Kevin Klose’s credentials: Jim Farley of WTOP/WFED in Washington, DC.

If the board wants to get serious about NPR and their local station agenda, Jim Farley is the right person. Jim has been in the news radio business for 45 years. For the last 15 years, he is Vice President of Programming and News at WTOP and brought the station from very low ratings in 1996, to the number one station in the D.C. area, plus brought in the second most revenue of any station in the United States (behind KIIS-FM in Los Angeles) in 2009. He also helps Federal News Radio (WFED) transform from an online stream only station to a broadcast outlet on multiple formats. He also understands the trends going on radio and journalism. This is Jim in a Media Solutions Lab session on what was his one takeaway:

Jim has been successful on multiple formats from news, classical, industry-specific, Top 40, and others. Also, Jim dabbled with the NPR-style journalism as his company (Bonneville International) and the Washington Post launched Washington in 2006. It was supposed to challenge NPR on the storytelling format, but with the exception of The Tony Kornheiser Show, the format was…utter crap. The marriage didn’t last, but at least he tried and knew NPR-type stories are best done by NPR journalists.

If you’re wondering if Jim does become CEO, how would he boost morale for both the organization and the local stations?

For the organization:

He immediately brings credibility to the newsroom as WTOP has won nine Edward in the last two years and made WTOP the number one station in D.C. He knows how to expand staff and knows to transition to a bigger newsroom since NPR will be moving to a new building next year. However, there might be an adjustment on the development side as Jim dealt on the corporate side with sales and advertising. Since NPR is a nonprofit, Jim has to deal with sponsorships and underwriting. It might be an adjustment, but pulling $50 million+ in revenue with WTOP, I think Jim understands how to pull in the money.

For the local stations:

Jim knows not only news radio, but the concept of radio. He immediately becomes the face of public radio and would help out the smaller stations on establishing themselves. He understands different cities have different needs. In an interview with All Access last year, Jim said about how stations (and online streams) can work in particular cities and industries:

“A radio station could do this by hiring smart people who already cover that industry to do it online. Hartford with the insurance industry and Detroit with the audio industry come to mind.”

Jim further explains how online will help stations grow,

“Remember, an online news operation potentially reaches everybody connected to that industry, whether they live in your signal area or not. It is not limited by the radius of your on-air signal.”

Also, he has done radio at the local and national level so he knows what works best or does not at each level.

The only downside about Jim is his age and it would look like a short-term move, but I will say NPR needs a long-term vision and this calls for someone who has clear vision of what NPR needs to be and what role local stations play, plus there’s no CEO and no VP of News, so they need someone to implement a plan for the next 5-10 years and Jim can do that, if the board let him.

Final Thoughts

Politics moved NPR from “if the organization should be funded?” to “what’s their next move?” Right now, it’s fair to say the NPR staff and stations are demoralize and do not know what will be coming up next and include the top two positions vacant; it’s time for NPR to reassess. Some said the “firing” of Vivian Schiller will put NPR in the downfall. It could be true, but we have no idea who the board wants. However, the only thing we know is the board decision on the CEO will determine where NPR goes. NPR has to realize everyone is watching their next move and if they make a false move, everyone will jump all over them. Everyone, including NPR’s own peers, has pushed them to this point. It is time NPR to make an offensive move. In my opinion, I hope that move is Jim Farley.

The State of Public Broadcasting

I have been a great fan for public broadcasting for a long time since I grew up with Sesame Street and Mister Rogers Neighborhood, and later on working with NPR. I have been paying attention on the #pubmedia backchannels a lot the past month about Congress voting to defund public broadcasting. From those discussions, this has been a blessing and a curse for the sector.

Reasons Public Media is in this predicament

This all started with Juan Williams’s fiasco that Juan Williams was “nervous” when he sees Muslims in airplanes. That prompted NPR to fire Williams without process. Conservatives saw that and took a proactive PR approach to attack NPR not only for William’s stature as a journalist, but as the only African-American reporter/analyst in NPR’s newsroom.  After that incident, Republicans took control of the House, Ellen Weiss stepped down as Senior Vice President of News, President and CEO Vivian Schiller did not receiver her annual bonus, and the House passed a section of the budget to defund public media.

Rural areas

This seems more of conglomerate maneuvering than political since the ones that get hurt is rural areas. Nonprofit Quarterly sums it up best that if you take away public media, it will hurt the liberals a little, but hurt conservatives a lot since rural areas rely on public funds to keep a station(s) on-air. However, Tony Budny and I had a discussion about the reason why Republicans want to defund:

Stupid as it sounds, that could just motivate them more. Less public TV in red states= more room for Fox News.

Simply put, it’s like renaming your town or city Walmart or Fox News City.

On Us

As a public media advocate, what should we do to save public broadcasting?

1. We have to face the fact that the arts and media budget is going to get reduce. Some of the money should be allocated to bigger stations, but most of the money should be going to rural areas that need it the most.
2. On the rural side, we need to write to our state and national officials about not only restore funding of public media to rural areas, but call upon officials to approve a Rural Broadband Initiative. This way, it will not only benefit the local stations that have few resources, but it improves businesses in the area since their business can expand state, nation, or even worldwide and provide competition.
3. We need to explain to the public better what public broadcasting is. Ira Glass is right that public media needs to explain their brand, what it actually does, and tell different viewpoints of a story. We are not responding to critics and we need to tell them immediately.
4. In a worst case scenario that if public broadcasting is cut, this is not the end of the world as we do have innovators in the public media sector. We need to think of innovative ideas of fundraising and outreach like the KQED-Groupon deal or the use of mobile marketing to attract a diverse audience and use technology such as the social media sites, YouTube, and Broadcastr to share stories in their city or town.
5. I mention on Pubmedia discussion before that if I want to go into public media with no budget, I would like to travel to small towns to know what the people want is to establish a talent exchange program for the rural and small cities to learn what the people want in those towns and roll with it.

In reality, public media has to take a cut for the betterment of this country, but public media needs to fight for the little people in small towns because stations are at-risk of closing down and as a community nationwide, we need to fight for them. Cities like New York, San Francisco, Boston, and in D.C. are going to be fine in the long run, but we do not want small towns to be outsourced by conglomerates that have interests for themselves and not for the people in the area.

What will save public media is innovation from the government and the 170 Million Americans who are ready to pitch in.

If I Was Running A Company…The People

During my time at NPR, I read this article from John Hollon of TLNT about the title of Chief People Officer and the main focus was on NPR’s new HR (People) head and former colleague of mine, Jeff Perkins.

Of Note: the reason I’m writing this article is my contract for NPR is up and I’m free to do whatever I want. If I wrote this article during my stay, it would have been review with NPR, so I waited until today.

In the article, there was debate if Chief People Officer is a legitimate title or a gimmick.  The article made wonderful points on both sides and I wouldn’t have any qualms.  In NPR’s case, you have to look into their HR history.

If you would ask me between 2005-07 about NPR human resources, I would say they were solid. They had budgets to go on conferences, job fairs, goodwill events, and others, plus their brand was very strong.  What change for NPR human resources was in 2008.  Most of it I can’t discuss, but part of it is the economy, and that’s where the mood of executives (and some employees) change and that is where HR is…a solid HR team with little to no budget.

One and a half years later, they ask me to come in to assist the recruiting team and build a social recruiting strategy.  I agree to do the administrative work since HR was under staff at the time and really want to change the department, hence selecting the new VP and CPO in the first two months I was there.  In the last two months, I was helping with their social recruiting strategy, but it couldn’t be finalize since there were a lot changes going around in HR. The only achievement I was there was the creation of the Linkedin account, although the base of their social recruiting strategy is there.

Of Note again: I posted my jobs and NPR events on my all-around account, @tracytran. I couldn’t do it on @tranrecruiting since I agreed to NPR to hire me as a full-time temp, hence the business was push aside for 4 months. Hence, you had to find my jobs through keywords or dedicated column on a third-party app NPR Jobs tweets with my name.  I wish to start up an NPR Careers Twitter account, but there was not enough time for approval.

In my opinion, I thought Chief People Officer was a little cheesy at first, but realize a month later, National Public Radio change their brand to NPR because they want to be known for their multimedia entity, and likely the title change to Chief People Officer was one of those steps internally and externally.

Whither you department is called Human Resources, The People, Norris, Rikishi, or whatever you name your “HR” department, it’s the actions and results behind your title that counts. In my one month with Jeff Perkins at NPR, it looks like he is really changing the department for a new direction and for the better and wish the best of luck.

By the way, NPR is looking for a Director of Talent Acquisitions. This one is on me

The 5 Year Anniversary

Today marks a very special anniversary that does not involve family, graduation, or my love interest (I wish).  Today is the five-year anniversary of meeting the fellow summer interns for NPR for the first time.

Of note: Although I’m in contract with NPR, this blog post is solely influence by myself, not the organization.  Basically what I’m saying is I’m not getting paid for this.  Let’s move to the story.

This anniversary is really special to me of many factors: 1) it was the main HR internship I did after I graduated, 2) the organization I was working with, and 3) the interns.

When we first met, I always thought there’s going to be some fighting and bickering and some hair pulling within those months I also thought there will be cliques within these interns.  However, I can say this was the first tight-knit group I have been in at the time.

I enjoyed the adventures, the meetings, the embarrassments, the happy hour (yes, NPR had their own happy hour within the building), the process, and the people in the internship.  My favorite story I love to tell is after the Intern Edition show, the NPR interns did an epilogue of what we did during the two months.  One of the places the interns went was the XM Headquarters to meet Bob Edwards to learn more about public radio.  If you don’t know the Bob Edwards-NPR situation, all I can say is Google it.  It was a lovely trip and we put in the epilogue.  When we show that footage, most of the NPR staff had a stunned face and ready to rip us.  I can say for a few years, NPR used that video for the internship sans the XM part.  In hindsight, it was a bad idea since now XM is Sirius SM and podcasting has taken over.

If you look on the sidebar, I always say the NPR Summer Interns of 2005 is the “Greatest Class I’ve Been” and still is. Five years later, most of the interns are still in contact with each other and haven’t killed each other (thank goodness).  There are a few that are in graduate school, some moved to different countries and regions, some work in publishing, some went to a different job from their internship, some hit the big time, some stayed, some have created blogs, but everyone has done great things  since the five years.  Here are some:

Kim Fox – Advisor

Kim was a host and reporter for WOSU in Columbus, Ohio.  Last year, she started her stint as a lecturer at The American University in Cairo Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Erick Hitter – Audio Engineering Intern

From Erick:

In the years since we completed our internship program, I’ve changed careers three times. After graduating with a degree in audio engineering, I continued at the University of Hartford in a Masters program in Accounting & Taxation. I graduated from that program in May 2007 and took a job at a small accounting firm near Hartford, CT, where I worked for just over two years. In June 2009, as a result of the recession, I was laid off from this position. I spent some months traveling the country, looking for another accounting job, and generally relaxing, all while living back where I’d grown up in New Hampshire. Towards the end of 2009, I began organizing WordCamp Boston 2010, a conference for users and developers of the open-source blogging and content management system WordPress. Shortly after the January conference, I received a job offer from one of the event’s sponsors, a small web development firm based in Providence, RI. Since March of this year, I’ve worked for C. Murray Consulting as a WordPress/BuddyPress developer, making the daily commute from my apartment near Boston down to our Providence offices. I do still find time to occasionally be involved in the audio engineering field, and people inevitably ask me accounting questions from time to time, but for the most part, I’ve made the transition to a career in website development and couldn’t be happier.

Liliya Karimova – Weekend Edition, Sunday Intern

For the past 5 years, Liliya have been working on a Doctorate in Communication at UMASS-Amherst. She just came back from an eight-month field trip in Kazan, Russia, supported by an IREX grant, where she conducted dissertation research on identity among practicing Tatar Muslim women. Along the way, she have been teaching Writing and Communication classes. Upon graduation, she hopes to teach and conduct research on inter-ethnic and inter-religious issues.

Emily Schmall – Executive Producer, Intern Edition

Since interning with National Public Radio, Emily has worked for The Miami Herald and Forbes magazine; earned her Masters at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism; and moved to Mexico. She is presently freelancing from Mexico City, the U.S.-Mexico border, and around Central America and the Caribbean.

Désirée Jones – National Desk Intern

Désirée began work with CNPE in 2007 as the Membership and Development Coordinator shifting roles to Member Relations and New Media in 2010 after her work on several new media projects. Désirée studied Agricultural Communications, Education and Leadership at the University of Kentucky (cum laude). She also studied with the School for International Training completing course work in Cape Town, South Africa on Multiculturalism and Social change. Upon returning to Louisville, Désirée recruited and trained volunteers for Louisville’s city-wide literacy initiative, Every1Reads, and co-coordinated service learning initiatives for the JCPS Volunteer Talent Center. In 2009, she represented CNPE and Kentucky Rotary as a Group Study Exchange team member in Brazil.

Malika Bilal – Online Editorial Intern

Since her wonderful summer as an NPR intern in 2005, Malika Bilal went on to graduate from Northwestern University with a degree in journalism. Shortly after, she found herself back in Washington, DC – this time with a job at Voice of America as an international broadcast newswriter. Throughout it all, she has been blessed, on occasion, to be able to blend her love of writing with her love of travel – and she now resides in the tiny Gulf nation of Qatar, working for Al Jazeera English as a web editor/writer, where she spends her downtime checking must-visit places off her endlessly growing list – and you guessed it – writing about the experiences.

Patricia Li – Music Unit Intern

After completing her Master’s Degree in Piano Performance at Carnegie Mellon University as Fulbright Scholar, she returned to Argentina in 2006. As a result of all the production and management skills she acquired during her internship at NPR, she decided to undertake an MBA degree in Buenos Aires. At the same time, she started to work as Consultant in Accenture for the high-tech industry, and later, as Terminals Sales Director for ZTE Corporation. Her latest adventure was to move to Montreal, Canada, where she is living now since end of May.

Whitney Gent – Corporate Communications Intern

While my stint as an intern at NPR did not bring me into a broadcasting career, it did deeply influence my career path. Each day, as I traveled from my temporary home in Northern Virginia to NPR headquarters, I passed at least half a dozen people who were visibly experiencing poverty – many of them presumably homeless. Every day, this bothered me, so I decided to do something about it. Upon completing my degree in speech communication at Drury University, I joined Americorps and moved to Indianapolis, where I worked at a day shelter for people experiencing homelessness. I followed that experience with graduate school at Indiana University, where I earned a master’s in rhetoric and public culture. My research there focused on how we talk about and represent homelessness in the United States. Meanwhile, I was also serving as the development director at a different day shelter. I completed that degree in May 2009, then moved back to DC, where I now serve as the development and communications director at the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty.

Ashlei Taylor – Audience and Corporate Research Intern, Musical Director & Host Intern Edition

Since interning at NPR, Ashlei Taylor earned a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from University of Maryland at College Park and a law degree from Fordham University School of Law.  Ashlei now works in Washington, DC as a trial attorney.

Laine Middaugh – Washington Desk Intern

I’m writing from Mexico, where I’m spending two months wandering around the Yucatán before moving to Boston in the fall to start my Masters in Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Since our NPR internship, I graduated from Scripps College in Claremont, CA, and moved home to Seattle, where I’ve spent the last three and a half years as a contract negotiator for a labor union representing long-term care workers.

Happy Anniversary, Guys!

Temporary Changes

Do you remember that I have big things coming up?  Well, this is not it, but it will be announced during the summer.  However, I do want to announce that I have accepted a four month assignment at NPR to help out on their recruiting strategy and administrative duties.  Let me give answer the questions what this moves means:

Is Tran Recruiting going to fold?

No, my company will be on hold for four months, but I will still be retweeting jobs and if you like, I will post nonprofit and association jobs on my company site for free.  Also, @tracytran never takes a day off…except one day.

Shouldn’t NPR be your client for Tran Recruiting?

No, it was agreed upon that they wanted an individual to do this job and although my company is just one person, they do not want to bring companies in to help out, so I forego my business duties for the next 4 months.

What happened to your other client, Counterpart International?

Initially, I was there for recruiting and administrative purposes, but in November, the whole HR department left, so I was the whole HR department for almost 4 months until Counterpart hired an HR Director.  Currently, the HR staff is set with the Director and the Generalist (temporarily).  I will say that I am thankful Counterpart was my first client and given my company and myself the opportunity to help on their staffing (although we can meet again).

Hey, didn’t you use to work for NPR?

Yes, as an HR intern in the Summer of 2005.  It was the best working experience I ever had and met with other interns, who I still catch up to this day.  I have also said the internship was my biggest regret since I didn’t apply for the HR Assistant position after I left.  Life could have change if I accept it, but you live and learn from your decisions.   This reminds me…it seems like I’m going to the Reunion Tour this year with Counterpart, NPR, hopefully CTAA (no pressure), and finally, Murph…oh wait, that placed closed down 2 years ago.

To be honest, I’m glad I’m back at NPR to have that second chance and feeling way more relax and swagger, unlike my internship, where there was nervous excitement.

Which NPR are you going to?

The Mothership at Chinatown-Gallery Place, not WAMU at American University, not WETA in Shirlington, Virginia, and not the Maryland stations.

Isn’t NPR located across the Verizon Center and are you going to any Capitals playoff games?

Yes, but I don’t have any playoff tickets, but if you need a Caps buddy for the playoffs, I’m your guy, although I will pay at a discount

Will this alter your summer conference schedule?

I will attend RecruitDC since it’s a one-day (un)conference and its a few blocks straight to the NPR headquarters.  I was thinking about going to the SHRM Conference, but it might be unlikely because I didn’t hear from the SHRM media team and also still haven’t heard if the NHL Draft tickets in L.A. are available.  Simply…I want the Mr. Tracy Experience in SoCal.

After your stint in NPR ends in July, what are you going to do next?

I haven’t decided yet, that will depend on the situation since the second half of July, it is projected the floodgates are open for jobs of any sector.  Have not decided that I will join or help the process.

Wait, if you’re going to NPR, is it likely you’re going to miss out on the Tony Kornheiser Show?

I can still listen to the podcasts.

Will you stop answering your own questions?

Yes

#PubCamp

This was the first #Pubcamp and my first unconference and to be honest, I thought I was missing something when there was no schedule.  I then realize that people set out the schedule in the beginning.  It also helped that there was hour delay because of a bike race in DC and it was raining, but around 250 braved the rain and bikes to come to the first #pubcamp.  It is also to note that it was the quickest introduction I’ve been to and they were very helpful to know each person with each person saying their three tags. Onto the sessions I’ve attended:

Citizen Journalism and Public Media

This was the most intense of all the sessions and there are a lot of things that were said, and Jessie X sums up perfectly of why there was tension in the session.  I want add that journalism is still a competitive sport where people are still fighting for stories.  There was one person who said their site does better covering DC than other stations and websites.  That right there shows not only a generational difference, but journalism is still competitive and it is every company for themselves, which brings me to a conversation I had with Charles Meyer and this was not mentioned in the session, but people are looking more towards the internet for the news than newspapers.  Television is still important, but the internet is catching up because there are various opinions and people can select their own news and which ones they believe in.  This tells me that although it’s great you have the story, get all the information and tell the WHOLE story.  This is why NPR and other sites are getting readers/listeners/viewers because they have the time to get the whole story and not care who has the first story.  The morale of the story is get the the story right and have a lot of specifics to clarify the audience.

Social Media Success Stories

I think mostly everyone knows Public Media have been in the forefront in social media and mobile applications.  I want to bring one thing that was mention Amy Wielunski and she mention that although the average donations are down, membership is up.  This is where I believe social media plays a key role not only for Public Media, but in nonprofits and associations.  Nonprofits will not see the big donors donate anytime soon, but through social media, public media can develop an army of supporters and ask them to donate whatever amount.  However, I do think organizations like NPR, PBS, and CPB need to tell their audience/members to donate to their local stations better, but they are improving in that area.

Gaming in Social Media

This was the most anticipated of all the sessions and depending on your viewpoint, you either got it completely, or you slowly understand gaming.  In my case, it was the latter.  The first half of the session was very technical and most of true gamers would understand was going on.  In the last half of the session, almost everyone participate asking themselves: 1) if these games can bring value to the members and 2) how would stations take advantage of the games to help fund stations.  It was a great discussion and more to talk about but here are three games, in my opinion, would help the stations, members, and viewers/listeners:

• Maria Carter mentioned a FourSquare type game for NPR/PBS news and stories.
• Andy Carvin mention the best idea that NPR should have a NPR Fantasy Head League where listeners drafts a personality and gets points of being on-air and the brevity of the story.  Personally, I want this so Carl Kasell can breakdown each NPR personality, what are their strengths and weaknesses and how much potential “air time” they have.  You have your own Mel Kiper, Jr.  By the way, if I have the first pick, it would be Carl Kasell and then Tavis Smiley (we are talking about the whole public media, right?)
• The last one, which almost everyone agreed, is follow the Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me Daily Quiz model and enhance that to give current event and NPR stories to friends and family.

Conclusion

I only went on Saturday and didn’t go on Sunday, but from the live setting and the tweets, almost all of the people attending are dedicated to improve public media and bring close a community of citizens and members.  I think this was NPR, PBS, and CPB idea of to capture what vibe they have.  I think Public Media knows they have done something great for new media and their stations.  I really think the number one question is how the people attending and others donate.  Should they go for a big donation, or rally up a number of supporters who are willing to donate even if it’s a small amount?  That question will be remain to be seen, but as everyone agrees who participated at #pubcamp that they’re doing it for better relationships between media and citizens.

For more references from #pubcamp, go to Digiphile’s blog  and videos of the event.

Tracy’s Random Thoughts: December 2008 Edition

Yep, these are my final random thoughts of the year and people want to know, “WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO STOP?!!!”  I would like to, but I want to be paid, and so far…no offers.  On we go:

1.  Barack Obama

We’re getting near to Barack Obama’s inauguration, but already everyone is upset of what is going on with Obama’s cabinet.  The right are obvious upset they lost the election and will do everything to get their power back, and the left are worried Obama is way too center on his cabinet.  I declare myself a liberal, but I think Obama picks for his cabinet are perfect at this time.   Right now, the country cannot veer off at any direction.  Obama knows these cabinet positions have a short life and when he steps in, his reign starts immediately after what is happening.   People need to stop panicking and help support our new administration.   Plus, George W. Bush got almost hit by a shoe and said “So What?”  Trust us, next year will be different.

2.  Rod Blagojevich

Is there anything I need to add except he doesn’t realize people can bring anything and will do everything if he does something illegal?  I got to give it to him for being strong and believing what he’s saying.  Sadly, evidence proves otherwise.  With this story, he has involved politics, litigation, business ethics, and sports.  Now as for the wife…wow, just wow (both literally and figuratively).  Not going to take my family into their household.

3.  Bailouts

After going through the bailout mess: 

Financial:

·         The mess will be a long road for banks

·         Most banks and financial services are already squandering their bailout money.

·         We care about people keeping our money “safe” and being told their geniuses who can stop the bailout.  Why do you think most of us can’t figure out of these financial experts are saying, yet accept them?

Auto:

·         It’s local politics.  Why do you think most of the Senate Republicans oppose to the bailout are from the southern states?

·         Everyone understands more about cars than finances.

·         With that understanding, are people hesitant of giving bailout money to people who caused the mess?

Looking at the bailout plan, at least the country was going to have a car czar and that’s what help me side with a bailout.  However, now it’s not about saving the auto industry, it’s about taking care of your people.  In other cases, this has everything to do with politics.  Ironically, the southern workers say they care about American values but work with foreign automakers, and the Midwest are open to anyone and are getting the shaft.  Do they really want Kyle Busch to be their poster child?  You know why we’re counting down to January 20.

4.  Rupert Murdoch

As you know, I have my much disdain with Rupert Murdoch for a long time.  He started his attempt to give his viewpoint to the whole world by creating networks and ask Congress to approve deregulation of ownership of media so he can buy whatever he wants. 

Now, I still feel the same way, but not so much hatred on him.  Yes, he’s a heavy capitalist trying to find the formula like any other person.  However, the new Michael Wolff book, The Man Who Owns the News, he mentions that Murdoch despises Bill O’Reilly and any mention of him, he squirms.  Also, his new partner is a liberal and is now friends with David Geffen and Bono, which is different from her second wife, who was a Catholic conservative.  Do I still don’t like the guy?  Yes.  However, the only difference is he wants a legacy and is a trend follower and will grasp at anything that makes him profitable.  At that light, I find him more of a woman shopping for the trendiest clothes and will do anything to get it.

5.  Sound Opinions

This time of year, you will be thrown with a bunch of lists from your favorites to the worst of any subject.  One of them is music.  You will get many publications getting some mainstream music in their top lists to sell.  The best music show everyone needs to listen to is Sound Opinions from Chicago Public Radio.  It is hosted by the Chicago Tribune’s Greg Kot and the Chicago Sun-Times’ Jim DeRogatis.  It is the most inform music show out there.  At times, their opinions might irk you, a la their movie counterparts, Siskel and Ebert, but they give every artist at any genre an opportunity to showcase.  They go beyond the albums and discuss what’s cool that people should listen or it’s just hype.  Also, they keep the pulse of what’s going in music that if you’re getting screwed or not.  If you think music is slumping, don’t tell it to these guys.  There are a lot of choices; they just need people really need to be inform of the new music out there.

http://www.soundopinions.org

6.  Washington Sports

Redskins- Stink

Wizards- Stink

Nationals- Still stink if they have Mark Teixeira

D.C. United- Stink

Capitals- Folks, we have a winner.

7.  D.C. Radio

There are many things I want to discuss in this section, but there are two stories I want everyone to follow:

NPR Layoffs:

You know the story about NPR laying off 7% of their workforce, plus cancelling two shows.  There’s one person in particular I want to focus on.  Doug Mitchell was my mentor for Intern Edition in the summer of 2005.  If you’re wondering, I was a Human Resources Intern, but participated in Intern Edition because the media was my first love before going into business.  I have mention time and time again, NPR to me, was the best working experience I ever had.  The main reason was…okay Human Resources because they selected me and working in HR there was very fun (and taxing, if any HR NPR people see this).  The other reason was the other interns I met at NPR, who seemed nice, but if it wasn’t for Doug, I wouldn’t have a tight of relationship with the other NPR interns.  If you never met Doug, just think of him as USC Head Coach Pete Carroll:  a great record on recruiting; only the talented few are selected, people work hard on their craft, they have a positive approach to their work instead of fear and hostility, and they have a proven track record.  Sadly, the other interns won’t have that experience to be mentored by Doug and this is a bigger statement that if Intern Edition and Next Generation Radio are thrown out, what does that say about NPR and its future?  Oh, if you think I’m sugar-coding this, check this post from former NPR Ombudsman, Jeffrey Dvorkin. 

http://nowthedetails.blogspot.com/2008/12/cuts-at-npr-run-deeper-than-numbers.html

If an Ombudsman gives you high praise, it really means something.   Also, there’s a group dedicated to Doug on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/friends/?ref=tn#/group.php?gid=48460833108

You know it’s serious if you have your own group on Facebook.  I do hope that Doug finds a place where he is wanted and right now, if someone is going to hire him, they are not getting a bargain…they are getting a steal.

Tony Kornheiser:

A little breaking news for Mr. Tony fans from Dan Levy:  Tony will not bring his radio show back next year, but in return will make a monthly appearance on Dan Levy’s Show, On the DL.  The news doesn’t shock me because the DC Radio market was slipping and the most popular stations are news and pop music for the suburbanites.  You know the DC market is down when the top DC radio talk show is…JACK F’N DIAMOND (I want to know [ladies] why you like this guy).  Also, Sirius XM were not going to get new subscribers after the auto industry is in a coma right now, so the wise move was doing PTI only for the next six months.  It is sad that Mr. Tony not to have his radio show and not flood him with emails.  However, people can start listening to Dan Levy’s show and needs all the publicity he needsJ.

Oh, http://onthedlpodcast.com

That is all of my random thoughts for the year 2008.  I will do my list after the holidays.  So, for everyone:

Have a HAPPY ANNE MURRAY HOLIDAYS!!!

Layoffs

I won’t go on a rant about layoffs because everyone knows it sucks and I’m not going to beat a dead horse again.

This has been bothering me a couple days because I’ve been attending job seekers group meetings to assist my fellow HR folks to find jobs. In those meetings, we discuss that the Baltimore-Washington D.C. area is less likely to be hit by the recession and the job market will be steady. I tend to agree with that statement since DC is filled with nonprofits, associations, public sectors, and technology.

However, when I heard the news that NPR was laying off 7 percent of their staff and their neighbors, Atlantic Video were laying off as well, plus other companies I heard from blogs to multimedia news, that are laying off as well.

This leads me with two thoughts: 1) We’re beyond the recession as the main cause for these layoffs and 2) stubborness from companies. When I’m thinking about this more, number 2 might be more of an indicator why in DC, people are getting laid off.

I do think most people are doing their jobs and trying to survive in the mess everyone is in, but it’s the company’s reaction to the situation that could make or break. The problem is there’s only one solution during these times: A proactive solution. Sadly, only a rare few have taken that option.

Here’s my analysis of the layoffs: although I live in a great town in DC, this is still a reactionary area. Companies are reacting to the situation and not enough aggressiveness. If companies worried about their status quo…they should because the rules and environment are changing everyday and not one method will heal your company’s troubles.  Right now, every resource counts from the wisdom of your executives, the experts, and the evolving technology for companies and it’s how they use the resources and the direction to determine where the company is heading.

Let me conclude by paraphrasing from a former co-worker of mine, Jane Hardin, that summarizes this post:

“If they make a proactive approach, even if it’s not popular among employees, their business will be successful down the line. If you react, it’s too late for your company.  Assertiveness is the only option.”

Tomorrow is the big day

No, I’m not referring to 6/6/06, the apocalypse will happen and Satan will rise, although strange dated like April 20 and September 11 has happen, hopefully it will be nothing like that.

Anyway, it’s the one-year anniversary of the NPR summer class of 2005. Why is this class special than the others is we have this unique bond among all the interns and I honestly have no explanation. My guess is we are came in with different skills, but with one mindset that we love public radio or in general, good radio (hard to get in DC nowadays). My NPR experience was great, learned everything from recruiting, posting jobs, working with a great organization that actually cares about news, no matter the department, working with great friends and workers, and help along my career.

Now, I have to bring this up and probably embarrassing to me. When I got back from San Diego early in the morning, I didn’t fell asleep until I arrived at Dulles airport. My sleeping habits happen at the wrong place at the wrong time. I decided to go to work because if I lose a day, I’m missing out on the money. I came back to work very, very sleepy and that day when I returned, NPR was holding an awards ceremony for long-term employees. There were two parts were embarrassing: One, I actually slept on half the event. I can totally say that it was jetlag and not the speakers that made me sleepy. I hated myself of sleeping because a bunch of “stars” were there from Melissa Block, Chris Turpin, Ken Stern, and others. My regret is that I never had a conversation with these “stars” and wish I would of been awake for the next two hours. The second part was when I was helping out giving out the gifts to the people. I was aligning them of who will pick it up and during the presentation, I had to align in front and BOOM! The gift was on the floor. There was nothing I can do, but sadly with my luck that day, I was getting the house fall on me. Shockingly, everything went smoothly and the only person who was worried about the event was me. I was worried about this much because it was big event and wanted to go perfect. Luckily, it was one day and it never made a blimp to anyone during my stay (except me).

Gladly that is off my chest. Although with that one incident, my experience exceeded my expectations and I would say after the internship was over, I realize this group was something special. In conclusion, here is what I learned:

• Making of a news program is always tough and am impress these people can turn a story to one day.
• NPR was the first time I drank (of all places, not kidding)
• Hot summers…Brutal
• NPR is more of mini DC; you got landmarks, but you have no idea where you’re going
  When heading back from a long trip, I need to get drugged. If its one hour or less, join the Mile High Club.
• NPR doesn’t like to wing it (I really need practice). They are very dedicated on sound
• XM trip was a bad idea (not at that time, but in current events about XM
• Few George Mason people
• Finally, the friends and co-workers I met.