Public Radio Exchange

PRX’s Red Carpet

John posted on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 | Station Newsletters | No Comments

On PRX this week: Voices from Tahrir, Memories of Groundhog Day, and How To Do Everything.

Memories of Groundhog Day

Genevieve posted on Monday, January 23rd, 2012 | Blog | No Comments

“Ned… Ryerson!”

If you remember that name, you probably remember the movie Groundhog Day and actor Stephen Tobolowsky, who pushes insurance and friendship on Bill Murray’s character daily on the street.

Stephen is an extraordinary storyteller whose series The Tobolowsky Files has aired on KUOW/Seattle and WFPL/Louisville Public Radio. Now you can get the story behind the story of the movie, as Stephen shares his Memories of Groundhog Day.

If you’re with a PRX member station, Memories of Groundhog Day is FREE for you to air. It’s a great chance to add some whimsy to your early Feb. schedule and give the program a try with your audience.

Questions about your station’s PRX membership or anything else? Just shout.

What KUOW’s Program Director has to say about the series:

“What I like most about The Tobolowsky Files is the intimacy and the intelligence of the stories. By intimacy I mean that it seems as if Stephen is leaning across the table telling ME personally a story. By intelligence, I mean that the stories are both entertaining and that I learn something. The Tobolowsky Files is the perfect alignment between story-telling creation and presentation.

“When we test-piloted the program in the evening we received more positive response than with any other new program we’ve tested. We then chose to air it Sunday afternoons at 1:00 right after another of the best story-telling programs available, thereby helping us extend listening further into the day.” – Jeff Hansen, Program Director at KUOW/Seattle

Why Public Media Needs an Accelerator

Jake posted on Thursday, January 19th, 2012 | PRX | 1 Comment

PRX has been busy gearing up for the launch of the Public Media Accelerator to take place at SXSW in March. The project is run by PRX and supported by a $2.5 million dollar investment from the Knight Foundation.

As we approach the launch, we’re already getting questions from people across media and technology. What is an accelerator and what role will it play for public media?

I address some of these questions in a new post today on the MediaShift Idea Lab blog.

It’s clear that public media needs its own accelerator — attuned to the needs and assets of the industry and connected to the talent and energy in the broader technology and media world… [O]ur measure of success is not profits and exits per se — it’s furthering the values and impact of public service media, with sustainability and revenue being critical to create a lasting effect.

Read the full post, “Why PRX, Knight Created an Accelerator for Public Media” over at the MediaShift Idea Lab blog.

Learn more and sign up for updates at http://publicmediax.org.

PRX Time Continuum

John posted on Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 | Station Newsletters | No Comments

We’re highlighting picks for Black History Month. Plus, get some movie magic right before Sundance, and listen in to new music specials of all kinds.

PRX Ponders Twinkie

John posted on Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 | PRX, Station Newsletters | No Comments

Moyers & Company coming soon — get all the details. Plus, ideas for Black History Month and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Welcome Laitan

Audrey posted on Monday, January 9th, 2012 | Blog, Introductions | No Comments

Laitan Oladipo approached PRX about helping out during her winter break. We think that’s a great use of free time, and we are glad to have benefited as well. Thanks, Laitan!

Hi, there! My name is Laitan Oladipo and I am currently a sophomore at Brown University studying Modern Culture and Media. Thus far, I’ve spent my time at school pursuing courses that have allowed me to be creative and innovative. I have a widespread interest in media but, more specifically, I love art and everything artistic. I love to sing, write, paint and do anything that encourages cultural appreciation/self-reflection/participation.

I got involved with PRX through Rekha, a fellow Brunonian, and am so happy that I had the opportunity to get to work with her. I wanted to pick her brain as to everything media and she really gave me a lot to think about. My experience with public radio has always been rather on the surface—it was something I would listen to in the car driving to and from school—but after spending a full day at the Public Radio Exchange, I can truly say that this community is cultivating a digital art form. What I mean is that PRX’s method is against the grain in a way that is relevant, much like unconventional art.

I’ve always believed art is dependent on its emotional semblance and connection with the viewer. Art is relevant when the viewer feels and therefore cannot forget. Art is the inexperienced, still waiting to be made and discovered. What immediately resonated with me after leaving the Exchange on day one was that, much like art, PRX serves as an outlet for many diverse voices, stories, and opinions.

For the time being I will be working on a small project with Jones at Generation PRX. I am excited to learn more about public radio and hopefully expand my definition of the medium.

PRX Monthly Update

Audrey posted on Thursday, January 5th, 2012 | PRX | 3 Comments

Happy New Year PRXers! We’ve made it to the other end of the giant virus/cookie coma that is December and now we’re tackling some serious Arctic temps. We’ve got even more to look forward to in 2012, but before we go there, lets take a step back and share some highlights from the past month.

• We partied! Check out some pictures from our annual holiday party held at the Signet Society of Harvard.

Okay, we did other stuff, too…

• PRX is now the official iTunes distributor for The Moth’s albums in the iTunes Store. Check out The Best of The Moth, Volumes 1-20.

• iTunes named The Moth one of the Best Arts Podcasts of 2011.

• Generation PRX announced the pitches that were selected for the Bullying Stories Project. Selected groups received a recording kit and will work with producer Catie Talarski and Connecticut Public Radio to turn their pitches into stories.

• Director of Projects + Partnerships Rekha Murthy talked shop on On the Media and told WNYC producer Jody Avirgan the recipe for making an app people will use.

• Public Radio Remix host, producer and program director Roman Mars (and his excellent podcast 99% Invisible) was featured as a Radiolab short.

• And last but not least, PRX and Knight Foundation announced one of our coolest, biggest projects to date: the Public Media Accelerator. Make sure to sign up for updates and follow Public Media Accelerator on Twitter.

Podmass’ “Best of 2011″ Podcast Picks…on PRX!

John posted on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 | PRX | No Comments

Podmass (the podcast fans of the A.V. Club), part of The Onion, picked their favorite podcasts of 2011. Two of those podcasts also happen to appear as shows on PRX.

Number 1: WTF With Marc Maron

Marc’s been a big podcast favorite in the universe at large, and certainly here at PRX. We partnered with uber-producer Jesse Thorn (host and producer of the The Sound of Young America, now called Bullseye with Jesse Thorn) who worked with Marc to create broadcast-friendly versions of his podcast (the podcasts are not for easily-shocked/offended/judgmental/religious or especially sensitive). The ten shows, still available to stations, were a good-sized hit with stations in 2011 with more to come in February. Grab ‘em here!

Number 9 (another PRX fave): The Tobolowsky Files

Actor Stephen Tobolowsky (Groundhog Day, Glee, Memento, 30 Rock…) has an amazing range and has mined his life, career and acting experiences into what sound like stream-of-conscious weekly podcasts (he actually scripts each show carefully).
Our pals at KUOW worked with Stephen and producer David Chen to fashion the podcasts into one-hour broadcast programs, and you can find them on PRX!.


Podmass says:

“…[the podcasts] remain tender and insightful, with plenty of funny on-set and behind-the-scenes anecdotes underwritten by a deep well of emotion.”

Congratulations Marc and Stephen!

PRX recommends some other great podcasts A.V. Club missed:

• HowSound

• Youthcast

• 99% Invisible

PRX Cheers Vinyl Cafe’s Stuart McLean

John posted on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 | Blog, PRX | 2 Comments

Congratulations to Stuart McLean, host of Vinyl Cafe!

We’re not sure if we’ll have to give a snappy PRX salute the next time we see Stuart, but he has been named one of the recipients of the Order of Canada, an officer to be precise, for “a lifetime of achievement and merit of a high degree, especially in service to Canada or to humanity at large.” This is one of Canada’s highest civilian honors.

Stuart joins other well-known Order of Canada recipients such as author and New Yorker columnist Malcolm Gladwell, creator of Saturday Night Live Lorne Michaels, and filmmaker and comedian Eugene Levy.

Stuart posted on the Vinyl Cafe Facebook page:

“…My name is on the award, and that is lovely, but the award is for my work on the show and there should be other names on it. Vinyl Cafe producer, Jess Milton, who works harder and smarter than anyone. Meg Masters who has been editing the stories since the beginning. Julie Penner (and before her Owen Pallett) who works on the music. Louise Curtis who keeps the office going. John Sheard, Don Jones and all the touring gang. Greg deClute and others at the CBC. Founding producer David Amer. It’s a team effort. And if the award is a great big shout out, the team deserves one too. Jess says she is proud of me. I am proud to work with her, and everyone else. I’m a lucky man.”

The Order will be presented formally in 2012.

IOWAPRXIOWA

John posted on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 | Station Newsletters | No Comments

This week’s station newsletter introduces two new shows coming soon: America’s Test Kitchen Radio and Moyers & Company with Bill Moyers. We also list some great ideas for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Black History Month. Check them out after the jump.