Public Radio Exchange

Enabling This American Life’s Mobile Takeover

Rekha posted on Thursday, April 7th, 2011 | PRX Projects | 1 Comment

Beloved public radio show This American Life just blew through another milestone in its plan for mobile domination.

Announcing the This American Life app for iPad!

Our PRX tech team developed it, we had a lot of fun doing it. Just like we had when we built their iPhone and Android apps.

The iPad app has everything the other apps have, and more, including:

• Save up to THREE episodes for offline listening
• Play and share individual stories, not just entire episodes
• Not sure where to put your eyes while listening? Put ‘em on the Twitter feed of all TAL mentions
• A comic strip about the show. But of course!

This American Life’s blog has screenshots to whet your appetite.

Get Your Car Talk Fix on iTunes

Rekha posted on Wednesday, March 16th, 2011 | PRX Projects | 2 Comments

You finish listening to Car Talk’s latest podcast episodes in, like, no time. Then what? you ask.

Well, visit the wider world of Car Talk on iTunes and delightedly partake in the wealth of episodes before you. What’s 99 cents when presented with such joy, such entertainment? These albums make great pick-me-up gifts for someone who hasn’t laughed — or snort-laughed — in a while.

In the latest chapter of PRX’s life as a record label for iTunes, we’re proud to have the privilege of delivering Car Talk to iTunes in the form of:

* weekly episodes
* 50 Classics everyone loves
* several compilations of great stuff, too

Car Talk albums on iTunes: When the podcast simply isn’t enough.

Please Ask Apple to Allow Donations

Rekha posted on Friday, December 3rd, 2010 | PRX in the News, PRX Projects | 2 Comments

***Update 12/14: Well over 6000 signatures and counting. Is yours on there?***

***Update 12/9: In yesterday’s New York Times, PRX CEO Jake Shapiro gets interviewed on this issue: Donations Ban on iPhone Apps Irritates Nonprofits. Petition signatures are nearing 2000 – add yours!***

With the holidays and the year’s end upon us, many of us think about donating to charity. Many of us have iPhones, and iTunes accounts that already have our credit card info. Since we also like things to be easy, it seems obvious we should be able to give money to deserving nonprofits through our iPhones.

But Apple prohibits this. Nonprofits can’t ask for donations in their apps, and any purchase transaction through iTunes gives Apple a 30% cut. In June, Jake Shapiro, our CEO, called on Apple to change this no-donation policy.

PRX’s Public Radio Player iPhone app is a great example of what such a change could mean. The app has had over 2 million unique downloads. Nearly 500 noncommercial stations across the U.S. have a page in the app. Imagine if each page had a Donate button that, with two or three taps, let you send money to the station.

Many of you have asked us how to donate to your favorite Player stations. Now there’s a petition so you can ask Apple to change its no-donations policy.

For a brief time, PayPal found a way around this rule, and made nonprofit donations possible through its PayPal Mobile for iPhone app. Soon after, Apple asked PayPal to remove the donation feature, which they did. In “Why Does Apple Make Donation Apps So Hard?” Gizmodo provides a good review of the situation.

Beth Kanter posted about this on her blog about nonprofits and technology. We’re glad she’s on the case. Especially if she’s going to keep making these wacky graphics!

Flickr: cambodia4kidsorg

Flickr: cambodia4kidsorg

This American Life Goes Android

Rekha posted on Thursday, September 30th, 2010 | PRX Projects | 2 Comments

This American Life’s iPhone app was such a success, they didn’t want it to stop there. Nor did the many Android owners who begged for an app of their own. So we built one.

Get the details – and the download info – here.

REMIX Radio: It’s Terrestrial!

Emily posted on Tuesday, September 14th, 2010 | Press Releases, PRX Projects | 2 Comments

After 16 months streaming on XM, REMIX Radio — PRX’s remix of amazing stories, cool podcasts and more — is now broadcasting on real-live radio-radio, from the brand new KPBZ 90.3 in Spokane, WA. Thanks KPBZ!

We received such great feedback from our XM listeners that our tech team and the good folks at Backbone Radio couldn’t help themselves but pull on their white coats, get out their test tubes and clone that friendly beast.  Now you can hear REMIX on terrestrial radio, on XM, online and on your iPhone and iPod too.

REMIX Radio is curated and hosted by Remixer-in-Chief Roman Mars, and streams 24/7. Hear what folks are saying!

Bravo. Only been on for a couple of days and don’t want to be without it. Bits on Mandela, border crossings, street dogs, mass hysteria… where have you been all my life? -Ralleuc, KPBZ listener

I was about to throw out my XM radio until you guys came along.  PRX is amazing, I love it.  -Richard, XM 136 listener

This is great. I recently moved to Spokane and…. I’m so excited to hear what you guys have to offer. I’ve been listening for a half-hour and have already heard a Bob Dylan song I’ve never heard and learned something new about Ben Franklin. THANK YOU! -Agille, KPBZ listener

I LOVE your channel.  It is the only one I really listen to and love on XM. Today, you had a piece from The Moth from 2006 around 1:45pm EST.  What a compelling man!  I had an appointment and had to leave the broadcast midway.  I simply cannot bear to not know the ending to the story!!! … Thanks, many blessings and thank you for the many amazing stories and pieces. -Karen, XM 136 listener

Amazing Stuff! -Purav, XM 136 listener

You should join in the fun!

Tags: Emily

Al and Glynn are unstoppable

Rekha posted on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 | Blog, PRX Projects | No Comments

Two of public radio’s newest shows, State of the Re:Union and Snap Judgment, have been busy expanding their multimedia empires. Broadcast carriage on hundreds of stations, online video, live performance, audience participation… these folks deserve a shout out.

Current describes how the crew at Snap Judgment — led by host/EP Glynn Washington and co-EP Mark Ristich — work non-stop:

“We kind of just go-go-go all the time,” says Mark Ristich, co-executive producer with Glynn Washington, a Talent Quest winner who is host and creator of the series. “We’re going to try to keep the content as fresh as possible, because we’ll lose people if we don’t.”

The small production team is busy creating 26 weekly radio episodes and a series of live storytelling performances, the first of which was recorded in June at San Francisco’s Brava Theater. The performances will be adapted for radio and television programs.

Meanwhile, host/EP Al Letson, EP Ian DeSousa, and team over at State of the Re:Union keep finding and making new tools for engagement and support. There’s the My Community in One Picture series of listener submissions. There’s also a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund a video documentary to accompany SOTRU’s Austin, Texas radio piece. (The campaign ends in three days, on August 21… tell your friends!)

Both shows are co-distributed by PRX and NPR. We’re really proud of what they’ve accomplished and continue to achieve… and we’ll be sure to keep bragging about them.

Great new features on the This American Life iPhone app

Rekha posted on Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 | PRX Projects | No Comments

Here at PRX and there at This American Life, we listened to people’s feedback about the This American Life iPhone app. Generally, it’s been great, and we thank you for that. Naturally, there were requests, some of them ardent. Now, they are a reality:

• Multitask: Listen while you do other things on your device, like check email and surf the web
• Multitask without an internet connection: Save an episode for offline listening so you’re *never* bored.
• Stay organized: Mark as “Heard” the episodes you’ve, um, heard

(I’m sensing a trend… efficiency. Doesn’t anyone ever just listen anymore?)

Ira Glass talks about the new features in more depth here: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/blog/2010/08/awesome-new-features-in-version-20-of-our-iphone-app

Get the app (if you already have it, download the update from the iTunes App Store.)

Tags: iphone, this american life

WBUR goes even more mobile (with our help)

Rekha posted on Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 | PRX Projects | 1 Comment

WBUR, the powerhouse Boston public radio station, has been mobile for a while, thanks to broadcast, internet streaming, and a great mobile website.

There was more to be done, however, and we’ve done it: We’re proud to announce the launch of the WBUR app for iPhone and iPod, developed by PRX. The app is free. Get it now.

This app has many things going for it, and we list most of them here. There’s the live stream of WBUR’s excellent programming, top-of-the-hour news and weather, a program schedule, and access to past episodes.

But both WBUR and PRX wanted to push the limits of what a public radio mobile app could be. The result are some important new features we hope to see in other station apps in the future: Support, On Assignment, and Benefits.

Support
You may have gathered that we’re passionate about channeling donations from iPhone users to the stations they listen to. It’s not easy, since Apple prohibits direct donations from iPhone apps, but our team got real close with just two buttons: “Call Now to Pledge” and “Remind Me Later”. The former requires the phone number of someone on WBUR’s development staff. The latter doesn’t need anything except the listener’s own email address, since they’re just emailing themselves a reminder with a link to WBUR’s pledge form. We can’t wait to see the impact of these two little buttons.

On Assignment
This feature brings public radio and its (iPhone toting) audience closer together, letting editors create assignments that anyone with the app can fulfill. A breaking news event is happening in your region? Put out an assignment asking for text, audio, or photos from the scene. Use PRX’s On Assignment curation tool to manage the submissions, then work them into your on-air or online coverage.

Benefits
Here’s yet another groundbreaker for public radio. The WBUR app provides a list of underwriters offering discounts and other treats to WBUR listeners. Then it maps them. Then it lets you generate a Virtual Member Card right in the app that you can show to the participating business for instant gratification. Anyone involved with station membership and underwriting knows just how amazing this is.

These innovations, and the overall app, could not have been achieved without a true sense of partnership, collaboration, and vision among both WBUR and our own PRX team. We are also grateful to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for support that gave us the ability to explore, experiment, and refine. We look forward to hearing what you think!

Tags: iphone, mobile, stations, wbur

WBUR iPhone App Preview: May 25

Rekha posted on Monday, May 24th, 2010 | PRX Projects | No Comments

Another week, another mobile milestone here at PRX: The WBUR iPhone app we’ve been working on is ready for a sneak peek.

Please join WBUR and PRX tomorrow, May 25, at 12pm ET for an online preview. Everyone’s welcome, and bring your questions and comments!

Make no mistake, the screens you’ll see are more than just a pretty face: The app is nearly finished. It’s due out in mid-June, and we think it’s going to make you wish you lived in the Boston area.

We hope this app enables more public radio stations across the country to build their own (here’s a list of existing pubradio apps). In that spirit, we’ll be open sourcing the code. To learn more about the vision for the app, read this blog post.

The Public Radio Player, Today and Beyond

Rekha posted on Friday, May 7th, 2010 | PRX Projects | No Comments

Maybe it was the fresh promise of Spring and new ideas. Maybe it was a slow day for public media. Or, maybe this list in our webinar invite hooked people in:

• Pledging and donations opportunities from station pages
• A pilot program for local station ads
• Preview of a new PRX tool, called Billboard, to help stations manage their presence in the app
• A Web version
• Plans for an Android app (yes, you read that right)
• Tune in for a preview of the WBUR iPhone app, too.

Whatever the reason, yesterday’s webinar about the Public Radio Player iPhone app drew the public media crowds, resulting in lots of questions and comments and more fans to our Facebook page (always important).

Here it is.