Connecting and activating digital folks in public radio
On the NPR Training team, I served two primary audiences: NPR journalists and member station journalists, who are located across the country. Although these two groups relied on each other, they did not have many common touchpoints; this was especially true for digital staff (digital editors, audience editors, visual producers, etc.).
In 2017 — when the Online News Association conference was being held in Washington, D.C. (NPR's backyard) — I proposed that we invite member station folks to HQ. I suggested that an additional pre-conference event with training and networking opportunities could help narrow the relationship and communication gaps.
Once the idea was greenlit, I led event planning and design for this "Digital Day." I worked closely with many collaborators within NPR and at stations, including our local station partner, WAMU. This work included developing an attendee-centric agenda, recruiting speakers, and managing many logistics. We ultimately welcomed 100+ people for a full day with presentations, learning sessions, and "office hours."
There was a real energy in the room that was reflected in overwhelmingly positive survey feedback. Many folks said the free one-day event was more valuable than a multi-day conference.
Indeed, Digital Day was so popular that we did it again in 2018 when the ONA conference was in Austin, Texas. And NPR continued the tradition in 2019 in New Orleans after I had left the company.
(2017 Digital Day photos by Jenna Sterner; 2018 images by me)