WERN: Telling Public Radio’s Story 2014‐2015 1. Describe your overall goals and approach to address identified community issues, needs, and interests through your station’s vital local services, such as multiplatform long and short‐ form content, digital and in‐person engagement, education services, community information, partnership support, and other activities, and audiences you reached or new audiences you engaged. Wisconsin Public Radio’s (WPR) WERN is committed to researched‐based reporting on the issues that affect the people of Wisconsin with the highest standards of journalistic ethics and excellence. Each spring and fall (twice during the reporting period) the station partners with St. Norbert College in DePere, Wisconsin for a statewide survey of residents. Results of the survey, which focuses on key issues and concerns, is used to guide production of news content heard within newscasts and special segments during WPR’s broadcasts of NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered. The Wisconsin Survey also informs news coverage on the station website, wpr.org. Some of the issues cited in the survey are reflected in the following in‐depth stories the station and its affiliates aired in FY15 including: a. A multipart series on the Affordable Care Act in Wisconsin; b. An in‐depth series on aging and elder care in Wisconsin; c. A year‐long look at gun homicides in Milwaukee; d. A multipart look at Wisconsin’s drinking culture and the impacts of alcohol in the state; and, e. A multipart look at the Common Core education debate in the state. And, in addition to the reporters’ contributions to the daily news product, WPR’s regional reporters also contribute to award‐winning local programs ‐ including Route 51 in Wausau and the cultural magazine Spectrum West in Eau Claire and Menomonie ‐ on affiliated stations. In an effort to better serve all the people of Wisconsin, WPR collaborated with Wisconsin Public Television (WPT) and University of Wisconsin‐Extension to hold a series of meetings with residents and leaders in communities around the state. In FY15, we held meetings in five communities, big and small, including Waukesha, Janesville, Green Bay, Superior and River Falls. Staff from across our organization ‐ including reporters, hosts, producers, membership and administrative staff ‐ attended to listen and learn about the issues and concerns of Wisconsin’s residents. Like the survey noted above, results of these community meetings were shared throughout the station and influenced our content in FY15. Beyond broadcast, WERN’s and its affiliates news and cultural stories are also featured in full, online articles at wpr.org where audiences can post comments, ask questions and connect with other listeners through our online forums. One story in particular, on gun violence, drew more than 465,000 page views and more than 1,500 comments in FY15. Social media is used for distribution of content, engaging audiences on and off air, and promotion. In FY15, WPR used individual show pages on Facebook so listeners could post questions, share information and engage with our hosts and guests. Our main Facebook page “Likes” increased by 62%, to more than 24,000, as users turned to WPR’s social media to stay up to date on everything from breaking news to healthy recipe recommendations. Each year our audience services team answers more than 36,000 requests from Wisconsinites eager to learn more about the news and information they hear on our programs. The station and its affiliates are also dedicated to providing a cultural resource to listeners, with curated classical, folk and jazz music and other related programming. Wisconsin is home to a rich array of classical musicians and in FY15 WPR created a new program, Wisconsin Classical, to give those performers a chance to engage and inspire listeners to WERN and its affiliate stations. Concert recordings from venues around the state, interviews, and performances ranging from small student ensembles to professional symphony orchestras are part of the program each Sunday afternoon. Live music has been an important part of our mission and programs like The Midday regularly feature performances from some of the best state, national and international talents available. We are proud to sponsor many community performances, knowing that exposure on WPR’s airwaves and website help keep local musicians and venues strong. Simply Folk with Stephanie Elkins broadcasts concerts recorded in Wisconsin, songs for the season and traditional music of people the world over. Higher Ground with Dr. Jonathan Overby features “world music with African roots and more” each Saturday night. WERN’s The Odyssey Series explores music the world over and its power to create greater understanding of those near and far. WERN’s licensee, the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board, partners with the University of Wisconsin‐Extension to produce and distribute programming under the banner of Wisconsin Public Radio. According to Nielsen, the partnership reached an average of 431,000 listeners each week in the spring of 2015. Wisconsin Public Radio expanded its digital presence in FY15. WPR’s websites had more than 13.2 million page views in FY15 and has had more than 60,000 app downloads (iOS and Android) since 2012. 2 2. Describe key initiatives and the variety of partners with whom you collaborated, including other public media outlets, community nonprofits, government agencies, educational institutions, the business community, teachers and parents, etc. This will illustrate the many ways you’re connected across the community and engaged with other important organizations in the area. WPR’s WERN and affiliates provide extensive election coverage and collaborate with Wisconsin Public Television (WPT) to broadcast important events, including the governor’s State of the State address, budget address, and the official state celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We encourage listeners to experience the state from diverse perspectives. Wisconsin Life, our most recent collaboration with WPT, continues this commitment by featuring stories of unexpected Wisconsin people and places on WPR, WPT and online at wisconsinlife.org. In 2014, as in all election years, we invited ballot‐certified candidates to participate in broadcast debates, forums and interviews and to record unfiltered candidate statements. WisconsinVote.org, WPR’s and WPT’s award‐winning site, offers immediate access to voting information, candidate statements and extensive unbiased reporting on issues that affect the people of Wisconsin. During the week leading up to the fall 2014 elections, the site garnered more than 200,000 sessions and served more than 170,000 unique users. WPR and WPT are working with state veterans’ organizations, the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund to spread the word and find a photo of every Wisconsin serviceman or woman listed on the Wall in Washington D.C. The images will become part of the “Wall of Faces” — a lasting tribute planned for the Vietnam Memorial Education Center near the mall in our nation’s capital. As of the end of FY15, nearly 1,170 images had been found. The partners also collaborate on culture and entertainment programs, including an annual young performers classical music competition managed by the Madison Symphony Orchestra. The final competition, which features four young soloists performing live on stage with the orchestra, is called “The Final Forte.” It is a free public event that is also broadcast statewide live on WERN and its affiliates and on WPT. During the reporting period, WERN and its affiliates expanded its commitment to educating the next generation of reporters with the announcement of the Mike Simonson Fellowship for Investigative Journalism in partnership with the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. The fellowship, like our Lee Ester News Fellowship, helps attract some of the brightest young minds in journalism to public broadcasting. Each year we build partnerships with local nonprofits, arts organizations and venues to raise awareness of educational and entertainment opportunities at the local level. Our hosts also made special appearances for broadcasts and promotion throughout FY15. WERN and its affiliates have partnerships with a number of non‐profit arts and community organizations, including: the Wisconsin Science Festival, Wisconsin Book Festival, 3 Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison Public Library, Wisconsin Veterans Museum, Milwaukee Historical Society, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra, Overture Center for the Arts, Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival, Summerset Festival, Porcupine Music Festival, Door Community Auditorium, Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, Neville Public Museum, Meyer Theater, Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Midsummer’s Music Festival, Peninsula Players, Paine Arts Center and Gardens, Wet Whistle Wine Festival, Brown County Civic Orchestra, Fox Valley Symphony, Majestic Theater, Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra, Green Lake Festival Music, Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra, Peninsula Music Festival, St. Norbert College, UW‐Marinette, White Heron Chorale, UW‐Green Bay, Shawano Folk Fest, Children’s Theater of Madison, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Stoughton Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Opera, American Players Theatre, Driftless Film Festival, Hardy Gallery, Downtown Green Bay, Stoughton Opera House, UW‐Stevens Point, Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service, Wausau Lyric Choir, Trout Museum, Lucille Tack