Station Manager Canton, NY Search conducted by Development Resources, inc. www.driconsulting.com A NORTH COUNTRY TREASURE North Country Public Radio, based in Canton, NY, in St. Lawrence County, is a small public radio station that consistently punches above its weight and touches lives far beyond the geographic reach of its transmitters. Broadcasting across the entire Adirondack North Country, western Vermont, and southeastern Ontario and shaping national news through strong relationships with National Public Radio, NCPR is committed to broad public service, with a mission to inform, enrich, and connect people on-air, online, and in their communities. It delivers a diverse range of programming in a commercial-free format, ranging across NPR programs, including All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Fresh Air; award-winning news coverage with regional broadcasts, features, and interviews; and an eclectic mix of locally-hosted music programs. Under the leadership of a long-serving leadership team that includes Station Manager Ellen Rocco, News Director Martha Foley, and Director of Broadcast and Digital Content Jackie Sauer, NCPR pioneered the adoption of local journalism as a model of viable public media in the 21st century, setting a trend that has been widely pursued at stations across the country. Its local commitment is reflected in listener support: gifts from household members and regional businesses generate more than $1.5M annually, representing the single largest source of its funding. Its vision has made it the recipient of numerous awards, as well, from the Society of Professional Journalists, Radio Television Digital News Association, Public Radio News Directors, Inc., Catholic Academy of Communication Professionals, New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association, and Syracuse Press Club. NCPR has also been recognized with a Governor's Arts Award and by community organizations as diverse as The Adirondack Park Agency and New York State United Teachers. Today NCPR has the opportunity to continue innovating at the nexus of change facing public media institutions. NCPR is a proudly university-licensed radio station in a nation with a declining number of them. Housed at St. Lawrence University— a vibrant community of 2,500 students from 43 states and 53 countries—it serves a sprawling and diverse region, reaching both Canada and large parts of the Northeastern U.S. The region is unique, with a vast outdoors, a powerful local culture, and a small town environment that is home to both seasonal residents and a year-round population. A respected source of news and information, NCPR is a powerful voice for the values of fact-based, balanced, and independent journalism in a time of media turmoil and works closely with NPR and other media to amplify its voice and defend these values. The future of NCPR’s public service will revolve around its relationship to both the university and its broad base of listeners. NCPR has numerous opportunities to deepen the station’s role as a resource in students’ academic lives, their career preparation, and their participation as community citizens. While reinforcing university ties, NCPR also aims to establish an off-campus location that will broaden community accessibility. As a good fiscal steward of the university’s dollars, it aims to continue to increase private contributions, as well. The next Station Manager will lead NCPR through these exciting challenges with the news team as the station’s continued backbone. Search conducted by Development Resources, inc. www.driconsulting.com THE NCPR TEAM Building Virtual Community. NCPR’s news team is the foundation of its superior reputation in the national public media network. With an ethical commitment to producing fact-based journalism that adds value to the community it reports on, the team has delivered a consistent roster of in-depth investigative series, breaking daily news, and a regional Story of the Day podcast that all provide a virtual gathering place for the North Country and make it a better place to live. The station also helps put the North Country on the map, bringing the region’s culture and stories to national and international audiences. Recent news series have probed energy policy, climate change, and aboriginal rights in Canada; shared the stories of families who spend their summers in the Thousand Islands or the Adirondacks; and produced “audio postcards” that take listeners and readers on virtual tours ranging from Lake Champlain to skiing on Tug Hill to swimming in Lake Ontario. Leveraging Digital Technologies. The commitment to public service has put NCPR at the forefront of initiatives to utilize digital technologies to build virtual community in new ways. NCPR’s North Country at Work (pictured right) is one of the signal examples of its innovation. Based on the premise that everyone has a work-related story to share, NCPR has collaborated with town historians, librarians, scholars, museum staff, non-profit organizations, and citizens to collect and digitize the pieces of those stories— photographs, oral histories, documents, and other content—to explore the hidden history of people’s livelihoods across northern New York, the ways they have changed over time, and how their experience is part of a larger rural experience throughout the U.S. Winning Awards. The news team’s integrity, innovation, and quality have earned NCPR more than a half-dozen awards in 2018 alone, including a Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Chi Delta Award; Public Radio News Directors, Inc. Division B recognition in multiple categories; two Edward R. Murrow awards; and two 1st Place awards from the New York State Associated Press Association. Securing Support. NCPR has the opportunity to leverage its record of innovation and its local relationships—both inside and outside St. Lawrence University—to increase funding for its pioneering community-building initiatives. There is room to grow both individual memberships and underwriting sales, and seasonal fluctuations in the region’s population create opportunities to cultivate part-time and year-round residents. With an accomplished fundraiser and relationship builder as Station Manager, NCPR will be well-positioned to pursue those opportunities and continue sustaining the North Country. Search conducted by Development Resources, inc. www.driconsulting.com Community Relationships The Opportunity ❖ Uphold NCPR’s close relationships to national public media organizations, such as NPR, PRNDI, NCPR seeks a Station Manager to lead it in envisioning and PRPD, nurturing the station’s reputation and and enacting vibrant local public media in the North impact beyond the region’s borders. Country region. Reporting to St. Lawrence University’s Vice President of Communications and working ❖ Steer the expansion of NCPR’s ties to the closely with the senior leadership team and Executive university and community, pursuing opportunities Council, the Station Manager will direct efforts to to strengthen its brand and resources. establish NCPR as a model for how public media will st thrive in the 21 century. S/he will direct the ❖ Partner with the Executive Council to sustain development and implementation of NCPR’s strategic NCPR’s reputation for community responsiveness. vision for programmatic and business initiatives, sustain a rich organizational culture, and advance ❖ Work closely with development staff to establish plans to enhance NCPR’s facilities and financial strategies for NCPR to retain, engage, and secure infrastructure. Responsibilities include: revenue from current audiences while conducting Entrepreneurial Leadership expanded outreach to new community members. ❖ Establish a vision for NCPR’s transition to a new media environment with a host of ❖ Participate actively in fundraising activities both technological, fiscal, and social challenges, on-air and in the community, serving as a identifying and seizing opportunities to compelling ambassador for NCPR’s vision to experiment with business and content creation members and major donors from households and models that maintain the station as a national businesses. industry example. Team Building ❖ Nurture and sustain a commitment to ❖ Nurture NCPR’s talented staff while building a journalistic independence, integrity, and ethics new generation of leadership. essential to NCPR’s reputation for high-quality news in a time of heightened national attention ❖ Set an outstanding example of trustworthy to journalistic values. executive leadership and supportive management and mentorship. ❖ Explore options for NCPR’s future physical location and lead financial and operational ❖ Foster an inspirational and supportive team planning to support a potential move, ensuring culture for a talented team of reporters and local that the NCPR facility is a visible embodiment of hosts, providing professional development its innovation and houses resources to support opportunities to enable staff to become nationally continued success. visible experts in their fields. ❖ Oversee NCPR’s budget, cash flow, and ❖ Reinforce and amplify NCPR’s culture of investments, ensuring adequate resources to innovation, leveraging its considerable digital execute the station’s vision. resources and reputation as a steadfast producer of local content and service delivery. Search conducted by Development Resources, inc. www.driconsulting.com The Candidate The Station Manager of NCPR will be a confident ❖ Talent for serving as a public representative of leader with