“Part of the value and the beauty of the public media system,” Anne Avis says, “is that it reaches 99 percent of the country through this network of independently run local stations.” Not only in hip, urban centers but in remote, rural areas, NPR stations air news that is intensely local, as well as regional, national and global.“We need all of that news,” Anne says, “to make real and important decisions about the people and issues that affect our lives. That’s why public media is so important to democracy.”
Anne recently completed eight years as a board member at KQED and six years on the NPR Foundation board.
“What’s surprising is that our business model — with a diverse revenue mix that includes membership dues — is a model that other news organizations are testing right now. Ours evolved organically; it has worked and is still working. We have a value proposition and a financial model that is enviable. It’s so hard to build a news organization from scratch. Many are trying to do it, so the responsibility to adapt and thrive is strong.”
The demise of television and radio that was widely predicted early in the digital revolution has not come
to pass. People are still watching TV and listening to radio, and at the same time, online, mobile and social media activity is growing rapidly. “So our challenge,” Anne says, “is to extend our digital capacity while we sustain the radio and TV business. Our digital technology has to be just as robust as our radio and TV infrastructure.” Rewarding interactive experiences, and the chance to be part of a vibrant social community, have to happen alongside excellent content.
All media are scrambling to address the reality that audiences use multiple platforms, at once, to find what they want. KQED is uniquely “well-positioned” in this environment, Anne believes, “to successfully accomplish the transformation that’s under way.”
Headquartered in San Francisco, KQED is public TV, radio and online media serving nine counties in Northern California. KQED is explicitly intent on fulfilling a leadership role in the nation.
Location is one reason for Anne’s confidence that the station will succeed. Not only is KQED the single dual licensee in the Bay Area (TV and radio), but Northern California is also the most receptive and supportive region in the country for public broadcasting. Those engaged KQED fans are in their cars as well. “Everyone is looking to us to see how we execute this transformation,” Anne says, “because we can be the model. This awareness helps us push to be better. We’re testing and experimenting with strategies that can be replicated.”
KQED’s president is Anne’s other key reason for confidence. Anne served on the search committee that resulted in John Boland’s appointment in 2010. As he assumed his role, John Boland said that his big dream
“was that this institution becomes the 21st-century model for what public service media can be.”
KQED may recently have been seen primarily as a San Francisco–oriented institution, but during Anne’s eight years on the board, the station has earned regional relevance, and has engaged San Jose and Silicon Valley leaders. Strengthening these connections has been a priority for KQED and for Anne as board chair. Some of the region’s experts in digital media, marketing and education are now invested in helping to realize the front-line vision for KQED. Wendy Schmidt, a philanthropist focused on climate change issues, and her husband Eric, former Google CEO, for example, are now KQED “underwriters.”
After a two-year transition to a custom Salesforce database, KQED can better define its audiences. “We’re beginning to learn things about who’s engaging, what our value is for them, and who might join that audience,” says Anne. “Then we filter what we’ve learned from listening to them through the lens of our mission — improving people’s lives.” Creating new apps, blogs, e-newsletter feeds, curated content for streaming in Bluetooth-equipped cars — moves like these, according to the most recent Pew Research report on media, seem to be building audience in the public domain, while listening to radio or watching TV has leveled off. KQED’s most popular blogs are Bay Area Bites, the food blog, and MindShift, a blog about trends in the future of education.
Quite a few public media stations have a “chief content officer” now. John Boland created the position first, at KQED and then at PBS, assigning top-level responsibility for integrating content across all the station’s channels and platforms. That focus and function recognizes today’s audience expectations.
A stream of innovations, along with updated fund-raising techniques, demonstrate KQED’s commitment to nimble, expert marketing, a critical element of the 21st-century public media model, in Anne’s opinion. “We focus on how we can more directly target and engage people who might be inclined to public media,” says Anne. John Boland also believes in the power of partnering, as a structural and marketing option that could breathe new awareness and vitality into the public media “product.” He’s referring not only to the well-respected cultural and educational institutions in the area, like Stanford University or the de Young Museum. He’s talking about unconventional partners, like the San Jose Mercury News. KQED’s newsroom is strong. Can KQED fill the news gap, especially in local and regional news, when fewer reporters from other organizations are out there in the field? As a nonprofit, KQED doesn’t threaten corporate news organizations, and joining strengths might help create a more valuable service and product. Boland is focusing the station on imaginatively looking at what’s working in the marketplace and where the audience is going — rather than hunkering down in the silos and conventions of the public broadcasting past.
Of course the resource question looms large for KQED as it does for every public media outlet. Working with the board’s nominating committee, Anne has focused on finding and recruiting skilled, committed people to KQED’s board. Careful to emphasize the board’s governance role, and distinguish that from management, Anne knows that talent on the board can facilitate KQED’s strategic direction.
She has been working with John Boland to develop KQED’s capital campaign and identify the philanthropy that will address the resource question. Unpretentious, earnest and compelling, Anne easily shares her mastery of how each element of the public media financial and programming infrastructure works in a complicated and delicate equilibrium.
An ambassador for the station’s aspirations, Anne outlines the campaign building blocks: expanding KQED’s technology infrastructure; growing the capacity to create new programs, especially in the news, arts, sciences and Bay Area life; and expanding KQED’s footprint in tech-nology education, at a time when the need to cultivate skills at the intersection of teaching and technology is great. The prospect of reaching these goals will really speak to some donors, Anne knows, and will simply not resonate with others. She serves as an unflagging, honest communicator with those who might be capable of helping KQED make strides on its key priorities.
“I’ve learned so much from doing this work,” Anne says.“I had so much to learn, I needed advice and counsel. I asked, I got it, I learned, and I keep learning. I like being part of a mission-driven and educational institution at a time of amazing change.
“I believe in the power of the best information and storytelling to motivate and bring out the best in people. The medium for the storytelling might change, but people are hungry for the information, and they’ll find it. I hope there will always be a demand for those institutions that create quality news and the chance to learn more about your world. They are powerful forces for good.”
by Cathleen Everett