Bringing together public media leadership, development, marketing, and content professionals to better connect with and serve audiences.
Bringing together public media leadership, development, marketing, and content professionals to connect with and serve new audiences .
The 2025 Audience Development Summit, presented by Greater Public and The Public Media Content Collective, addresses our industry imperative: to fully engage in strategic audience growth and connection.
For the fourth year, this two-day virtual event brings together content, marketing, and development leaders to offer insights and expertise on ways to reach new audiences.
Attend the 2025 Audience Development Summit
- Tuesday, February 11, 1-4:30pm ET / 10am-1:30pm PT
- Wednesday, February 12, 1-4:30pm ET / 10am-1:30pm PT
Participation in the 2025 Audience Development Summit will equip you and your team with:
- New national research uncovering the unmet needs of audiences that public media is best equipped to meet
- First-hand accounts of successful efforts that better serve our broader communities
- Ideas and steps to translate audience engagement into financial support
Who should attend the Audience Development Summit?
This virtual event is specifically for cross-disciplinary teams to attend as a group. It is an opportunity to bring an internal team together to focus on connecting with and engaging new audiences. The goal is to give your team focused time to learn, reflect, and then talk about the steps your organization can take to strengthen your audience development approach.
To make the most of the Summit, each participating station should assemble a team of decision-makers and practitioners, including the station’s:
- CEO or General Manager
- Leaders from content, development, and marketing divisions
- Professionals doing the day-to-day tasks of audience building
During registration, you will identify team captains who will be responsible for sharing information and preparing your organization’s team for the Summit. Team captains are responsible for determining how and where your team will meet for the discussion activity and assigning a note taker. We encourage stations to meet in person if possible.
What Past Years’ Attendees are Saying
Speakers
Speakers will be announced soon.
Vicki Austin
Senior Director of Grants and Education
WVIA
Lisa Beckman
Director of Philanthropy
WHYY
Ian Cruz
Community Engagement & Media Manager
KLRN
Joan DiMicco
Executive Director, Product & Audience Insights
WBUR
Mike Dougherty
Director of Digital Strategy
Vermont Public
Khalil Ekulona
Host, This is Nashville
Nashville Public Radio
Terry Gildea
Program Director
WUNC
Abby Goldstein
President & Executive Director
Public Media Content Collective
Leoneda Inge
Host, "Due South"
WUNC
Jordan Lee
Senior Director of Programming
WYMS 88Nine Radio Milwaukee
Tasha Lemley
Senior Producer, This Is Nashville
Nashville Public Radio
Victor Lim
Sr. Director of Audience Development
Chicago Public Media
Joyce MacDonald
President and CEO
Greater Public
Krishna Sharma
Audience Engagement Editor
Baltimore Banner
Aaron Turner
Director of Development
WGVU / WGVK
Schedule
Each day will include two sessions that unpack the findings from the new national RUN (Researching Unmet Needs) study, and highlight local public media initiatives that are serving some of the needs identified. Then, attending organizations will have time to gather together and discuss their own audience development plan using discussion prompts provided by the Summit.
Session speakers will be announced soon.
Day 1 – Tuesday, February 11th
SESSION DESCRIPTION
What do our audiences, both current and potential, want and need that we aren’t delivering or delivering enough of? How can we attract and engage new audiences? These are questions you and your colleagues have thought about and discussed often as we work to strategically plan for today and tomorrow.
In 2024, Greater Public and PMCC, in partnership with the Station Resource Group, funded national research to examine the opportunities for public media music and news, the specific ideas that appeal to audiences, and the qualities that make them so.
This session is a first look at the research results from the Researching Unmet Needs (RUN) study and an analysis of its findings. Be ready for confirmation of some of your expectations, as well as some surprising takeaways that will help your organization chart a course of action to serve your community better.
SESSION DESCRIPTION
The RUN study found that audiences are extremely keen on in-person events, especially when the audience is small and intimate. While they value content delivered through podcasts, social media, TV, and radio, the chance to engage with their community in person is highly valued.
In-person events aren’t new to public media, so what steps can we take to further sharpen our vision and skills even further? This session will discuss developing next-level impact and creative ways to plan and implement audience events. We’ll also discuss the important business outcomes of successful events, from measuring impact to return on investment.
SESSION DESCRIPTION
Summit attendees will have dedicated time to gather together as an organization and discuss current and future audience development plans using a discussion guide provided by the Summit. Team Captains, who are designated during registration, are responsible for determining whether your organization will meet virtually or in person and provide the necessary logistical support.
Day 2 – Wednesday, February 12th
Meeting the Need: Trust, talent, and representing your community
Day two will feature a two-part session diving into examples of addressing some fundamental findings of the RUN study: How can we evolve our current offerings to better align with our communities’ needs? And second, how can we, as public media organizations, approach developing new products or services that can take the concepts of RUN forward?
SESSION DESCRIPTION
As our communities change, we must adapt to meet our mission of serving them. Sometimes, these are subtle shifts. Other times, bold action is required. In either scenario, we have to evolve or cease to be relevant. In part one of today’s program, we’ll discuss the importance of taking bold steps when the opportunity presents itself. How do you sustain existing services while navigating the challenges of time and resources to create new ones? How do you assess the risk you must take to reap the rewards of new ventures? We are certain this session will inspire you to look for new ways to work within your community.
SESSION DESCRIPTION
The RUN study has revealed that the desire for connection between our talent and audiences is changing. Audiences are redefining trust beyond the facts being reported. They also expect to have trust and an authentic connection to people and organizations they rely on for that content. What do we have in common? And what can you tell me about the city or area we collectively call home? We’ll discuss services that reflect the heart of their community, help improve people’s lives, and are more reciprocal than ever. Be ready to think and perhaps feel a bit more connected as we explore the needs of our audiences.
SESSION DESCRIPTION
Summit attendees will have dedicated time to gather together as an organization and discuss current and future audience development plans using a discussion guide provided by the Summit. Team Captains, who are designated during registration, are responsible for determining whether your organization will meet virtually or in person and provide the necessary logistical support.
SESSION DESCRIPTION
To set audience engagement goals and understand performance we must be sure that our efforts are successful and sustainable. Instituting organizational Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is necessary to make sense of the mission-critical metrics and to understand how to translate those data points to sustainability. In this session, we’ll hear from stations who have outlined a standard set of metrics to track their audience engagement and development. We’ll include templates and ways to get started whether you are a team of 10 or 100+.
PANELISTS
- Joan DiMicco – Executive Director of Product & Audience Insights, WBUR
- Mike Dougherty – Director of Digital Strategy, Vermont Public
MODERATOR
- Victor Lim – Sr. Director of Audience Development, Chicago Public Media
Pricing and Registration
This event is designed for cross-disciplinary teams to attend as a group. Organizational passes allow everyone at your organization to attend for one flat rate based on your organization’s size (as measured by your station’s non-federal funding, or NFFS). Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of the Summit, individual registration is not available.
Members of Greater Public and PMCC will receive special discounted rates to attend the Summit.
The pricing outlined below covers everyone at your organization. The early bird deadline is January 28, 2025. Prices increase on January 29th.
| Station Size | Greater Public/PMCC Members | Non-Members | ||
| Early Bird Price (Until 1/28/25) | Standard Pricing (After 1/28/25) | Early Bird Price (Until 1/28/25) | Standard Pricing (After 1/28/25) | |
| Small (Under $4,000,000) | $350 | $600 | $600 | $1,000 |
| Medium ($4,000,000 - $9,999,999) | $750 | $1200 | $1,300 | $2,050 |
| Large ($10,000,000+) | $1,150 | $1,800 | $1,950 | $3,050 |
FAQs
The Summit is a virtual event that will happen on Zoom, but we encourage stations to meet together in-person to collaborate through the group activities.
Attendees should make best efforts to attend both days, as the sessions build upon each other.
Team captains are our primary contact to ensure you have what you need to make the most of the two-day virtual event. Team captains are responsible for determining how and where your team will work through the organizational discussions. Greater Public and PMCC may also reach out to team captains for follow-up materials.
The organizational discussion will help your team build and strategize new audiences, building on the information provided during the sessions. Stations will receive discussion questions to work through together, with time set aside during the Summit. All attendees should participate in the organizational discussion to get the most out of this experience.
No! All activities are designed to work through in person or remotely via the platform of your choosing.
Attracting new audiences is important to radio stations, television stations, and joint licensees as non-profit media organizations. The content of the Summit will feature speakers addressing the overarching themes that pertain to both TV and radio.
Yes! There are many benefits for smaller organizations to participate. Regardless of size, understanding changing demographics and expectations of audiences is a critical conversation we need to have industry-wide. We’ve also created pricing tiers so the Summit is affordable for teams of all sizes.
Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of the Summit, individual registration is not available for the Audience Development Summit.
Yes! Recordings and slides will be available and sent via email within a few business days of the end of the Summit. If your station registered to attend the Summit, but you did not receive the email containing these links, please contact us.
Registration opens on January 8, 2025.
