Could Representative Journalism Save Bryant Park Project?
After my earlier post about the demise of NPR’s Bryant Park Project, I sent a comment to the Bryant Park Project page. I thought gosh maybe the Representative Journalism project could come to the rescue and pay the $2million the show needs annually. Here is what I wrote about the concept in the comment post. In Rep J:
People pay directly for journalism they want. $ 2 million. Would there be 20,000 listeners across the nation willing to pay $100 each annually for the Bryant Park Project? Divide that by 50 states that comes out to 400 per state. Presumably there are that many folks in each state who are not regular contributors who would be willing to pay for this new programming. Of course, too often the folks at local stations want to protect turf at the expense of expanding their turf. BPP is turf expansion for a healthy NPR future.
Another approach: Would there be 1,600 people in each state willing to pay $25 a year. You want to get young folks hooked into the news habit, this might be an avenue.
However, here is a better idea, why doesn’t the New York Times buy into the program and have it as a joint operation between the Times and NPR. Both would benefit by engaging a young, smart demographic they will need in the future to survive.
July 15th, 2008 at 8:34 am
I am a 29 year old podcast listener and fan of the BPP. I would gladly pay $25-$100 a year to keep the show on the air.
July 15th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
so, what do we do? i’m in. how do i help?
July 15th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Hi Meredith:
Interesting question. I have been knocking on lots of doors at PBS trying to make Rep J happen for public television. It will be an uphill battle, but I have not had any doors slammed in my face. People are willing to listen. So maybe we should approach the folks at BPP and see if they have any interest. I did leave a comment there, but maybe a call will be in order.
However, for this to happen, a community has to be build around BPP which will be willing to help raise the money and become an active partner. Someone has to make that happen. I have referred to that person in the past as a network weaver, a community builder, someone who identifies the various networks and brings them together to form a whole. Would that person be you Meredith?
July 16th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Leonard,
To be quite frank, that sounds exactly like something I’d like to do. However, there are a few reasons why I might not be the best for the job, which I would love to discuss with you, but in a less public forum. Is the email address listed on your contact page the correct address for this?
Also, I just realized you are at Kennesaw — I live in Atlanta. Apropos, I think.