Future of Public Radio

This weekend I am off to Washington for a meeting of over 300 delegates from all across the Public Radio system in the US.

Our intention - to find agreement on how we will go into the future together.

This meeting is the culmination of a voyage that has taken 9 months (a certain symbolism there!) We will have had 6 meetings for stations across the US that have included over 300 leaders in the system, many internal meetings at NPR with over 200 staff, all the executives and the board.

The great choice before the group is can they commit to working together as a system. I am confident that they can.

The stakes are high. For many who will attend, the issue is much more than the survival and health of public radio but the survival of the last large media space in America that can be trusted. Some see the stakes as higher yet. They see the opportunity that public radio  can expand its role from trusted news source to a space where the citizens of the nation can come together safely and solve the pressing problems that confront their communities.

So in Boston WGBH is asking why are our kids doing so badly in school. In Cleveland - how can we the citizens renew our broken community, in upstate New York NCPR is asking the summer visitors and the locals to come together and heal the wounds that their separation cause to the community.

These are all issues where vested interest and the existing institutions prevent dialog. Public radio can be the new "Agora" where the citizen can speak out and influence what happens.