PubMedia Chat: June 21, 2010
June 21, 2010 PubMedia Chat Roundup
Host: Amanda Hirsch @publicmediagirl
Q1 Has your org ever collaborated w/ another org w/o grant support for collab? (Or do you know of examples?) If so, pls describe.
jdcoffman: @pubmedia I collaborate w/ stations and producers nearly everyday on a small scale, and with NPR more often on bigger projects
amsugar: our station does most of its collaboration w/o funding because neither org has funding to spare
ssgowans: @pubmedia Lots of times. For political debates, we provide the TV production while another group handles ticket sales.
WXXIinteractive: Q1 yes we have. Mostly on classical music projects – Br’casting from churches or temples. All we get is the happy music listeners!
KDStubblefield: we do work with our symphony and the performing art center at the University. Still is easier to do some stuff with our own folk
annieshreff: Q1b I think @WNYC and @propublica reporters have tackled stories together without any specific grant funding
Q1 (followup)– For those answering “yes” – does collaborating always mean increased staff time? If so, how do you justify internally?
ssgowans: @pubmedia does collaborating always mean increased staff time? More communication, but not necess. more staff time
amsugar: we don’t justify the extra staff time so much as just expect it. it’s kind of taking a toll on energy and morale
Q1 (followup) So it sounds like un-funded collab w/ community orgs is pretty common for those attending chat tonite. How about collab w/ #pubmedia orgs?
publicmic: @pubmedia stations in Texas share an FTP server and exchange content for on-air and sometimes online re: general Texas news
ssgowans: @pubmedia How about collab w/ #pubmedia orgs? Rarely without a grant attached.
SusanMeyer: We always make it a point to invite other Ohio pub orgs to workshops, pubcamp etc., but no, not a lot of collaboration.
Q2: What are the obstacles to collaboration within #pubmedia without grant support? Are they surmountable?
publicmic: Q2 @pubmedia xlems competition, ego, different editorial standards and focuses, sense that partners are pulling = weight.
publicmic: Q2 @pubmedia those xlems can be overcome. build trust, make it work for all partners, try something small then build on that
jdcoffman: @pubmedia Q2 biggest obstacle is probably that it’s hard to justify moving resources around without a clear ROI.
jdcoffman: @pubmedia Q2, there’s only so much ‘in-kind’ work that already stretched thin employees can devote to ‘green pasture’ collab work.
aschweig: @pubmedia i think there is some argument to be made for collaborating for the sake of efficiency, but incentives (mostly $$$)help
Q2 (followup) Hearing ego & unclear ROI as primary obstacles to collab w/in #pubmedia; why don’t these obstacles appear in collabs w/ community orgs?
SusanMeyer: @pubmedia I don’t always think ego/ROI. sometimes it’s lack of common priorities. A project may work one place but not another
WXXIinteractive: We had some trouble coll. w/ a local BIG museum partner, they insisted we give everything and they take it. And we lump it.
SusanMeyer: @pubmedia Yes, I do think it was worth it; we ended up reaching a ton of WWII vets/families. The goal was above our egos, etc.
publicmic: @pubmedia Great question! Maybe #pubmedia doesn’t view community orgs as competition, but more as a partner with clear roles.
annieshreff: efficiency is nice, but collabs have bigger rewards for producers if they look ahead–new contacts, help in a pinch, referrals…
SusanMeyer: Sometimes I think we are all jaded about collaboration and think it will be bad before it actually is.
_cb_: @pubmedia one obstacle to #pubmedia collabs is not having contacts at other orgs; much easier to start with indv collab before org.
Q3: How would you pitch the value of collaboration w/ #pubmedia partners to your org’s stakeholders? (assume there’s no grant attached)
aschweig: @publicmic i would kill to see a coherent SEO strategy for the whole #pubmedia system, we could outcompete so many sites if we got organized
jdcoffman: @pubmedia There seem to only be a handful of us altruistic folks who will collaborate w/o further incentive, not nearly enough.
aschweig: @jdcoffman that’s crazy, imagine all of the high pagerank .org and .edu sites we control + a smart interlinking strategy…damn.
publicmic: One prob with the SEO pitch is that all sites are not created =. Good content is important but so is the guts of the site
eric_adler: @jdcoffman There’s also this #pubmedia chat thing. Does that count?
jdcoffman: @pubmedia One good example of non-skunkworks/non-grant collab is the ‘social media lunches’ in DC monthlyish
Q4: Do you think the Public Media Platform will help increase collaboration in #pubmedia? and/or do see other technologies that could help?
jdcoffman: @pubmedia I don’t think the PMP will necessarily increase collaboration, but it will make it easier in the long-term.
aschweig: @pubmedia as with the NPR API, it will be great for large stations, for people who have coders on staff
jdcoffman: @pubmedia …Stations also need the apps that take advantage of the APIs, with a few exceptions of course.
annieshreff: Weird. I expected the opposite RT @jdcoffman I don’t think the PMP will necessarily increase collaboration but easier in long-term
jdcoffman: @annieshreff Of course the collaboration required to build the PMP will be a huge feat in and of itself
publicmic: PMP will allow for content collabs that let the technology do the lifting. I hope it will open more doors for deeper collabs
aschweig: @pubmedia i mean, they answer questions, etc. but how about NPR builds a wordpress plugin and/or a drupal module for the API?
WXXIinteractive: @pubmedia You betcha. btw we’re interested in the PMP – we use Drupal for our site. We’re a collaborator because Web chose it.









