A couple of weeks ago I discovered the National Public Radio’s This American Life podcast. Through that, I discovered the NPR’s pool of podcasts. I personally find the Jazz Profiles and Planet Money podcasts very nice. Of course, you can listen to them live if you live in the US. I find their model very interesting: many of the programmes are supported by listeners. The producers of those programmes make them and throw them out to the public, asking them for donations in order to continue running the programmes. I probably don’t need to add that if you want to have that kind of model you better have a damn good programme. Anybody thinks that could work in Nigeria?
Something related. A year after finishing at the university, a friend and I designed a TV programme that was modeled, loosely, after the BBC Worldservice‘s Outlook. I even had a meeting with the manager of a studio at Lekki, and we made out the budget for the pilot. We even made a list of potential sponsors, who would not place adverts but have their names mentioned as sponsors – something that I recently discovered that many NPR programmes do. We never started it, partly because I left for Uppsala for an MA. I should actually look for the synopsis, and probably post it on this blog. Maybe we could still work on it….
I am a huge fan of NPR. I plan to bequeath them something when that time comes.
Share your synopsis, you never know…
I am a huge fan of NPR. I plan to bequeath them something when that time comes.
Share your synopsis, you never know…
NPR runs a fantastic operation — balanced and fresh. You know I have thought of a NPR clone in Nigeria, but I doubt if the society is ready for that level of engagement yet 🙂
NPR runs a fantastic operation — balanced and fresh. You know I have thought of a NPR clone in Nigeria, but I doubt if the society is ready for that level of engagement yet 🙂
I think success of NPR’s fundraising efforts has a lot to do with the political environment it has found itself in the middle of over the past 20plus years. There was a point in time in which the majority of NPR’s funding came from the US government. However, over time this decreased drastically particularly during the Reagan administration. Several are of the impression that this is more than coincidental and probably politics had a hand in this cut in funding. NPR, in the opinion of many Republicans, is sometimes viewed as a left-leaning news outlet (at least here in New England – I am not sure of other places). NPR is sort of part-and-parcel of the left-of-center New England. Many of its listeners who subscribe to that culture feel that beyond the excellent programming NPR provide, they need to sustain this vital element of this “leftist” culture in face of very tangible right-of-center threats that have been dominating the national scene since Reagan. (I put leftist in quotes, since I personally think that NPR is quite balanced in its programming – though many Republicans would disagree).
So i guess in answering your question, I think an NPR-like model as you presented it would not work in Nigeria if the end-goal were to provide fair and balanced news for the sake of providing fair and balanced news. This, in my opinion, is not the reason why NPR is so successful. NPR has inadvertently been associated with a culture and class of people (whether they are willing to admit it or not). In New England, NPR is very much for the more elite latte-drinking, volvo-driving, NYTimes-at-my-frontdoor types. And members of this group are willing to pay to maintain this distinguishing feature of their culture (sorry for the stereotypes – trying to make a point). If there was a news programme in Nigeria that could accomplish that – which is to become an essential hallmark of a particular group of people (with money) – then the NPR listener-funded model could work. but as to how to design such circumstances in Nigeria….i have no idea.
sorry, for the long post – i am just having a blast surfing blogs and not studying….
I think success of NPR’s fundraising efforts has a lot to do with the political environment it has found itself in the middle of over the past 20plus years. There was a point in time in which the majority of NPR’s funding came from the US government. However, over time this decreased drastically particularly during the Reagan administration. Several are of the impression that this is more than coincidental and probably politics had a hand in this cut in funding. NPR, in the opinion of many Republicans, is sometimes viewed as a left-leaning news outlet (at least here in New England – I am not sure of other places). NPR is sort of part-and-parcel of the left-of-center New England. Many of its listeners who subscribe to that culture feel that beyond the excellent programming NPR provide, they need to sustain this vital element of this “leftist” culture in face of very tangible right-of-center threats that have been dominating the national scene since Reagan. (I put leftist in quotes, since I personally think that NPR is quite balanced in its programming – though many Republicans would disagree).
So i guess in answering your question, I think an NPR-like model as you presented it would not work in Nigeria if the end-goal were to provide fair and balanced news for the sake of providing fair and balanced news. This, in my opinion, is not the reason why NPR is so successful. NPR has inadvertently been associated with a culture and class of people (whether they are willing to admit it or not). In New England, NPR is very much for the more elite latte-drinking, volvo-driving, NYTimes-at-my-frontdoor types. And members of this group are willing to pay to maintain this distinguishing feature of their culture (sorry for the stereotypes – trying to make a point). If there was a news programme in Nigeria that could accomplish that – which is to become an essential hallmark of a particular group of people (with money) – then the NPR listener-funded model could work. but as to how to design such circumstances in Nigeria….i have no idea.
sorry, for the long post – i am just having a blast surfing blogs and not studying….
Nneoma,
Thanks for that really interesting point. I have heard a bit about the kind of public that NPR has, but it is nice to hear about the politics of it.
Well, I don’t think it is just about presenting fair and balanced news; I was actually thinking of programming, and about the possibility of having fresh, informative and well-packaged programming. One interesting difference between the US and Nigeria is that Nigeria does not have the kind of ideological divide that the US has, so what to balance is not the views of the left and the right. Of course, that begs the question as to what kind of divide there is in Nigeria.
That also leads to the issue of audience. Well, making a programme in English has already marked out a segment of the public, in any case. But we often assume that a large segment of that segment would not appreciate a well-made programme. I think they will, if the programme is well-made, topical and interesting. What I am interested in knowing is whether they might be interested in paying to sustain such a programme.
BTW, I was thinking of the possibility of having a programme that is funded like many NPR programmes, not a station.
Thans.
Nneoma,
Thanks for that really interesting point. I have heard a bit about the kind of public that NPR has, but it is nice to hear about the politics of it.
Well, I don’t think it is just about presenting fair and balanced news; I was actually thinking of programming, and about the possibility of having fresh, informative and well-packaged programming. One interesting difference between the US and Nigeria is that Nigeria does not have the kind of ideological divide that the US has, so what to balance is not the views of the left and the right. Of course, that begs the question as to what kind of divide there is in Nigeria.
That also leads to the issue of audience. Well, making a programme in English has already marked out a segment of the public, in any case. But we often assume that a large segment of that segment would not appreciate a well-made programme. I think they will, if the programme is well-made, topical and interesting. What I am interested in knowing is whether they might be interested in paying to sustain such a programme.
BTW, I was thinking of the possibility of having a programme that is funded like many NPR programmes, not a station.
Thans.
Great post and comments.
I agree with Nneoma that “NPR is sort of part-and-parcel of the left-of-center New England” and that it attracts people who subscribe that to ideological bent. Although I got the sense that there is a certain type who listens to NPR (well-educated, middle to upper economic background), it also seemed to me that NPR managed to cut across different socio-economic classes, especially going by the diverse places I went to and heard NPR playing on the radio.
The quality of their programming in undoubtedly excellent and I do think that people are willing to pay for it. One great thing I remember is that during their pledge drives, NPR would offer a variety of ways to support their work, from the ability to pledge a small amount to the option to contribute huge donations. By not exclusively seeking the most affluent members of society and asking them to pledge huge amounts, they could engage more listeners, working within their budgets and maintaining a relationship with them over the years as (hopefully) their incomes grow. One thing I’ve heard said is that nonprofits and initiatives like this would rather have people pledge a smaller amount on a regular basis (e.g. $50 every month) than a one-off lump sum amount.
I think in the same way, many Nigerians would be willing to pay for a good quality, topical programme. But you might need to engage them in a number of ways in recognition that people have different financial strengths.
Great post and comments.
I agree with Nneoma that “NPR is sort of part-and-parcel of the left-of-center New England” and that it attracts people who subscribe that to ideological bent. Although I got the sense that there is a certain type who listens to NPR (well-educated, middle to upper economic background), it also seemed to me that NPR managed to cut across different socio-economic classes, especially going by the diverse places I went to and heard NPR playing on the radio.
The quality of their programming in undoubtedly excellent and I do think that people are willing to pay for it. One great thing I remember is that during their pledge drives, NPR would offer a variety of ways to support their work, from the ability to pledge a small amount to the option to contribute huge donations. By not exclusively seeking the most affluent members of society and asking them to pledge huge amounts, they could engage more listeners, working within their budgets and maintaining a relationship with them over the years as (hopefully) their incomes grow. One thing I’ve heard said is that nonprofits and initiatives like this would rather have people pledge a smaller amount on a regular basis (e.g. $50 every month) than a one-off lump sum amount.
I think in the same way, many Nigerians would be willing to pay for a good quality, topical programme. But you might need to engage them in a number of ways in recognition that people have different financial strengths.