Public Radio in Mid America
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
September 21, 2016
Called to Order: 2:37 PM Eastern Time
Present: Regina Dean, Paul Maassen, Mike Savage, Steve Schram, Dan Skinner
Planning for Spring 2017 Conference
Dan talked with Gemma Hooley last week at the NPR Board Meeting and once again asked about whether the NPR President is available during the target dates of the PRIMA conference. Gemma said she will be approaching Jarl soon to check on dates. Dan will reach out to Gemma and inform her that we need to know about Jarl’s availability by the end of September so that we can proceed with conference planning.
Paul reported that the best time to book the hotel in New Orleans will be May 14-16. The board tentatively scheduled the Spring PRIMA Conference to begin Sunday evening 5/14 with a reception; a full day of sessions on Monday 5/15, and conclude on Tuesday 5/15 at noon.
The board discussed potential guests for the PRIMA Conference including representatives from NPR, PRSS, PRX, RRC and FCC Attorneys. An effort will be made to find a balance between new guests/topics to keep the conference fresh and topics that warrant continued updates from the last conference.
Public Radio Super Regional Conference
The board noted that while it was appreciated that the Public Radio Super Regional Conference has been moved to avoid conflicts with the Thanksgiving holiday, moving it to October creates conflicts with Fall Fundraising on some stations.
The PRIMA Annual Business Meeting will be held at the Spring PRIMA meeting beginning in 2017. Therefore, the board recommended that the PRIMA meeting time at the Super Regional be used as a social gathering for members.
The board agreed that since the PRIMA President is required to represent PRIMA at the Super Regional, PRIMA will pay for the cost of attendance. Dan will submit costs for conference attendance for reimbursement.
Notes from RAIN Conference
Mike Savage attended the RAIN Conference and shared some of the information presented there. Data is getting cheaper, and that will drive on-line streaming growth. 2020 is the year that Radio listening and Digital listening is predicted to be even. Sirius/XM audience is now showing growth after many years of stagnant listenership. Public Radio is the podcast leader while comparatively few commercial broadcasters are pod-casting. Growth in advertising is coming from digital media buys. Audible is the #1 sponsor of podcasts. During board discussion about the information Mike presented, it was noted that while public radio has FCC mandated language restrictions for underwriting, no such restrictions exist for digital media advertising/underwriting. This gives digital media a sales advantage over public radio.
Meeting Adjourned at 3:31 Eastern Time
Respectfully Submitted,
Dan Skinner
President (Acting as Secretary)