Ben WerdmullerJul 22, 2025
What if public networks became a platform for communities to create their own local media, not just consume it? After devastating federal funding cuts, here's one idea for rebuilding NPR and PBS around community co-creation, open platforms, and human-centered, prototype-driven design. https://werd.io/if-i-ran-npr-and-pbs/ #media #journalism
If I ran NPR and PBS

Building community-driven public media for the post-federal funding era.

Ben Werdmuller
Show threadDoomsdaysCW

@ben "Not only will these communities lose that much-needed information, when a community doesn’t have adequate local news, it often experiences increased political corruption. There are real knock-on effects for citizens of these communities: a lack of scrutiny leads to more opportunities to be exploited."

#CPBCuts #PublicRadio #Newspapers #CommunityRadio #CorporationForPublicBroadcasting

Jul 22, 2025 at 2:02pmWeb
Show threadDoomsdaysCWJul 22, 2025

@ben You know, I was just thinking along the same lines yesterday. "I would start immediately; time is of the essence. The first step, within a month or two, would be to prioritize stations by a combination of vulnerability and likelihood to create a news desert in their absence. These would be tiered into those that can survive independently, those needing moderate support, and stations facing closure, with stations with no alternatives in their localities first in each category. I’d then launch an accelerated fundraising campaign targeting major donors, foundations, and corporate sponsors specifically aimed and preserving the stations that were most in need."
Great article! I hope TPTB in #PublicBroadcasting are reading it!

https://werd.io/if-i-ran-npr-and-pbs/

#CPBCuts #PublicRadio #CommunityRadio #CorporationForPublicBroadcasting

If I ran NPR and PBS

Building community-driven public media for the post-federal funding era.

Ben Werdmuller
Show threadDoomsdaysCWJul 22, 2025

@ben Personally, I'd rather contribute to stations in rural areas -- especially #NativeAmerican ones. The big city stations can easily find sponsors, but the small ones will suffer the most!

#CPBCuts #PublicRadio #CommunityRadio #NativeAmericanRadio
#CorporationForPublicBroadcasting

Show threadPaul Chambers🚧Jul 22, 2025

@DoomsdaysCW Hasn't organized citizenship journalism ran platforms failed time after time on a community level, also?

Also, some of these rural areas only get the PBS signals OTA and have the poorest and slowest , most unreliable cable, internet and mobile service.

@ben

Show threadDoomsdaysCWJul 22, 2025
@paul Yup! I saw that happen here in southern #Maine with the local newspapers. Some journalists banded together, bought the publications from a big corporation, then stopped printing the small weeklies, which people (especially seniors) depend on.
Show threadPaul Chambers🚧Jul 22, 2025

@DoomsdaysCW Also, I wasn't addressing @ben article, per se, with my comment to you, Dooms...

The article has some solutions and direction, like the flow of creations and toolkits, sustainability, platform independence, etc.

I just wanted to make that clear.

https://werd.io/if-i-ran-npr-and-pbs/

If I ran NPR and PBS

Building community-driven public media for the post-federal funding era.

Ben Werdmuller