1 of 19

AUGUST 2, 2024

AMPLIFYING ATLANTA

2 of 19

+Digital

Station

+Studio

+News

3 of 19

AFTER 75 YEARS OF ‘HAND TO MOUTH’ SURVIVAL . . .���TRANSFORMATION FUND�& PARTNERSHIPS 

4 of 19

REFRAMING PUBLIC MEDIA AS A CRITICAL INSTITUTION

Erik Johnson

Vice President, Robert W. Woodruff Foundation

Chair of the Georgia Grantmakers Alliance

Identified local journalism as vital very early

Broadened the aperture for his foundation’s giving

Dedicated Grantmakers meeting to local journalism

5 of 19

5

6 of 19

PUBLIC MEDIA AS A KEYSTONE SPECIES IN NEWS ECO-SYSTEM

Erik Johnson

“Public media uniquely has the scale and existing, sustainable revenue streams to continue to strengthen the long-term health of our democracy and carry on the vital community service of local news.”

 

“Investing in the total WABE vision brings new capacity, programs and modern distribution channels to an Atlanta audience craving objective news from a known and trusted brand.”

7 of 19

TRANSFORMATION FUND

Immediate Needs for Technology and Digital : $4.0 M

Executing on Strategic Initiatives: $6.0 M

$10M/3 yrs

8 of 19

LARGEST GIFT IN WABE HISTORY

8

$2.5 million

9 of 19

9

TRANSFORMATION FUND

10 of 19

“One of the strongest newsrooms in the Southeast"

Independent, fact-based journalism ; 25-person team�Scale: 2000+ Local Stories per year �200+ Stories Carried NPR nationally Award-winning coverage

Beats: Health, Environment, Criminal Justice, General Assignment, Business, Housing, Immigration, Education, Political, and Southside Reporting

11 of 19

WABE NEWSROOM

Morning Edition

6-10 am

DIGITAL: Hubs, Web, App, E-newsletters, Social, Podcasts

14 daily newscasts

PODCASTS

Plugged In

Feature stories

The Brief

All Things Considered

4-7pm

Week In Review

Pol. Breakfast

12 of 19

Training and Experimenting

13 of 19

AFTER 75 YEARS OF ‘HAND TO MOUTH’ SURVIVAL . . .���TRANSFORMATION FUND�& PARTNERSHIPS 

14 of 19

“POLITICAL REWIND”

15 of 19

15

16 of 19

PATRICIA MURPHY

Greg Bluestein

Tia Mitchell

Bill Nigut

Partnership

Weekdays 10 am; 5.1 share

#6 ranked (of 47 stations) Excellent streaming growth

Strong pod performance

Renewed Deal: 2 more years

17 of 19

Co-Production Strategy

  • Weekly radio program and podcast
  • Research scientist Laurel Bristow talks health from Ozempic to the ozone by diving deep, interviewing experts, and answering listener questions.. all in pursuit of better health
  • Paired with “Science Friday”
  • Premiered Friday, August 2nd
    • #21 on Apple Podcasts in Science
    • 1,000 downloads on first day

17

Copyright © 2024 WABE. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2024 WABE. All rights reserved.

18 of 19

18

22 Pods

3 employees

1.0 million downloads in FY2024

$200k in revenue FY2025

Partnerships

Affiliates

Copyright © 2022 WABE. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2024 WABE. All rights reserved.

19 of 19

PARTNERSHIPS

Attractive Partner:

Subject matter expertise

Credibility

Operates at highest standards

Has resources

Collaborates for public good