REBOOT:  Online Advocacy 2.0
Michael Riksen, NPR Vice President, Policy and Representation
June 14, 2013

During the spring of 2013, NPR and APTS worked together to strengthen the 170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting advocacy campaign.  The sole objective was to make this resource a more capable and vital asset in the effort to preserve federal funding for public broadcasting stations. 

Three steps were taken to achieve this goal. First, they commissioned focused research into the characteristics and opinions of supporters of public broadcasting on federal funding.  Next, they engaged a digital partner, The Beekeeper Group, with deep expertise in online advocacy strategy and website development, to assist us in building a more robust and effective online advocacy platform.  Lastly, they identified and agreed upon a core bucket of key advocacy and social media strategies to recruit more public broadcasting supporters to our campaign, especially in regions where they were needed most and where public advocates could do the most good. 

All of this work led to a more unified, coherent and purposeful plan to better serve stations’ local advocacy efforts. With the insight of the research and the expertise of a digital partner, NPR and APTS re-launched the national grassroots efforts under a new name and a new website:  Protect My Public Media. 

Their  efforts to protect federal funding have been rooted in enabling supporters to take action in their communities to speak out on behalf of local stations and the programs they love.  And the new website has made this task easier and more straightforward.

The new website launched in July. Its layout and design is more streamlined and advocacy-focused, making it easier for supporters to take action to support the local stations and programs they love. There is a renewed focus on social media strategy to bolster advocacy efforts in key regions, including a blog co-written by NPR and APTS staff.  And, they enabled all of these new features with mobile capability so that supporters can engage with the campaign, whether they are sitting at their computers, using a tablet, or on their phone.

Among the exciting new features within Protect My Public Media is an interactive grid of testimonials from public broadcasting supporters sharing why local stations are important to them.  Stations’ roles in communities are as important as ever and your help is needed in constructing a compelling portrait of local support across America in this interactive grid.  

Click here to learn about the NEW Protect My Public Media online campaign.