From the desk of Robert Rappaport on Monday, November 17th 2008 at 8:01

NPR REINVENTS ITSELF

NPR once had the connotation of being a bit stodgy at times, but the network seems to understand the future of journalism is the present.

A few years back, NPR took the gamble on feeding some of its programming on Sirius satellite radio (now also heard on XM) and now it is expanding its online division at npr.org.

A recent article in American Journalism Review details the changes NPR is making, finally realizing the radio-only business model just doesn't cut it anymore (sorry to my AZPM bosses). NPR already is offering much of its content online, but is still protecting stations by not posting full content from it's flagship shows like Morning Edition and All Things Considered and not even posting segments until after they've aired on local stations.

AJR has the following to say:

This year and next, NPR is tackling an ambitious and comprehensive plan to transform itself into a multimedia force: The organization is asking all of its journalists to rethink their storytelling and audience interaction. Most news organizations are at least paying lip service to this multiplatform goal, but NPR is putting its money (and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation's) where its mouth is: The foundation gave NPR $1.5 million to train its 450 editorial employees in digital storytelling skills and to pay for substitutes to fill in for them while they learn. NPR is putting an additional $1 million into the training. What's more, NPR News has nearly doubled its digital staffers to 30 in the past year. The hires include two videographers. NPR aims to overhaul its Web site by early next year; it is expanding the offerings on its year-old mobile site; and in the last three months, it launched a suite of social media tools and an open application programming interface that allows independent Web publishers to use NPR content on their own sites.

Read the entire article

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