The do-it-all mainstay of one of NPR's most successful and trend-setting radio stations, WXPN, Bruce Warren, talks to the Washington Times about new media, blogging and why public radio isn't just for old people.
Starting at the 35,000 foot view, at WXPN our mission is to connect musicians with audiences. That's the basic philosophical operating principle. At the heart of the XPN community is this idea of musical discovery, and that is a powerful driver of all the activity we engage in with our community. To that end, I think is where the educator, curator and benefactor ideas come in. What artists and records we decide to play, who we decide to book for World Cafe, what audio and video we chose to put on our web site, who we book for our weekly live music concert series with NPR Music, the bands we pick for our Artists To Watch, the musicians David Dye features on World Cafe: Next; all of this activity is seen by our community as them learning about something new (education) and our role in filtering what to feature (curation). In the social world where there are endless amounts of choices to be made, curation is a powerful activity. But it has to be credible curation, trusted by our community. I think this is a value that you'll find many stations in public radio, of our format (however broadly defined), have in common. We take it seriously. How do I view us in the music industry? I think we're viewed as a very positive anomaly by my colleagues. XPN and my public radio colleagues are highly respected for what we do. And for good reason; we help artists quit their day jobs.Original source: Washington Times
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