AIR Professional Development Survey Results 2012

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! !!!!!!!!!! Professional Development Survey Results !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!June 2012

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!Response rate: of 28.4%

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0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Residency, 0%

Other

Pitch Panel

AIR Ambassador at a conference

Scholarship

Workshop/Intensive

Mentorship (as a mentor)

Mentorship (as a mentee)

What professional development program were you involved in? (Choose all that apply.)

83%

6% 11%

Are you an AIR member?

Yes, I was a member before this experience

Yes, I joined because of this experience.

No.

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Age:

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46%

16%

11%

11%

8% 8%

Focus: 21 to 34 year olds

Mentorship (as a mentee) Scholarship

Pitch Panel

Workshop/Intensive

AIR Ambassador at a conference Mentorship (as a mentor)

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1%

2%

2%

3% 3%

89%

Ethnicity:

White or Caucasian AND Hispanic or Latino

Asian or Pacific Islander

American Indian or Alaskan Native

Hispanic or Latino

Black or African American

White or Caucasian

41%

59%

Gender:

Male

Female

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How would you best categorize your position in the media industry?

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0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Web development/management Engineer/technical

Sound artist Student/intern

Other Executive/manager

Documentarian Multimedia producer

Journalist

What best describes your primary professional role?

Other:

Academic / filmmaker

Education

Job searching

Other:

Academic / filmmaker

Artist

Journalist at non-radio institution

Non profit video communications

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65%

24%

6% 5%

How would you best characterize public media in terms of your professional orientation?

It is my primary professional focus It is one of a variety of professional activities It is my secondary professional focus I don't work in public media at all

87%

13%

Do you feel your experience with AIR's program had a positive impact on your professional development?

Yes

No Of the “no’s”: 4 were mentors, 3 mentees, 1 workshop

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41%

17%

14%

14%

11%

3%

If you participated in a one-on-one mentorship, what was the focus of your work?

Storytelling

Multimedia production

Grant writing

Marketing

Digital editing

Podcasting

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

1 - no value 2 3 - neutral 4 5 - highly value

Please characterize your overall experience with AIR's professional development programming.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

1 - no value 2 3 - neutral 4 5 - highly value

What, in your opinion, is the relative importance of the particular program(s) you were involved in to the industry overall?

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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

1 - no value 2 3 - neutral 4 5 - highly influenced

N/A

To what degree did this experience advance your career development?

0%

20%

40%

60%

1 - no value 2 3 - neutral 4 5 - highly important

How important are these offerings by AIR to the health of the constituency of producers?

5%

6%

6%

3%

62%

18%

20%

Did this experience directly or indirectly lead to commissioned work?

Yes - Station/local broadcast

Yes - Nationally syndicated

Yes - National magazine

Yes - Digital outlet

No

N/A

(Yes)

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! Other: !

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54% 27%

19%

Did this opportunity from AIR lead to your generating income?

No

Yes

N/A

47%

35%

12%

6%

If yes, what kind of work?

Independent/commissioned work

Other

Part time

Full time

Consulting Fellowship indirectly, to grant funding. licensed on Public Radio Remix licensing of existing content The AIR Ambassorship / PRPD

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54% 46%

Did this experience yield productive collaborations and/or expand your network in a meaningful way?

No

Yes

97%

3% Have you endorsed or recommended AIR to others?

Yes

No

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!(For context, part one) How important are these offerings by AIR to the health of the constituency of producers? !If important, please explain the rationale. What would your elevator pitch be to someone asking about what's so important about it? (this question was asked if they rated it 4 or 5 on scale of importance). - A chance to expand your horizons and really take a "mini vacation" to do what you love while surrounded by others doing what they love! - AIR helps producers learn from each other and connect with industry insiders, funders and decision-makers. The connections are invaluable. - AIR is a model for a professional organization. From providing a platform for peer exchange to advocating for us in the larger world of public media to embracing the changing world of radio it really does it all. - AIR serves so many vital needs to our fragmented community -- connecting, representing, and challenging us. These Prof Dvlp opportunities help us stay fresh and strong in our work. They also reinforce the network. Those connections -- built around growth -- tend to be strong and last long time. - as a sound artist I was familiar with what was offered during the workshop -- however it was a valuable - The intensive was quite liberating to radio producers working in the industry giving them the license to imagine new strategies in story telling and audio work. - As independents, we need mentoring and professional development support, and AIR provides them. - Because there are so few opportunities for professional development in public radio, especially at the local level. It simply isn't done, and this hurts our business. - By providing a direct line to the industry's top talent, especially for a new workforce that is increasingly isolated by the freelance and telecommuting culture, AIR is giving independent producers access to the kind of support that their mentors relied on in their own youth. - Connecting AIR members with the wider Public Radio (Media) industry can never be a bad thing. It puts AIR and it's member's work in the spotlight. - Continuing skills development is the new normal. Fund it or die. - Freelancers in the radio industry work in a very isolated way. AIR's PD programs allow for producers to get the one-on-one training, assessment and strategic contacts they need to strengthen their work, and to build a more collaborative and interconnected industry. - Helped me learn more of the business and learn from seasoned producers, public media professionals. - Helping producers obtain high levels of productions. - I am always telling people about AIR. And when I'm talking to producers who are just getting started, the mentorship program is the first thing I tell them about. - I believe mentoring is important as journalism conitinues to change. Both the mentor and mentee learn and it strenghtens the overall pool of audio journalists, artists and producers. - I live in CA so getting to CDS/Duke's campus is really expensive. Without AIR's scholarship, I wouldn't have been able to go that summer. And I find the CDS workshops to be essential for building 1) knowledge of my craft, 2) inspiration to keep going, and 3) friends and colleagues. - I think the AIR stipend is a good way for AIR to help independent producers to off set the cost of attending a conference... - I think the mentorship program really does help producers move a particular project forward as well as providing skills for on-going work. I also went to the PRPD as an AIR Ambassador. AIR has made great strides this past few years in getting independents noticed and the PRPD and beyond. - I think the New Voices Scholarship enables an interaction between independent producers and stations that would not normally happen. - I think the visibility is important. I think it could be even stronger with greater facilitation of mixing between producers and other folks in the system (this is PRPD specific)

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- Important that producers at all stages of their careers have opportunity to work on new skill development. - In a field where most people are self-taught, working with others who've gone before saves time, improves the work, and gives a sense of collegiality to mostly solitary workers. - Independent producers are a rare and important breed. As members of the human race, they're by nature social creatures. As much as they can accomplish on their own steam, they are limited in their growth by the limits of opportunities for collaboration, cross-pollination of ideas, and meaningful interaction with colleagues. - Independent producers tend to work alone; we are spread out around the country, and we have little opportunity to talk shop. Mentorships don't just provide for the exchange of practical information; they also create personal bonds and strengthen our dispersed community. - Independent production is lonely. It's important to feel part of a supportive community of producers and to meet people who have made a career out of radio producing. As an independent, it's also difficult to find mentors--AIR provided one for me. - Independents don't always have the resources available to them that station producers have, so mentorships can give them a leg up. - It is extremely important for younger reporters and producers to be able to learn from talented and more experienced older people in the system. It can greatly enhance their own skills and get them through some of the inherent obstacles. - It's a chance to hone crucial professional skills. - It's critical because it connects producers to folks at stations and at shows in a public and meaningful way. - it's hard to get your foot in the door in an industry like this, especially for younger people. so i appreciate it a lot. - It's important to constantly update and refine your skills in order to remain competitive in the marketplace. It's great to learn/refine those skills with someone who is working with those skills on a daily basis -- someone is up-to-date on the latest techniques and technology. - It's more than networking, it's networked knowledge sharing. - Learn from folks who have been there - know where the traps and opportunities are. - Many independent producers, like me, are isolated geographically. AIR and its mentorship program help us keep in touch and learn from the larger community. - Matching producers/reporters/etc on different ends of the experience spectrum is essential towards developing the skills and networking of newer folks in the industry. It also feels very much to be woven into the spirit of public radio. - One-on-one training time for a mentee is invaluable. They receive direct, undivided attention from a professional on skill building. And, for the mentee, carving out a specific time to learn something rather than learning haphazardly and sporadically is especially useful. - Producers often work without feedback or guidance, and a mentorship fills a gap in professional development. - The AIR intensive is either an introduction to a new audio world for those that are inexperienced or it is a chance for experienced professionals to crack open ruts and begin work anew. - The AIR mentorship program can help beginning producers to advance their level of professionalism to create more meaningful media. - The mentoring program gives mentees one on one access to experts who can help solve their specific issues. - The mentorship program and the classes are very important. No other organization in public radio is doing it. Unfortunately, I did not have the most positive experience with the AIR intensive. The mentorship was professional and somewhat helpful, but ultimately did not yield any concrete benefit. - The mentorship program develops young producers into lifelong members, radio producers & AIR advocates! It is a deep connection to the AIR community. - The veterans of AIR have so much wisdom. It's really important for AIR to maintain a program that allows veterans to pass that wisdom down to the next generation of creative and talented producers. The mentorship program ultimately helps enrich the whole media landscape.

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- There's no real training for being an independent producer. You have to teach yourself or take advantages of opportunities to learn from others. Mentorships encourage and further that process. - This is a difficult question to answer, but since you are requiring I type something here, I am typing. - WE all want to become better storytellers, but few of us are given the time to focus on that skill, or the luxury of an editor focused on craft. That's the goal of the mentorship program. - We have to pass on the expertise of others in a variety of skill areas for indies to advance..they don;t have the advantages that comes with being part of a work/station/institution...so mentorship with the RIGHT mentor can really help. - We must have a diverse array of people producing content in order to accurately reflect our country's diversity. This scholarship gave an opportunity to producers from African-American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian-American, and otherwise disadvantaged backgrounds a chance to feel like they have a place in the public media world. - While skills and professional experience are big determiners of professional success, it is far and away the personal relationships with others in the business which will determine your success - or lack of it - in the chronically underfunded industry of non-commercial radio.

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Documents

AIR Professional Development Survey Results 2012