MEMBER FEATURE: NHPR

FEATURING:  Patricia McLaughlin, Director of Communications and Marketing, NH Public Radio

We were delighted to have the chance to connect with Tricia McLaughlin, Director of Communications & Marketing at New Hampshire Public Radio – one of our longtime member organizations. NHBSR and NHPR have worked together for a number of years, so it was fun to have a chance to both reflect back, as well as look forward.

I expect that we all tune into NHPR often—if not daily—for our local and national news. NHPR first came on the air in 1981, which meant listeners heard the station through a physical radio (remember what that is?) at home, in the office or in the car. If we flash-forward to 2019, we have more options than ever to access news and information. With NHPR, it’s no different. While over-the-air radio remains the foundation, NHPR has grown to include other forms of media which include its website - nhpr.org; social media properties; the ability to stream news over the internet; as well as podcast properties. From a single entity, NHPR has grown to have many tentacles, which allow listeners to access news and information whenever and however they want to.  As they say on the radio program Marketplace, “Let’s do the numbers.” NHPR’s listening audience is 175k weekly, the website has more than 250k monthly visitors, and the NHPR audience for podcasts continues to grow – more than four million listeners downloaded their recent podcast series, Bear Brook. In addition, NHPR’s newsroom has three times been cited for “Overall Excellence” in the national Edward R. Murrow Awards journalism competition.

Tricia has been with NHPR for almost two years. Like many New Hampshire natives, she lived and worked away from her home state for a few years, but wanted to stay connected.  For her, Twitter was where she first came into contact with NHPR—following the station online as a way to stay up to date on what was going on in New Hampshire. When asked what she loves about NHPR, Tricia was quick to reply that for her working for a mission-based organization with such a terrific product is really gratifying. “As a former journalist myself and life-long news junkie, I love hearing every day about the trusted, thoughtful news gathering that is coming out of our newsroom,” she said. In addition to local news shows like The Exchange and in-depth podcasts, she says NHPR is also about airing wonderful programs that are staples of public media and that inspire and feed the soul. She cites The Daily, The Moth Radio Hour, and Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! as three of her favorite programs that also are popular with listeners. Tricia believes this combination of local, national and international news and storytelling allows NHPR to connect on a local level while bringing the wider world closer.

NHPR has been a member of NHBSR for eight years. NHBSR feels very fortunate to have been able to work with NHPR in a collaborative fashion over the years. Sam Evans-Brown, host of NHPR’s Outside/In podcast about the natural world, has been a long standing judge at the Sustainability Slam, helping to select the finalists with the most impactful, creative approaches to sustainability opportunities. Laura Knoy of NHPR’s live talk show The Exchange, hosted a Sustainability Roundtable at LaBelle Winery in June 2016. Panelists for the roundtable included NHBSR member companies, along with Sam Evans-Brown talking about how sustainability can support our communities while positively impacting the bottom line.

When asked where she sees the organizations connecting, Tricia shared that she sees both NHPR and NHBSR as public-serving organizations, which makes for a certain synergy.

“Through our daily news gathering and storytelling, we hold a mirror up to the issues, opportunities and challenges that impact communities and individuals around the state. Being a part of that conversation and also working on other fronts in collaboration with community groups around the state who are making a difference is really gratifying,” she said.

NHBSR and NHPR are expanding our partnership in the coming year, exploring more ways to engage our common audiences through new opportunities and valuable exploration. Stay tuned for ways that you can connect.

NHPR’s newsroom regularly covers issues regarding the environment: Seacoast Reporter Annie Ropeik is devoted to the energy and environment beat; the Outside/In podcast continues to share stories about the natural world and how we use it; and the weekly feature Something Wild explores the natural resources, wildlife and landscapes of New Hampshire.

With technology evolving as quickly as it does, the ongoing challenge is anticipating how and where audiences will want to access their information. NHPR hopes that their programming is seen as a conversation catalyst, inspiring us all to explore, inspire and grow.

Tricia welcomes the chance to connect. She can be reached at 603-223-2444 or pmclaughlin@nhpr.org.