1. Seeking Impact:
Examples & Lessons Learned
Kathy Merritt
VP, Content Strategy and Development
Public Radio International

2. Social
Justice
Science
Content + Engagement = IMPACT

3. Building meaning (engagement)
 Make life changes
 Civic participation
 Organize and help
 Donate or buy
 Contribute to content
 Comment
 Follow and Share
 Learn more
 Consume

4. Building meaning (engagement)
 Catalyzing
 Transacting
 Subscribing
 Contributing
 Amplifying
 Consuming
from Media Impact Project

5. Cancer in the Developing World
• Five-part series on PRI’s The World
• Looked at high prevalence of cancer in the
developing world, including cancers which are
treatable and preventable
• Aired over one week in December 2012
• Won numerous reporting awards

6. @AJStream
F: 66,000
@BBCWorldService
F: 38,000
@Hari
F: 9,000
@Viewfromthecave
F: 10,000
@TheBushCenter
F: 15,000
@Livestrong
F: 436,000
@BoingBoing
F: 156,000
@PIH
F: 175,000 @Dreamhampton
F: 43,000
@PulitzerCeter
F: 15,000
@LivestrongCEO
F: 1,115,000
@GAVIAlliance
F: 18,000
Identified & listened to the community

7. Surfaced issues

8. #hashtagged the topic
#GlobalCancer
3,650 tweets

9. Shared infographics

10. Shared untold stories

11. IMPACT:
Reach/Conversation/Connection
12,000
> 2,000,000
> 1,000,000
> 600
2,500,000
> 330 stations
> 50

12. Compressed storytelling resulted in big, short-
term reach
 Community developed did not endure
Influencer networks were effective
 Conversation ended with the series
Global topic resulted in global reach and
engagement
 Missed opportunity for local connections and
relevance
What We Learned

13. The Ninth Month
• Longer broadcast/digital
publishing horizon
• More responsive to our
community
• Connecting with local
stations
• Piloting audience co-
creation opportunities

14. Promising results
• 150k+ views for one of the series videos;
picked up by Upworthy
• 12-18 story leads from our community of 400+
interested people on Facebook
• 7 stations committed to doing local reporting
around pregnancy and childbirth
• 50+ lullabies submitted by audience

15. Work in Progress
• Standardizing our metrics of success
–Reach: Pretty straightforward
–Engagement and Impact: often dependent
on specific project aims and goals
• $$$/Time
• Collecting stories of impact