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Blogging Research Results at NPR

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I constantly learn things from National Public Radio. Not from their programming, in this case (though I learn a lot from that as well), but from their research practices. They've taught me tips about panel management and survey design, in the past. And, after I reviewed Kathryn Korostoff's discussion of emerging research deliverables, a coworker pointed out to me that NPR has a blog dedicated to sharing research results.

The blog "Go Figure" started in 2007 within the intranet, and the NPR Audience Insight & Research group rebooted it as a public blog this March. NPR has three ambitious goals that prompted it to make the blog a public effort:

1. Connect with listeners - Lori Kaplan, director of the AIR group, writes, "Many organizations ‘keep their findings under lock and key, while they quietly make their adjustments'...  NPR's Audience Advisory Panel is now more than 23,000 participants strong, and growing [full disclosure: Vovici hosts this panel on behalf of NPR].  With a cadre of dedicated audience members committed to sharing their thoughts with us, I believe it is incumbent upon us to communicate what we are learning, how we are learning it, and share the changes that we make with the entire community."
2. Connect with people in public media - NPR wants to share its research and collaborate with others in the industry. "We have a wealth of information that could benefit our colleagues at Member stations, CPB, PBS, SRG, PRPD, PRNDI, DEI, RRC, the rest of the public radio alphabet soup as well as the new entrants to non-commercial media.  Historically, we have not been very efficient or diligent in figuring out who would benefit from exposure to what pieces of information."
3. Connect with researchers - Like many in the vibrant market research blogosphere, NPR wants to engage and learn. "On occasion, we will wade into the technical elements and methodology of our work as researchers.  We're always game to try new approaches (like guerilla usability testing), think through best practices for research (panel engagement), or address larger issues that continue to flummox all media organizations (think cross-platform measurement)."

My colleague learnt about the blog from NPR's monthly newsletter to members of its listener panel. The newsletter and blog are great ways to share information with panelists and emphasize the importance of their participation in research. Among the case studies that NPR has shared:

• How Social Media Can Complement Radio Listening: A 'Weekend Edition' case study that demonstrated that the hosts' investment in social media helped build greater listener engagement.
• Informing Mobile Product Design With Research: Studied how listeners want to interact with NPR content on smart phones and tablets.
• Public Radio Listeners and Their Televisions: How often and what NPR listeners watch when they turn on the tube.

So... Kathryn Korostoff is pointing out the value of sharing research results in password-protected blogs, Wendy's is starting a private blog to share results with members of the Wendy's MROC, Annie Pettit this week encouraged researchers to publicly blog, and here is NPR providing a powerful example of the value of a research blog for an organization. Shouldn't you be blogging about your research, too?