#52Women52Weeks: Want to bridge the gender gap? Kerri Hoffman recommends a career in public radio

Kerri Hoffman is the CEO of Public Radio Exchange, an award-winning company shaping the future of public media content, talent and technology. PRX is a leading creator and distributor, connecting audio producers with their most engaged, supportive audiences. 

1) How does PRX work?

PRX is an award-winning media company, recognized with a MacArthur “genius” Award, multiple Peabody Awards, Edward R. Murrow Awards and others. For over a dozen years, PRX has operated public radio’s largest distribution marketplace, offering thousands of shows including This American Life, The Moth Radio Hour, On Being and Reveal. In 2014, PRX launched Radiotopia, a successful podcast network for independent producers including 99% Invisible, Criminal and 14 others.

The impetus for creating PRX was that great audio content was aired once on radio stations and then lost for future listeners. Prior to PRX, nobody had created a persistent, efficient, streamlined archive or licensing mechanism to distribute that work digitally – both to local public radio stations and for online listening.

PRX created this marketplace and built an economy to support it. Our aim was to reduce choke points along the distribution path, improve opportunities for producers and expand, and thus diversify, program choices.

Today, we are at the intersection of content, talent and technology, shaping the future of audio storytelling across broadcast, web and mobile.

2) How did you get involved with public radio?

I’ve worked for nonprofit organizations my whole career. Mission matters to me. I started out doing fundraising and financial work for Greenpeace —also a very innovative and experimental organization at the time. I worked for a few other non-profits and was hired into a leading strategic organization in public radio. PRX was one of our projects and eventually became an independent nonprofit organization. I had been a big fan of public radio and it was exciting to leverage my financial and operational skills to help creative content makers. After a few years, I took on a leadership role in content development, distribution and monetization, and in July 2016 I became CEO.

3) Why is public radio now more important than ever?

A healthy democracy is stronger when the media sources are diverse and include non-commercial sources. In an era where local newspapers are collapsing, public radio is one of the most powerful local-national-international media network. NPR, for example, is a credible news source and has multiple layers of accountability including an ombudsman. This is not true for opinion-based news operations.

We are optimistic that public radio can be re-imagined for new technology and a new generation of listeners.

4) What advice do you have for someone who wants to start their own podcasting or radio career?

Podcasting is more than talking into a microphone. The best podcasts and radio shows are engineered for sound, have strong production elements and a compelling a narrative. 

Today’s podcasters need additional skills in marketing, finance, and technology as they are running small businesses. The podcasting industry is still a fairly young industry and technology will continue to improve. The best thing a budding producer can do is to develop disciplined production chops, an ear for a good story and pay attention to metrics and data.

For broadcast, my advice is to work at your local station! The public radio system needs young, enthusiastic staff and can train, support and nurture talent. 

5) How does podcasting open up opportunities for women?

Podcasting lends itself to experimentation - the barriers to entry are relatively low. Women and minorities, who have been underrepresented in traditional print and broadcast journalism, can find their niche in podcasting. Podcasting creates the opportunity to make your own media and tell stories directly to your audience. This is an exciting time for variety, both in content and talent 

Over the years, PRX has been very vigilant about nurturing new voices. We’ve been deliberate in diversifying our portfolio of shows, which has meant not only looking for existing programs to distribute, but also helping to discover new shows and develop talent through our Radiotopia network. To be clear, we know that being truly diverse means more than hiring a female host - it means bringing in female sound engineers, executive producers, content marketers and leaders. And we’re working to achieve that across the board.

Connect with Kerri Hoffman HERE

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