A few of you asked last week about seeing the presentations we've been making. Last night I spent some time looking through my PowerPoint slides and I think I can say pretty definitively that hard-core fans of The Current would find them very elementary. In fact you could probably write my presentations for me.

Nonetheless, in the interest of disclosure and since I said I would, here is the general outline of our presentation, and some specifics about things we say:

Overview
We start by talking about the station's goals:

- to serve as a catalyst for the health and development of music, the arts, and culture in our region;
- to reach new audiences in our region with the mission and values of public radio, expanding beyond our other services;
- to take creative risks that are possible only because of our mission and nonprofit status;
- to unleash the creative energy and intelligence of the new generation of producers who have come to MPR to "make things happen."

Programming
Then we tell everyone about what we're doing. Remember: some people we talk to have never listened to the station.

- 24 x 7 radio and web music stream;
- knowledgeable DJs with influence over their individual playlists;
- local music is a major focus and passion;
- breaking musicians and bands, playing what other stations don't or won't;
- newscasts presented in a conversational style;
- news features, reviews, and interviews;
- musicians and bands live in the studio;
- active web forum with archived audio, web log, web forums;
- email newsletter with weekly news and information about the station;
- special web-only features (music, downloadable swag, giveaways;
- street team with active presence at local music venues and festivals; and,
- concerts and events at the Fitzgerald and elsewhere.

Music choices and DJs
Next we introduce the DJs and talk about music choices. We explain why it's important for the local music community to have a "media stage" to perform on, and why we consider ourselves anti-formatic. When Thorn is available, he talks in more detail about the difference between "shuffle play" and an intentional and informed juxtaposition of music that allows listeners to draw connections between artists and influences. And we talk about the number of CDs we're receiving weekly (around 300) and how we go about listening and filtering them to put the best new music on the airwaves.

Media Coverage
Next up is a set of quotes from our media coverage (blush).

Audience stats
Then I show our radio and web data (I've been showing this to you blog readers all along). And by the way, web traffic spiked when we started up, then fell off, and now is zooming back up again.

Challenges
Last I tell a bit about our challenges. What are they? Radio fundamentals are challenge #1. Sounding as good as we can sound, 24 x 7 is the focus of our attention right now. That incorporates everything from expanding the music library to strengthening the station's technical underpinnings. Challenge #2 is developing our news elements - we want 89.3 to take full advantage of MPR's impressive newsroom. And finally, challenge #3 is integrating all this exciting new programming into the ongoing operations of MPR. As we move beyond start-up, we need to insure that we are creating the support and space 89.3 needs to grow.

So, there you have it.