NPR - Digital Media

Digital Media

NPR's history in digital media includes the work of an independent, for-profit company called Public Interactive, which was founded in 1999 and acquired by PRI in June 2004, when it became a non-profit company. By July 2008, Public Interactive had "170 subscribers who collectively operate 325 public radio and television stations" and clients such as Car Talk, The World, and The Tavis Smiley Show; by the end of that month, NPR acquired Public Interactive from PRI In March 2011, NPR revealed a restructuring proposal in which Boston-based Public Interactive would become NPR Digital Services, separate from the Washington D.C.-based NPR Digital Media, which focuses on NPR-branded services. NPR Digital Services would continue offering its services to public TV stations.

The technical backbone of its digital news publishing system is Core Publisher, which was built on Drupal, the open-source content management system.

NPR has been dubbed as "leveraging the Twitter generation", because of its adaptation of the popular microblogging service as one of its primary vehicles of information. Of NPR’s Twitter followers, the majority (67%) still do listen to NPR on the radio. According to Mashable.com, in a survey of more than 10,000 respondents, NPR found that its Twitter (Twitter) followers are younger, more connected to the social web, and more likely to access content through digital platforms such as NPR’s website, podcasts, mobile apps and more. NPR has more than one Twitter account; its survey found that most respondents followed between two and five NPR accounts, including topical account, show-specific accounts and on-air staff accounts. In addition, NPR's Facebook Page has been at the forefront of the company foray into social media. Started by college student and fan Geoff Campbell in 2008, the page was quickly taken over by the organization, and over the last two years has grown to over 2.2 million fans and is a popular example of the company's new focus on a younger audience.