2015 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICEREPORT TO THE COMMUNITY

“We love OPB! It’s been an integral part of our lives for detailed news, an excellent educational resource and delightful entertainment for more than 30 years. Thank you OPB for always being there!”

- Stephanie, Beaverton

OPB: giving voice to the community, connecting Oregon and its neighbors, illuminating a wider world.

LOCAL VALUE

2015 KEYSERVICES

LOCAL IMPACT

OPB places special emphasis on creating content and programming that features the people, places and issues of importance to those in the Northwest – stories that simply would not be told elsewhere. Our newsroom has expanded to include in-depth reporting in southern Washington and central Oregon, and delivers important news, arts and environment content in new ways–leveraging the power of our broadcast and digital platforms.

OPB serves our communitywith unique content,outstanding programs, andpublic service journalismthat connects us to eachother and to our state,region, nation and theworld. With rich contentthat can be accessed anywhere, at any time, we provide citizens in-depth, trusted news and award-winning, intelligent entertainment no other media outlet in the region can offer.

OPB is a premier provider of news and intelligent entertainment across the Northwest region. Delivering in-depth news, arts and environment content, OPB connects communities and reaches more than 1.5 million people each week through television, radio, the Web, and on mobile devices. OPB is one of the most supported public media organizations in the country, with members across Oregon and southern Washington.

2015 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE REPORT

IN THE COMMUNITY

In 2015, we focused on creative ways to tell stories and share information in three major areas: news, the environment, and arts and culture. We distribute content leveraging our powerful TV, radio and digital properties—enabling our audience to find us anywhere, at any time.

OPB News Comprised of an award-winning, seasoned staff of journalists across Oregon and southern Washington, OPB News delivers local and regional coverage daily, while also putting national and international stories into context. As public service journalists, we tell stories that illuminate shared experiences, recognize outstanding individual accomplishment and educate people to make intelligent decisions about their lives and communities. Some of our major news series from 2015 include:

• “Class of 2025”— An ongoing, multi-year, multimedia education series that follows the same group of elementary students in Portland on their educational journey. In 2015, the students started third grade, and OPB News profiled them and explored the challenges and opportunities of public education in Oregon today. In April, the series received a 2015 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for its radio news coverage, and later, OPB News produced a nationally-broadcast TV documentary on PBS in partnership with the “American Graduate – Let’s Make It Happen!” initiative.

• “Unprepared: Will we be Ready for the Megaquake in Oregon?”— OPB’s year-long, ongoing, multimedia news series featured a rich collection of in-depth reporting online, on OPB Radio and on social media at #UnpreparedNW. A response to the impending threat of a magnitude 9.0 earthquake that could strike the Northwest coast at any time, OPB News took a look at the science, the anticipated aftermath, and resources to help Northwest communities prepare for an unpredictable disaster.

• “Gov. Kitzhaber Resigns in Wake of Ethics Scandal”—In February, Governor John Kitzhaber became Oregon’s first governor to resign as a result of scandal during an ethics case over allegations his fiancée evaded taxes and used her position to peddle influence. OPB News covered the event in-depth with a series of online and radio stories that followed the ongoing investigation, its impact on Oregonians and background information on the political process when such a event occurs. OPB News reporting culminated with a look at the Governor’s unprecedented four-term legacy, and Secretary of State Kate Brown’s appointment as interim governor.

We continued to bolster our news operation by playing a more central role in the regional news ecosystem. Our Northwest News Partnership has grown, bringing together news coverage from more than 50 news organizations across Oregon and Washington. With OPB at the hub of this network, we’re able to give our audience greater access to news right in their communities.

OPB also continued to connect with the community through our Public Insight Network (PIN), a group of people from around the Northwest who have agreed to be “public sources” to help us cover the news. We engage with them to help diversify our coverage and provide greater depth in the stories we do.

Think Out Loud, an engaging, OPB original daily program on OPB Radio, has established itself as the centerpiece for our region’s coverage of politics and civic and cultural life.

Think Out Loud explores issues, ideas and culture making news in our region and encourages people with different perspectives to discuss various topics with one another. In 2015, Think Out Loud:

• Launched its “Represented” multimedia series. They traveled to cities and towns across the state to hear about how policy issues affect Oregonians at home. The team discussed marijuana in Ashland, paid sick time in Eugene, law enforcement funding in Grants Pass, minimum wage in East Portland, data centers in Prineville, sex trafficking in The Dalles and police relations in Northeast Portland.

• Launched its “At Home” series. They held intimate conversations from people’s homes across the region, traveling to Bend, Canyon Creek, southern Washington, Albany, Winston, Mitchell, Bull Run and Rock Creek. They reported on the first-hand experiences of people living with Northwest wildfires and wildlife, ALS, addiction, memories of war, polyamory, and an internationally-diverse public boarding school. They even heard from the last fluent speaker of a dying Native language.

• Returned to Roseburg two months after the shooting at Umpqua Community College that left 10 people dead and nine more wounded. They heard from students and community members about how they are healing, what they’re still struggling with, and where they’ve seen resilience in the aftermath of trauma.

The Environment

EarthFix is an innovative public media partnership of Pacific Northwest public broadcasters led by OPB that expands our collective ability to cover more consequential news on the environment and issues unfolding in our own backyards.

EarthFix produced several series over the year, including a multimedia investigation on unsafe levels of arsenic and lead pesticide contamination in the soils of former agricultural sites where homes, parks and childcare centers have since been built; a cormorant-shooting controversy on the Columbia River; and continued reporting on proposals to transport coal, oil and natural gas by rail and pipeline to Pacific Northwest shipping ports. They also reported on the year’s drought and wildfires, looked at the role mushrooms might play in saving collapsing honeybee colonies, and the relationship between the World War II war effort and today’s industrial pollution.

2015 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE REPORT

IN THE COMMUNITY

For their special multimedia series “Wildlife Detectives,” the EarthFix team of reporters conducted hundreds of interviews, spent hours reviewing documents, and followed law enforcement and private citizens in their fight against black market poachers preying on Northwest wildlife.

Oregon Field Guide is an OPB original television series delivering smart and informed coverage of environmental, geological, ecological and outdoor recreation topics, while providing audiences a window into the beauty of the Northwest. This long-running, award-winning show is one of the most-watched original productions in the public broadcasting system.

In 2015, Oregon Field Guide took inspiration from Oregon’s vast and beautiful coastline to bring audiences on a stunning visual tour of the state’s shores in “Oregon Revealed: Coastal Wonder,” and to capture massive waves at one of the most spectacular and little-known wave-watching spots in Oregon. They then trekked across the coastal town of Gearhart to cover the town’s new—and growing—elk population, and across the state to profile a group of extreme equestrians on a 100-mile endurance trail in the Deschutes County desert. These stories garnered significant engagement in social media and online viewing.

The most significant, ground-breaking presentation in 2015 was the one-hour documentary “Unprepared,” which took an in-depth look at Oregon’s lack of preparedness for a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami expected to hit the Northwest in the next 50 years (see page 5 for details).

Arts & Culture

State of Wonder, OPB’s weekly arts and culture show on OPB Radio features interviews and reporting on the latest in visual arts, theater, music, literature, culture and more. It brings audiences the week’s show-stopping stories, ideas and must-see happenings; and has frank conversations about the economic, social and political currents shaping the creative economy. State of Wonder is playful, lighthearted and sometimes irreverent; pointed, curious and informative.

In 2015, State of Wonder hosted live shows from the Astoria Music Festival, the Fishtrap Writers’ Gathering in eastern Oregon, and Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland. Their live broadcast from the Wordstock Festival in Portland featured interviews with authors Ursula K. Le Guin, Jesse Eisenberg, Colin Meloy, Chelsea Cain, and Patterson Hood.

The show dedicated a number of full episodes in 2015 to exploring topics like how rural communities are using the arts as a tool for economic development and the changing face of arts philanthropy in Oregon. In addition to producing narrative features, in-depth interviews, and engaging profiles, State of Wonder distinguished itself as a breaking news source in the arts, providing some of the earliest reports on projects ranging from a new movie theater at the Portland Airport to The Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s initiative to modernize the Bard’s canon.

Oregon Art Beat, is another award-winning OPB original television series that profiles artists, musicians, and artisans from around the region. Show producers and crew have traveled extensively to capture the eclectic mix of creative talent in the Northwest. The program features stunning show opening sequences, “on location” reporting, thematic episodes and music videos from popular local artists.

In 2015, Art Beat concluded over a year of recording the development and production of the original musical, Cuba Libre. They went behind the scenes to uncover why it takes up to five years to develop a major musical, which premiered at Portland’s Artists Repertory Theatre in late 2015. The Art Beat team also produced an episode that offered a behind-the-scenes look at NBC’s hit fantasy series, Grimm, following the craftspeople who bring fairy tales to life.

Oregon Experience, is an OPB original television history series that brings to life stories that help us understand this place where we live and that reinforce our shared identity as Oregonians. Co-produced with the Oregon Historical Society, the series draws upon the Society’s skilled researchers and extensive photography and moving-image archives. The program also incorporates OPB’s own film and video resources and the expertise of some of Oregon’s finest historians. Each episode features captivating characters – both familiar and forgotten – who have played key roles in building our state.

Last year, Oregon Experience documentaries recounted the histories of Astoria, the oldest U.S. settlement west of the Rockies; Oregon’s most infamous train heist; Portland’s path to civil rights (see more on page 4); and the birth of the world-renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

opbmusic, available on HD radio and online, features the best indie, alternative and pop music with an emphasis on new music and artists from the Northwest, particularly those from Portland.

At opbmusic.org, listeners can stream audio from our 24/7 music channel, join conversations, find interviews, read reviews of concerts and albums and watch videos of more than 300 studio and sound-check sessions. 2015 sessions featured bands including Guster, Yellowbirds, Heartless Bastards, The Americans, Vetiver, and a Pink Martini holiday special in partnership with NPR Music. In September, opbmusic produced and broadcast three half-hour concerts from its Stagepass concert series on OPB TV.

opbmusic also expanded its reach in 2015 with two new partnerships with community radio station KMUZ-FM and non-profit digital music video service VuHaus at VuHaus.com/Portland. This is the first time opbmusic has partnered with an FM radio station to bring its programming to a wider audience, and both partnerships will make opbmusic content and programming more accessible.

2015 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE REPORT

STORIES OF IMPACT

OPB Web Series: “Greetings from the Northwest”

In August 2015, we launched a new monthly, thematic Web and multimedia series at opb.org exploring stories, adventures and issues in the Northwest. It features an inventive and visually-engaging curation of new and existing content from OPB News, EarthFix, opbmusic, and original OPB series and more. It includes stories, presentations, interactive tools and animated maps where users can contribute their own content.

In 2015, “Greetings from the Northwest” featured a variety of themes, including regional river adventures, education in Oregon, literary arts, and an end-of-year roundup of key news stories. In addition to enjoying content at opb.org, users can engage in conversations on social media using the hashtag #GreetingsNW.

OPB at the Wordstock Book Festival

In November, OPB celebrated writers and readers at Wordstock: Portland’s Book Festival presented by Literary Arts. The one-day festival attracted more than 8,000 attendees to the Portland Art Museum, where OPB hosted its own stage featuring live author interviews moderated by OPB personalities from OPB News, Think Out Loud, State of Wonder, Oregon Art Beat and opbmusic.

Ursula K. Le Guin, John Irving, Colin Meloy and Simon Winchester were among the many talented authors featured on OPB’s main stage, in addition to their pop-up stage where OPB played host to a revolving set of bite-sized and intimate conversations. In between author interviews, crowds attended “OPB Mix”—a two-hour variety show of books and music—and joined in OPB’s celebration of beloved author Beverly Cleary in anticipation of her 100th birthday.

Oregon Experience: Civil Rights Special & Community Discussion

In April, OPB premiered “Portland Civil Rights: Lift Ev’ry Voice,” a new Oregon Experience documentary that examined Portland’s African-American history during the turbulent 1960s, 70s and early 80s.

In addition to airing the 80-minute special on OPB TV and online, the premiere broadcast was immediately followed by a live panel discussion with community activists and city leaders on OPB TV. Moderated by Think Out Loud host Dave Miller, the panel discussed the program and the civil rights challenges Oregonians still face today. OPB engaged viewers at home by extending the discussion to social media, where audience members participated with comments and questions on Twitter using the hashtag #ORCivilRights. The conversation on Twitter reached 323,500 people and became a trending topic with 1.5 million impressions nationwide.

2015 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE REPORT

STORIES OF IMPACT

OPB’s “Unprepared” Series Examines Oregon’s Preparedness for a Northwest Megaquake

In January, OPB launched a new, year-long series “Unprepared,” which examined the ways Oregon is—and isn’t—prepared for the 9.0 Cascadia earthquake scientist expect to hit the Northwest in the next 50 years. The series kicked off with an ongoing collection of OPB News stories online at opb.org/unprepared, on OPB Radio and on social media at #UnpreparedNW. The series featured in-depth reporting, video and resources on the history and science of earthquakes and ways to prepare.

OPB’s “Unprepared” series culminated with an Oregon Field Guide television documentary that probed into the state of Oregon’s preparedness for a megaquake when it comes to bridges, schools, hospitals, building codes and energy infrastructure. The team traveled to Japan, and they found surprising lessons that Oregon could build upon. In September, OPB hosted a free, public screening of the “Unprepared” documentary in Portland at Mercy Corps Northwest. The event featured the full-length documentary and a Q&A session with members of the production team, a survivor of the recent 8.8 magnitude Chilean earthquake, and regional experts in geotechnical engineering and emergency relief. The more than 100 attendees also had a chance to enter OPB’s special giveaway of two earthquake preparedness kits.

Series Highlights

Interactive Web Tools: “What’s my Risk?” and “Aftershock”To help educate our community about how they would personally be affected by a major earthquake, OPB developers created “Aftershock,” an interactive tool with data collected from state scientists and government agencies. More than 130,000 visits to the application helped residents assess earthquake and tsunami risks in their neighborhoods. We also developed the “What’s my Risk?” application, which enabled individuals to search nearby schools and buildings to determine how they would be affected in a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami.

“Living Off Your Quake Kit”OPB News engaged the community with a preparedness challenge called “Living Off Your Quake Kit,” in which several Portland families had to live off of their emergency supply kits for 72 hours during an earthquake simulation. Their experiences were chronicled by embedded OPB News reporters who posted updates and stories on opb.org/unprepared throughout the weekend.

#14gallons ChallengeOPB launched the social media challenge #14gallons, which encouraged individuals and their friends to post photos of their own supply of the recommended 14 gallons of emergency water that would be needed to survive up to two weeks after an earthquake.

2015 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE REPORT

SUMMARY

OPB delivers excellence in public broadcasting to 1.5 million people each week through television, radio and online.

OPB.org averages more than 1.4 million page views per month, including an average of more than 100,000 watch.opb.org video site visits per month and 738,000 live audio streams per month.

OPB’s e-newsletter connects its more than 95,000 subscribers each month to news about OPB, our programs and events, and information about our community partners.

There are more than 64,000 OPB Facebook fans and more than 56,000 Twitter followers on OPB’s general pages.

Last year, more than 450 volunteers donated more than 17,000 hours of service to OPB.

OPB is generously supported by more than 128,000 members who provide two-thirds of our funding.

OPB’s Award-Winning Staff Recognized in 2015

OPB continues to be the region’s leading provider of high-quality news and intelligent entertainment.

As a testament to the strength of OPB’s staff, content and programming, in 2015, OPB received seven Northwest Regional Emmy awards for original OPB series Oregon Field Guide, Oregon Art Beat and Oregon Experience and national TV production work.

OPB journalists and staff were also recognized for their work in online media, radio and television, as they received two first place awards along with seven second-place and two third-place awards in the 2015 Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Northwest Excellence in Journalism Contest. Awards were received for OPB news, reporting, EarthFix environmental reporting and outdoor and history storytelling.

“I support OPB because it informs, educates,

and entertains in ways that promote

intelligent consideration and greater depth

of knowledge of the world. An invaluable

resource for children and teens as well!” - Alicia, Portland, OR

“Art Beat and Field Guide give a greater

appreciation of our state treasures. OPB

news is newsworthy and the Oregon history

programs are very interesting and educational.”

- Theresa, Oak Lodge, OR

“I love OPB. They are the best writers,

photographers, editors and commentators

who work diligently to enrich our lives. We

are better people because of them.”

- Cynthia, Portland, OR

The OPB News radio documentary “Class of 2025” was also awarded a 2015 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award.