Thanks to all who joined us at PMDMC23! Save the date for PMDMC24 in San Diego, August 12-15, 2024. 

Pre-Conference Cohort Day

Build professional connections that you can draw from throughout the conference and all year long.
PMDMC 2023 Cohorts

Tuesday, July 11  |  1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.  |   Free

Start your networking and conference learning early with the Pre-Conference Cohorts, small roundtable discussions facilitated by your fellow public media professionals. The cohorts will provide station attendees an opportunity to discuss the unique challenges that our industry faces. Plus, use this time to build your professional network so you can continue talking through challenges and sharing solutions all year long. 

Pre-Conference Cohorts are free for station attendees and do not require pre-registration. When you arrive on Tuesday afternoon, pick the topic that most suits your needs. Past cohort topics include FCC guidelines, University licensees, social media marketing, planned giving, vehicle donations, and young professionals.

Cohorts:

Is your station in a Capital Campaign or planning one now? Join this pre-conference session to get some insight into issues you are facing in your campaign planning or execution. Build your community to meet other fundraisers and meet new colleagues and friends.

Events are a core strategy for many of our stations, but there’s no shortage of goals, content, guests, and formats to choose from. Dive into what’s working best for your peers and share practical ideas on how you can level up your station’s events.

Learn the ins and outs of Corporate Support or refresh on the basics with this Pre-Conference Cohort. We’ll discuss the art form of copywriting and how your peers maximize results and engage sponsors.

In the wake of the pandemic, many people who didn’t embrace technology are using it more than ever before. This includes streaming services to hear & find new music, including Jazz. In this Cohort, discuss how Jazz radio can retain its identity to established listeners and become attractive to new ones in order to broaden its demographic profile.

Planned giving is a tremendous long-term revenue opportunity for public media organizations. If you have responsibility for planned giving at your station or are working on building a program, attend this pre-conference Cohort session to meet others working in planned giving, learn what they do at their stations to cultivate, secure, and steward planned gifts, and share your station’s practices and plans.

Diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and belonging is a jog, not a sprint. But if we are not focused on the destination, we’ll jog in place forever. Join this discussion led by DEIAB practitioners for what is required in building a strong, sustainable, and future-focused public media system.

The airwaves may be our biggest megaphone, but what other tactics are we using to promote and engage with our audience? We will discuss how the media landscape across digital and in-person events has impacted our ability to interact with our listeners and grow our audiences.

University and institutional licensees face administrative roadblocks to productivity, fundraising, gift processing, and a myriad of other tasks. In this discussion, we’ll explore many of the challenges licensees face, and brainstorm ways to overcome them.

Scheduling and Trafficking Underwriting continues to be a surprisingly complex discipline in public media. Join us in this Cohort to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing stations today, and the best practices, and tools that are proving most effective.

With audiences increasingly turning to social media for content, information, and brand articulation, public media has the chance to maximize our impact in these dynamic spaces. But how do we pick where, when, and how to invest our efforts? Discuss platforms, content, tone, and tagging, and learn together how we can make the biggest impact!

Don’t let staffing disruptions turn your fundraising and membership programs upside down. Join this staffing discussion for practical, actionable advice from your peers who have navigated and survived staff turnover.

If you are under 35 years old or have been working within public media for less than 5 years, then you’re a YAYAHP! Join us to talk about navigating professional lives and growing a career while sharing ideas and establishing connections.

Pre-Conference Cohort Schedule:

1:00 – 2:15 p.m. – Pre-Conference Cohorts Block 1
2:15 – 2:45 p.m. – Break with all cohorts attendees with light refreshments
2:45 – 4:00 p.m. – Pre-Conference Cohorts Block 2

The complete cohort schedule can be found on our PMDMC23 schedule page.

Please note that the pre-conference cohorts are only available to radio, joint licensee, and TV station attendees.