2016 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICEREPORT TO THE COMMUNITY

“I travel a lot and OPB has always been a grounding source of unbiased news, fascinating interviews and creative insights that help me feel connected to our shared community and globe.”

- Alyssa, Tualatin

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

LOCAL VALUE

2016 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 expands across the region, from southern Washington to southern Oregon, to deliver important news, arts and environment content. We offer this content leveraging our powerful broadcast and digital platforms.

OPB serves our community with unique content, outstanding programs, and public service journalism that connects us to each other and to our state, region, nation and the world. With rich content that can be accessed anywhere, at any time, we provide citizens in-depth, trusted news and award-winning, thoughtful entertainment no other media outlet in the region can offer.

OPB is a premier provider of news and thoughtful, entertaining content 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.

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2016 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE REPORT

IN THE COMMUNITY

In 2016, 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 delivers local and regional news 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 2016 include:

• “An Occupation in Eastern Oregon”—In early 2016, a self-described militia group seized control of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon in an armed occupation that lasted 41 days. This ongoing multimedia series provided expansive coverage of the occupation and the subsequent federal case against the people involved, and looked at how life has changed in Harney County (see page 5 for details).

• “Lead in the Drinking Water”—In May 2016, communities across the Northwest were shocked to discover dangerously high lead levels in the drinking water in two Oregon schools. OPB’s team of reporters launched an ongoing investigation into the causes and implications, which included the resignations of several school administrators and a statewide plan to reduce lead exposure in schools. Through this series of reports, communities were able to stay informed and track district-wide water shut-offs and screenings that exposed elevated lead levels in drinking water in schools throughout the state.

• “Election 2016”—Throughout the year, OPB provided ongoing comprehensive election coverage on races from around the region and across the U.S.—from the Oregon gubernatorial race, to a contentious ballot measure that would have imposed a new tax on Oregon businesses, to the presidential campaign. OPB’s collection of coverage was housed online at OPB.org/election and disseminated through broadcast and digital platforms, including OPB Politics Now, a new weekly political podcast.

In 2016, OPB continued playing a central role in the regional news ecosystem with its Northwest News Partnership, which brings together news coverage from more than 50 news organizations across Oregon and Washington.

OPB also continued to connect with communities 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 radio program, has established itself as the centerpiece for our region’s coverage of politics and civic and cultural life. Think Out Loud explores issues, ideas, culture and news in our region and encourages people with different perspectives to discuss various topics with one another. In 2016, Think Out Loud:

• Launched a new series, “On the Road,” which featured conversations with wanderers, tourists and residents along Oregon’s backroads and highways. While passing through numerous National Forests, wildlife refuges, small towns and pit-stops that dot the Oregon landscape, the team met ranchers, small-business owners, life-long residents and visitors for impromptu conversations about their lives.

• Traveled to Cleveland and Philadelphia for the 2016 Republican and Democratic National Conventions. Think Out Loud provided daily updates and observations as well as interviews with delegates and political leaders from our region as they weighed in on the presidential campaign.

• Asked, “How Meaningful is the American Dream Today?” in a series leading up to the November 2016 election that joined voices from Think Out Loud guests and a special OPB Public Insight Network survey. The series addressed questions of identity, equity and opportunity with Oregonians from all walks of life, including a futurist, a single mother, an animator, and three-dozen high schoolers at a town hall-style discussion.

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 and reports over the year, including a multimedia investigation on the flow of unwanted consumer electronics from the U.S. to developing countries; a series on the shortcomings in our nation’s grazing policies and rule enforcement on public lands; several enterprising reports that revealed flaws in Oregon’s clean-air enforcement regime; and an investigation of Oregon’s wildlife agency and its failure to protect species that do not help generate revenue through hunting and fishing licenses and fees.

For their special multimedia series “Battle Ready,” the EarthFix team of reporters conducted hundreds of interviews for a report on the hidden history of the military’s environmental legacy in the Pacific Northwest. These efforts led to a downloadable audio special, a radio and web series, a digital documentary, and an hour-long television special to be broadcast on OPB TV in 2017.

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2016 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE REPORT

IN THE COMMUNITY

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 series in the public broadcasting system.

In 2016, Oregon Field Guide took viewers on memorable journeys across the region to explore desert skies, hidden gorges, dangerous waves, threatened species and more. They soared with glider pilots high above Oregon’s vast Alvord Desert, shadowed bar pilots as they helped commercial ships navigate the treacherous Columbia River Bar, and looked at the cultural and historical significance of fishing for eulachon smelt.

In its most elaborate expedition of 2016, Oregon Field Guide ventured deep into a previously uncharted slot canyon in the Oregon wilderness for a ground-breaking presentation, “Discovering Valhalla: Oregon’s Hidden Gorge” (see page 4 for details).

Arts & Culture

State of Wonder, OPB’s weekly arts and culture radio show, 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 2016, State of Wonder hosted a range of voices, moderating a forum with candidates for Portland mayor and city council about issues like Portland’s arts tax, city funding for arts organizations and projects, equity in the arts, affordable artist housing and more; and speaking with creative voices across Oregon’s urban/rural divide. In addition to producing narrative features, in-depth interviews, and engaging profiles, State of Wonder continued to distinguish itself as a news source in the arts, providing strong coverage on a creative and environmental crisis that began when high levels of heavy metals in Portland’s air were found to be in connection to the Pacific Northwest’s art glass industry.

Later that year, State of Wonder took listeners on road trips to some of the most beautiful and inspiring parts of Oregon to visit with the creators who work there. Their live broadcast from the annual Wordstock Festival in Portland highlighted work by feminist writers like Lindy West, Rivka Galchen, Maria Semple, and others. In concert with opbmusic, State of Wonder offered “first listens” with national acts like case/lang/veirs and Drive-By Truckers. 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 2016, Oregon Art Beat took viewers behind the scenes with organizations utilizing the power of art to make a difference in their communities. They showed artists using tools in unexpected ways, including metal artist Kelly Phipps, whose segment received national attention in a viral online video from OPB that had more than 5.7 million views.

In April, Art Beat celebrated the 100th birthday of beloved children’s author Beverly Cleary in “Discovering Beverly Cleary.” The half-hour special reached national audiences and featured a rare, new interview with the author herself (see page 4 for details).

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 histories in Portland’s jazz and LGBTQ communities, and shared first-hand accounts from Oregonians who survived the catastrophic flood that destroyed Vanport, Oregon in 1948. They also examined the life of Oregon’s first state-geologist—the minister and nationally regarded educator, Thomas Condon—as well as the region’s Jewish heritage and pioneers.

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. opbmusic produced more than 40 sessions in 2016, hosting bands that include M. Ward, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, The Thermals, Cody ChesnuTT, Seinabo Sey and Okkervil River. Among its major sessions, opbmusic hosted songwriting trio case/lang/veirs and country-rock band Drive-By Truckers, whose OPB studio performances were made available as full-streaming concerts in partnership with VuHaus and NPR Music, and were broadcast on OPB TV.

In 2016, opbmusic expanded its reach with community radio station KMUZ-FM, where listeners can now hear opbmusic overnight. opbmusic also grew its online presence with non-profit digital music video service VuHaus; at VuHaus.com/Portland, opbmusic now makes available to stream more than 200 videos—among them is the case/lang/veirs concert, which was the most-viewed content in the VuHaus system for 2016.

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2016 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE REPORT

STORIES OF IMPACT

Beverly Cleary’s 100th Birthday Celebration

In April 2016, OPB commemorated the 100th birthday of beloved Oregon author Beverly Cleary with a new Oregon Art Beat special, “Discovering Beverly Cleary.” It features an extremely rare, new interview with the author herself, and a profile of her life, her work and her enduring legacy in the world of children’s literature. The half-hour special aired on OPB TV and online to reach more than 145,000 households in its first week alone. That month, hundreds of Beverly Cleary fans joined OPB for a community celebration and advance screening of the program. In partnership with the Oregon State Library and others, OPB hosted four additional events and distributed “birthday party kits” that provided more than 130 libraries in Oregon and southern Washington the ability to host their own birthday celebrations and screenings. The half-hour special was accompanied by a multimedia web presentation and an extensive regional and national outreach campaign that amounted to an earned media potential reach of 6 million and a social media potential reach that exceeded 4 million.

Oregon Field Guide: Valhalla Expedition

In February 2016, Oregon Field Guide assembled its most complex and dangerous expedition ever to reveal a previously uncharted geologic wonder in Oregon’s Mount Jefferson Wilderness Area. “Discovering Valhalla: Oregon’s Hidden Gorge” captured the first public images of a hidden gorge featuring a chain of 10 waterfalls and a deep, narrow slot canyon. Broadcast on OPB TV and streamed online, the documentary was also screened at a special community event that attracted more than 400 people in Portland, and included a panel discussion with members of the expedition.

The half-hour program was accompanied online by a multimedia web presentation at OPB.org/valhalla, which was shared widely by regional media outlets and on social media.

OPB Celebrates “Jazz Town”

OPB celebrated Jazz Appreciation Month in April 2016 by exploring the neighborhood, politics and music behind Portland’s brief, brilliant jazz age. At OPB.org/jazztown, viewers could explore multimedia content that looked at Portland’s contemporary and by-gone jazz communities in a nostalgic tribute to the city that once hosted jazz greats like Ellington, Basie, Parker, Gillepsie, Monk and Coltrane.

In celebration, OPB premiered a new Oregon Experience documentary “Jazz Town,” examining the eruption of music and nightlife in North and Northeast Portland in the 1940s and '50s. In conjunction, OPB partnered with the Portland Jazz Festival, Portland Community College and others to hold an advance screening of the show in Portland’s historic Albina neighborhood, where the city’s jazz scene first took root. OPB also collaborated with KMHD Jazz Radio to feature interviews and other content on air, and Oregon Art Beat featured a “Tribute to Jazz Town” special episode.

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2016 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE REPORT

STORIES OF IMPACT

OPB Covers Armed Occupation in Eastern Oregon

After 41 days, an armed occupation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge came to a conclusion on Feb. 11, 2016, when four remaining militants at the refuge surrendered to federal authorities. Twenty-five people were charged with crimes related to the occupation that left one man dead and a community reeling.

OPB reporters were on the ground in Harney County from day one and for the duration of the standoff. They delivered the latest updates on the activity at the refuge, and reported on the reactions from local residents and impact on the community. OPB’s unique in-depth and ongoing coverage of the occupation as it unfolded was featured nationally and leveraged by prominent outlets including NPR, The New York Times and more.

OPB reporters collaborated with OPB’s digital team and daily original radio program Think Out Loud to produce a landmark news series at OPB.org/burns and on OPB Radio. “An Occupation in Eastern Oregon” documented the occupation and its impact across the region, and took a deep dive into the subsequent federal trial. Additionally, in their hour-long audio special airing on OPB Radio “41 Days: An OPB Documentary on the Oregon Occupation,” OPB reporters and Think Out Loud looked back at some of the most dramatic and contentious six weeks in Harney County history, and a community that now looks toward healing.

“An Occupation in Eastern Oregon” earned OPB’s news and digital teams the Online News Association’s 2016 Online Journalism Award for breaking news coverage.

This Land is Our Land Podcast: The Federal Trial In October 2016, OPB expanded its comprehensive news coverage of the events in Harney County with a new podcast This Land is Our Land—offering fresh perspectives, timely trial updates and lively conversations with experts from around the Northwest. For 12 weeks, OPB reporters—along with attorneys and other journalists—provided trial recaps and in-depth analysis and insight into the legal process surrounding the high-stakes trial, garnering nearly 300,000 streams from listeners around the world.

Community Feedback & Impact

“I’m supporting OPB because of the wonderful, thoughtful coverage you’ve given of the standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. I’m an avid listener to the This Land is Our Land podcast.” - Hannah, Bournemouth, UK

“This Land is Our Land—excellent work! I’m a member of my local NPR station but I wanted to support the informative, illuminating coverage you’ve had throughout the occupation.” - Julia, Washington

“I began to follow OPB when the Malheur Refuge occupation began. You had, by far, the most comprehensive coverage to be found anywhere. I remained a fan, and now […] I am even more appreciative of the content and quality of your site. I am a HUGE fan of This Land is Our Land.” - Nancy, Nevada

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2016 LOCAL CONTENT AND SERVICE REPORT

SUMMARY

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

OPB.org averages more than 2.1 million page views per month, including an average of more than 70,000 watch.opb.org video site visits per month and 1 million live audio streams per month.

OPB’s weekly e-newsletter OPB Insider connects its more than 99,000 subscribers each month to news about OPB, our programs and events, and information about our community partners.

There are more than 112,000 OPB Facebook fans and more than 77,000 Twitter followers on OPB’sgeneral pages.

Last year, more than 450 volunteers donated more than 15,000 hours of service to OPB.

OPB is generously supported by more than 131,000 members who provide two-thirds of our funding.

OPB in the Community

In 2016, OPB connected with the communities it serves across Oregon and southern Washington in a number of ways. We:

• Took road trips with Think Out Loud and State of Wonder to meet local residents, travelers and artists

• Moderated political debates and facilitated public discussions in various communities

• Hosted community screening events for our programs

• Partnered with a variety of statewide community organizations to distribute our content to new audiences and extend our public service mission

• Reported on breaking news throughout the region

• Opened our doors to the community during our annual Open House celebration

OPB’s mission of connecting Oregon and its neighbors has never been more celebrated and more vital.

“Even more today than ever, OPB is my

most interesting, reliable, balanced source

for news. Please keep doing the excellent

work you and your reporters do. Thank you

so much!” - Eugene, Fairview

“OPB makes my daily commute easier as it

sparks my imagination and gets my brain

churning. As my daughter grows and listens

with me, I’m excited to hear the things that

inspire her to ask questions and learn to think

critically about the world around her.”

- Bria, Gresham

“I trust you. You make me laugh. You make

me stop and think. You make me see both

sides.”

- Peggy Sue, Vancouver