Todd Mundt

Iowa Public Radio’s blog goes “live” today.

I know I’ve been uncharacteristically quiet here, but that’s been for two reasons: lots of work preparing for Iowa Public Radio’s consolidation of the stations, and the work preparing this new outlet for communicating with our audience.

Iowa Public Radio is embarking on a project that’s going to involve lots of change and growth, and we’ve decided that we’re going to do it in a manner that is as open and transparent as possible. Our 200,000 listeners have come to trust NPR and their local public radio stations, and as our Executive Director Cindy Browne might say, you don’t build on that trust by making all your decisions behind a locked door.

We have a multi-pronged communications strategy and this blog is one of a few public-facing elements. We’ll communicate what we’re doing and the sometimes difficult decisions we’re making. We’ll accept praise and criticism openly. Any change requires a certain amount of processing. Iowans will be able to talk back to us, and they’ll be able to talk among themselves.

The next few weeks and months will be especially important to the future of this network. I’m excited to see what comes of it.