Study finds modest growth in online radio audience

Is the online radio audience growing or flat? Researchers behind The Infinite Dial 2008: Radio's Digital Platforms chart an "all-time high" in weekly listenership, but marketing strategist Mark Ramsey says the data "sure seems weird."

Menu planning for the Social Media Cafe

The Columbus Social Media Cafe, an endeavor to engage local bloggers in the creation of Web 2.0 public media that benefits the communities served by WOSU-TV/FM/AM, is planning a new website. Intended to be an "agora for information and communication," the website will aggregate content created by and about Central Ohio, creating a "loop of communication" between topics discussed on the Web and covered by the WOSU stations. Elements of the site, and video footage of the most recent Social Media Cafe meeting, are posted here. WOSU's Susan Meier discusses the ideas and how-to elements of the project here.

PRX gets MacArthur award

The Public Radio Exchange has received a MacArthur Foundation Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, an annual $500,000 grant awarded only to previous MacArthur grantees with budgets of less than $2.5 million. “By gathering and distributing new programming and using technological innovation to expand content choices, PRX is leading public radio to become more interactive, diverse, and participatory,” the foundation said today in its release. PRX explains that it will use the money to upgrade its web service, encourage the development of new PRX content and create a capital reserve that will support the creation of an independent board of directors. More from the Chronicle of Philanthropy.