The Project

NH Commons is an expression of NHPR’s commitment to serving as the state’s most trusted media outlet and a response to the dramatic changes in the media marketplace. The initiative is at once editorially and digitally focused, with the goal of providing more and deeper coverage of the topics that people care about, and delivering that coverage directly to our audience when they want it, wherever they are. 

NH Commons is a significantly expanded news coverage and community engagement initiative that builds upon our position as a journalistic leader by investing in significantly expanded news coverage through the following initiatives:  

Explore The gallery to Learn more about each of the 'My New Hampshire' Initiatives
Regional Bureaus

In addition to our rigorous coverage of Central New Hampshire and the State House, our statewide network now includes regional bureaus including the Upper Valley, the Southern Tier, Manchester, the Seacoast, and the Monadnock Region. Future bureau expansion could include the Lakes Region and The North Country. 
Enriching Drive Time Programs

With the addition of a Morning Edition Producer and bureaus across the state, NHPR has been able to infuse our flagship news program with more local content, expanding local and regional coverage dramatically and strengthening our local brand in this national program.

Continuing on this path is critical, as NHPR faces the increasing threat of "bypass," or the ability for listeners to access national content without tuning in to their local station. By continuing to invest in regional news, engagement journalism projects, and special series, NHPR will become the preferred source for drive-time radio and streaming listeners. 
Expanding Arts Coverage

By expanding our coverage of the arts, NHPR has an opportunity to connect with new audiences who are seeking to engage with music and arts-focused content.

Arts coverage could include live performances in a dedicated venue, the expansion of NHPR's 'Live from Studio D' video series, and sponsorship of high-profile arts events throughout the region.

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Supporting Arts & the Creative Economy

NHPR has an opportunity to become a driving force behind New Hampshire's creative economy and to become a regional leader in connecting artists and arts communities with one another through engaging directly with venues, performing arts groups, maker spaces, and arts nonprofits.

It's important we demonstrate an understanding of the importance of these entities to our listeners and to the future of our community.

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Engagement Through Journalism

NHPR recognizes that when our journalists directly engage with residents of our state, we can make more of an impact and be of better service. In 2017, our newsroom launched Only in New Hampshire, a project framed around Hearken, a cutting-edge journalism tool that enables anyone to ask a question about their New Hampshire community.

Only in New Hampshire stories are produced as a collaboration with NHPR's newsroom and the Creative Production Unit, with long-form versions of the stories airing on Word of Mouth on Saturdays, and news versions airing during the week. Only in New Hampshire stories have brought record traffic to NHPR's website, highlighting the importance of direct and responsive engagement.
Resources for a More Robust Digital Experience

In order for NHPR to fulfill its mission to reach audiences where they are, we need to expand our digital staff and the upgrade the tools our journalists use to create multimedia content. This includes embedding and training dedicated digital producers within content teams, and adding a full-time engagement producer in the newsroom to maximize the impact of our social channels.

It is also critical for NHPR to equip our reporters with the right technology, including field equipment and outfitting our dedicated video studio so they can produce visual journalism, supplemental content and news explainers.

DIGITAL COMPONENTS

NH Commons digital projects will focus on the creation of audience interfaces that will make NHPR's content searchable by topic, region, and preference. Our apps and websites will combine local and national content to create what will essentially be a personalized experience for each listener and online visitor, one which can be accessed at any time, from anywhere.

It's critical that NHPR be where our audience is, but also introduce them to new ways of interacting with the content we produce. To that end, the NH Commons initiative will help us diversify the way we tell stories, incorporating video, mobile interactives, social platforms, and emerging technologies like 360 photography and immersive video experiences.

In the past year, we've begun experimenting with cutting-edge storytelling to test its appeal and potential. As an example, producer Hannah McCarthy used 360 photos and video in her series Roll Call: Life in the New Hampshire State House. In one of her stories, she gave NHPR's online audience a rare glimpse inside the State House dome - a place no other reporter has been allowed to enter.

We have also begun using live streaming, social video to bring our coverage to Facebook. Each week The Exchange Weekly News Roundup is broadcast using high-definition cameras on Facebook Live video. And a recent forum feature New Hampshire's U.S. Senators attracted the largest Facebook Live video audience in our history, topping 6,500 views. 

We will also work to become a resource for connecting New Hampshire's arts community with new audiences through the NHPR Arts and Culture Concierge. This is an online portal for all things having to do with arts and culture in the state and region.

The Arts and Culture Concierge will give real-time information cultural events that will be selected based on the user's preferences and location. If, for example, a Portsmouth user is looking for something to do and opens the app at 6 pm, she will see the Neil Gaiman author event happening at the Music Hall at 7, as illustrated in the mock-up below.

The Concierge will also incorporate curated content assembled by the NHPR staff, including a producer who will be charged with creating arts and culture stories for radio and the web.

Engagement & Partnerships

Partners may include: Stay, Work, Play; the Capitol Center for the Arts; UNH Law School; booksellers including Gibson's in Concord; and performance venues across the region including our Writers on a New England Stage partner, The Music Hall; and the Public Media Company’s music video platform.  

Initiative Staffing

NH Commons will be led by NHPR's Content Team, with support from our Managing Editor, digital staff, and program producers. 

We currently have regional reporters covering the Seacoast, the Southern Tier, the Upper Valley, and the Monadnock Region. 

In addition, we have also recently hired reporters in order to create news beats dedicated to economic development and energy, demographics, the environment, and political accountability. 

We have also hired a full-time Engagement Producer and plan to hire a dedicated Arts & Culture Producer.