A group of NPR-affiliated radio stations has launched “The ARGO Network” — sites that pick one area of interest in their community and focus exclusively on it. Local stations are rolling out 12 sites, supported by a $3 million grant from the Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The sites are niche verticals, with each station choosing its own topic — The Informant focuses on cops, courts and communities in the San Francisco Bay Area, for example. Each station had to agree to hire a reporter dedicated exclusively to its ARGO site and respective Facebook and Twitter accounts. The sites are independent of the stations’ companion sites — they look almost nothing like their radio sites. Many of the stations’ official sites don’t link to their ARGO sites, which means the ARGO sites will really have to stand on their own. Interestingly, the ARGO sites are all powered by WordPress and appear in blog format.
According to a press release, The ARGO Network stations will be interconnected to highlight stories from other network sites: “One of the key goals of ARGO is to create an online ‘niche’ experience that invites an exchange of views across the community – bringing together people with different perspectives to explore ideas and solutions.”
On the social side, the sites include curated lists of stories from other sites. The sites note that their latest links are “a current mix of content filtered by our blogroll, Delicious, our Twitter list, and Daylife.” The grant that is funding the project only lasts through the 2011 fiscal year, so NPR will have to find a way to continue to support the project beyond then.
The ARGO Network sites, along with their taglines:
Boston/WBUR
CommonHealth: Where reform meets reality.
Boston/WGBH-WCAI
Climatide: Oceans, coasts, and climate change on Cape Cod.
Minnesota Public Radio
On Campus: Everything higher education in Minnesota.
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Ecotrope: Covering the Northwest’s environment.
New York/WNYC
The Empire: Everything you need to know about New York state politics and governance.
Philadelphia/WXPN
The Key: Discover Philly’s best local music
San Diego/KPBS
Home Post: The military in San Diego
San Francisco/KALW
The Informant: Cops, courts and communities in the Bay Area.
San Francisco/KQED
MindShift: How we will learn
Seattle/KPLU
Humanosphere: Covering the fight to reduce poverty and improve global health.
Los Angeles/KPCC (Southern California Public Radio)
Multi-American: Immigration and cultural fusion in the new Southern California.
Washington, D.C./WAMU
DCentric: The changing face of the District
(Disclaimer: our editor, Steve Safran, consults for NPR but was not involved in The ARGO Project.)