'Audio' Means Radio in Miami

By: Joe Strupp While most newspapers are turning to Web sites as a place to provide audio, The Miami Herald has taken the old-fashioned route, via the local National Public Radio station. Since forging a partnership four years ago with nearby WLRN in which the Herald provides all of the station's local news, the paper has built up a prominent on-air organization that accounts for some 18 newscasts each day.

Boasting a full-time staff of five ? along with dozens of Herald staffers who regularly contribute ? Miami Herald Radio News operates completely out of the newspaper's building, which contains two radio studios. "It is another outlet for the Herald's content," says Michael Hibblen, the radio operation's editor. "There is such a big listening audience for the station. Only about half of the listeners subscribe to the paper."

The project, which started with just eight morning newscasts, is essentially a partnership between WLRN and the Herald, according to Rick Hirsch, managing editor/multimedia and new projects. He said the newspaper pays the salaries of the full-time radio staffers, but receives revenue from sponsorships for the newscasts.

What's more, the paper gets a lot of promotional value from the broadcasts. "We reach an audience of about 300,000 weekly," Hirsch claims, adding that the radio signal travels to South Florida counties where the Herald doesn't even circulate. "It is also doing serious news on the radio."

According to WLRN Manager Ted Eldredge, the newspaper and his station split all revenue from sponsorships related to the newscasts, which his staff primarily sells. "They have opened some doors for us," he says. "It has been a tremendous help. There is no way we could have set up our own news division right out of the gate."

The Herald's Hirsch says the newscasts account for more local radio news in Miami than anything else. "It is the only English-language, all-news station in the market," he contends. The paper also posts each newscast on its Web site where it can be heard at any time.

But what do the Herald staffers who already provide news for the print edition and the Web site think of the radio element? Many say they are not required to provide content and on-air reports, but it is encouraged. "I am comfortable with it and try to really make them good pieces," says Evan Benn, a three-year general assignment reporter. "It can range from an interview over the phone, which doesn't take much effort, to audio from an interview, and it is turned into an on-air report."

Herald reporters who provide radio content and reports are not paid extra, but many say they appreciate the opportunity. "I do it because I want to," notes staffer Casey Woods. "There are people who really don't, and there are different levels of participation." She adds that the radio outlet gives some print stories more of a complete feel. Recalling one on-air report, she says, "People told me they heard it, and it caused them to read the print story."

But the radio reporting can add to the workload as much as writing, Woods says. It can take up to three hours "with gathering sound and writing a script and recording it," she adds, adding that her embrace of multimedia "has affected my view of myself as a reporter."

Curtis Morgan, a 20-year veteran of the Herald, welcomes the radio alternative but points to the lack of additional pay. "That is something I and others mentioned early on," he says. "But that is not part of this business formula. There are a lot of things we are asked to do, and it takes a lot of time away from other things."