A New Era for Maine Public
In a time of great change for society, for media, and for our organization, Maine Public remains resolute in our commitment to deliver independent, trusted journalism and quality programming for and about Maine.
Disruptions and challenges in the world have caused people to reexamine how they think about “the media,” with increasing skepticism about where to find the information they need and which sources to trust. This highlights the value of Maine Public and our public media partners. It is an opportunity to amplify our role as the trusted source of news and educational, cultural, and public affairs programming in Maine.
The three years of 2024-2026 will be transformational for Maine Public. We are expanding the ways we acquire and create new original content across our multiple platforms of radio, television, and online. We are on the verge of creating a new center for our work in Portland, which will serve as another platform for community engagement and producing programming for the state.
This 2024-2026 Strategic Plan builds on the strong foundation of our last plan, focusing on the strategic pillars of Trusted Content, Loyal Audiences, and Organizational Excellence. Our work is grounded in our mission and a commitment to the core values we share. We will continue to enable informed civic participation in our democracy, to encourage and nurture creativity, to maintain the highest ethical standards, to foster a culture of lifelong learning, and to ensure that the work of Maine Public serves the public interest.
To achieve these goals, Maine Public will focus on three strategic priorities:
1. Trusted Content
Continue to strengthen Maine Public’s role as a trusted source of news and educational, cultural, and public affairs programming in Maine.
2. Loyal Audiences
Grow and diversify our audience, while building enthusiasm and maintaining loyalty among our existing fanbase.
3. Organizational Excellence
Strengthen our sustainability through revenue generation, strategic growth, and support of our organizational culture.
Throughout this work, we will continue to bring context to a complex world, to inspire and reward curiosity, to enable informed civic participation in our democracy, and to strengthen the connection between our communities and Maine Public.
Strategic Priorities, Goals and Objectives
As we take Maine Public to the next level of connecting the people of Maine and our region to each other and to the world, we are particularly attentive to how all aspects of our work are aligned towards our mission and four strategic priorities.
While we have organized all elements into four strategic priorities — to be straightforward and easily accountable — we recognize that this oversimplifies our work. No priority, goal, or objective can be successful in isolation. All the elements described in this plan depend on each other to achieve our mission.
Downloadable Strategic Plan
Click on the link to download a portable version of the Strategic Plan.
Maine Public Today
As we look back over the past five years, we take pride in the progress we have made. We’ve completed a successful comprehensive fundraising campaign, launched a new radio network, rebranded our name and look, added content choice on television and radio, strengthened our digital offerings, and grown the largest audiences we’ve witnessed in our history - all pointing to an abundance of large and small victories that our supporters and staff have made possible.
This progress is crucial to sustain, as cultural and political divisions in America today have fostered a growing distrust of media. Given this context, we must continue to be an independent, trustworthy source of news and information. We must invest in quality content, align our organization and facilities for the work ahead, and focus on continuing to build our audience.
Maine Public Tomorrow
Looking ahead, Maine Public will build on our core strength as the exclusive place where Mainers connect with the very best of public media. Our anchor programs such as Nova, Masterpiece, Morning Edition, as well as global programming through the BBC, will continue the tradition of trusted journalism and quality cultural content that has been the hallmark of our national partners PBS and NPR.
We will strengthen a ‘culture of journalism’ inside Maine Public with broader state and regional coverage, more weekend reporting, alignment of visual content with news, and with a goal of a more timely, 24/7 digital presence. We will expand the base of independent contributors in filing news reports, digital essays, storytelling, photos, and video pieces.
We will continue to grow and serve online, mobile, and younger audiences with expanded digital and social media offerings and expanded live events. Our goal is to broaden the reach of Maine Public with approaches that reflect all aspects of the ways listeners and viewers access our content. At the core is our mission to connect people through open exchange of information, ideas, and cultural content, and we intend to manifest this mission in many different ways.
Our classical music network will have more local hosting and expanded programming. We will partner more fully with our region’s premier musical organizations. We will embrace the joy of live performance with our supporters and neighbors. And with our digital offerings, we’ll reach new audiences via cultural content such as music-related podcasts, videos of exclusive station studio performances, and social media conversations that our hosts and musicians curate together.
We will also embark on a search for improved facilities for our staff and public. Those facilities will likely be focused in two primary locations, one north and one south. These new facilities will be purpose-built centers of excellence where stories are developed and shared, new technologies are displayed and examined, and where we host live events to engage and enrich our communities.