Ian Donnis: Let’s let the cat out of the bag. What is the new name for public media in Rhode Island as of this fall?
Pam Johnston: We are going to be called Ocean State Media, and we’re so excited to be at this moment to have a new unified brand that speaks to who we are and who we’re becoming. There’s been a lot of talk about our merger and public media in the world, and I’m so very excited to be at this part of our journey.
Donnis: Tell me why this particular name was chosen.
Johnston: The process around this name and around our merger and around defining who we are in the world has been extraordinary. It has been centered on listening, listening to our audience, listening to our community, to our staff, to our board members, to people who don’t really know who we are yet, but are looking for a new kind of media organization that feels very local here in Rhode Island. And what came back was very clear: a sense of place, making sure that the organization was centered someplace. Very specifically, that place is Rhode Island where there is a ton of pride and hometown joy. Also, the association with the coast came back as a really important definitive part of how we live. And interestingly, you’ll notice that the word public is not in our name. We heard that from audiences, both those that we have and those that we don’t yet have, that that was an interesting word, and so we listened.
Donnis: Interesting. In what sense? Why was the decision made to leave the word public out of the new name?
Johnston: Lots of people felt as though they didn’t feel invited into an organization with public in their name, who knows what the connotations are. They come from a variety of different societal places, but it came back as a theme. So I think that is a really bold and exciting move to have done the research, to have listened to folks who live here and made decisions based on what they want us to be and what we can, what the information gaps that we can fill. We’re really excited. This is just a first step though, I should say. A name is one thing and having one name, that will unite both our television side and our radio side, and of course our digital expression is one thing, what we do with it, and what we become and the work that we create is really where you will see and feel the difference. And that’s coming down the pike.
Donnis: To close this out, when will this new name take effect?
Johnston: Well, you’ll start seeing it and hearing it from us over the next couple of weeks and months. And it will be a little clunky, admittedly, over that time. But come this fall, we will have a grand unveiling and that will be the time where we will turn on all of the expressions online and on paper. And, you’ll hear us and see us as Ocean State Media. That will happen in the fall. So we thank you for your patience. We thank you for participating and giving us your feedback. We hope you continue to give us your feedback. And this is a journey. It’s a big step and there’s a lot more to come.
Donnis: Thanks for sitting down to talk about this, Pam.
Johnston: Thank you for having me.
