New Frontiers
Alaska Innovators Making a Difference and Inventing a New World
Innovative Story Tellers Embrace the Past
The demise of television, specifically linear viewing, is
coming. So say digital pundits promoting online media dis-
tribution. This appears logical. After all, the iPod and iTunes
quickly disrupted the music industry, and certainly the iPhone
has and continues to disrupt communications.
One wonders why Apple TV hasn’t been as disruptive.
This technology is over ten years old and while it has surely
created a competitive industry, has it really disrupted televi-
sion? Perhaps not.
Perhaps the pundits got it wrong. Television is changing
but it is not dead, and innovative and strategic business lead-
ers need to strike a creative and purposeful balance between
all types of media if they are to remain competitive.
Throughout history all forms of human commu-
nication have been additive and not subtractive. While new
means of communicating have been introduced through-
out the years, the oldest means for distributing a story still
persist. Bold leaders know this and as a result, they identify
their audience and choose the most effective communication
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platforms, even if it is “old” or traditional. Moreover, if the
message is important, they find a way to chisel it in stone, so
to speak.
Alaska Public Media (AKPM) is boldly responding to the
disruption in communications and media; the result just may
be a disruption to how people think of public media in gener-
al. AKPM Leaders have adopted three concepts that serve to
reframe idea sharing.
F irst, they are embracing platform agnosticism and
utilizing new technology to ensure anyone can consume
AKPM’s information anytime, anywhere and from any device,
including that good old fashioned television! Second, they are
learning how their target audience consumes media and de-
veloping a cross-platform strategy for sharing a story, message
or idea. Third, they are creating interactive media experiences
through a variety of social media platforms to better connect
their audience, their employees, their stakeholders and their
community.