Good storytelling remains the cornerstone of good journalism. And as the digital media landscape continues to grow, newsrooms across the country are turning to podcasts as a way to expand the potential of stories they can tell. At PRX, we believe journalists are uniquely positioned to create compelling podcasts, but we recognize that many are still in need of the resources, the guidance, and the basic know-how to do so within risk-averse organizations as well as in a market that is becoming more saturated by the day.

With generous support from the Knight Foundation, The PRX Journalism Podcast Accelerator (JPA) provides mentorship, enduring support, and podcast training to journalists in newsrooms and public radio stations in the United States. In 2019, PRX worked with journalism organizations like the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), Asian American Journalists’ Association (AAJA), the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), and others to offer workshops to individual journalists across the country, focused on technical skills and strategies they could use to bring audio production and audio storytelling into their newsrooms.

This early work with individual journalists illuminated the difficulties they face in understanding and adapting audio methods and advancing new ideas within the current media landscape.

In response to what we learned, PRX launched this new series of accelerators targeted toward news organizations and their needs to get podcasts and other audio projects off the ground in a sustainable way.

Through 2023, PRX will host three (3) 12-week accelerators for 20 news organizations across the U.S., particularly those serving Knight communities (see below for a full list).

Selected podcast teams will receive:

12 weeks of podcast training, focused on creative and strategic development around content, audience growth and engagement, monetization and performance metrics;

• Regular feedback and mentorship on all aspects of production and strategy

• ​​Access to a network of podcasters for guidance, feedback and collaboration from PRX's training alumni to industry experts

• A $5,000 stipend, to offset production and operational expenses

• Reimbursement for all travel-related expenses.

Podcast teams will walk away with:

• A clearer, audience-first podcast concept and an actionable plan to produce, launch and sustain it;

• A product package that enables them to speak proficiently about their show, generate buy-in across their organizations and approach external partners and funders (including pitch decks, show one-sheets, or press-kits);

• A more efficient and productive workflow to optimize production and interdepartmental collaboration;

• Plenty of creative and strategic feedback from peers and industry professionals

• A tool kit to help sustain human-centered design across their organization after the program concludes; and

• A cohort of newsroom-based podcasters to lean on for feedback, guidance, collaborations, promotion, etc.

We will host three (3) separate regional cohorts of the accelerator based on time zone We are accepting applications on a rolling basis for the following time zones of the U.S.:

1 . Western (Pacific, Mountain, Alaska, Hawaii): September 19 - December 16, 2022

(Deadline: August 12, 2022)

2 . Central: March 6, 2023 - June 2, 2023

(Deadline: January 31, 2023)

3 . Eastern: July 31, 2023 - October 27, 2023

(Deadline: June 16, 2023)

Applicants should select their respective region when applying. Please make sure you apply by the corresponding deadline. If your organization missed its regional deadline and/or would still like to be considered for another cohort, please indicate that in the application. However, keep in mind, organizations in their respective regions will have priority in selection.

Accepted applicants will be notified of their selection at least four (4) weeks prior to the start of training – at which point, PRX will immediately begin onboarding individual participants.

We are looking for new and existing podcast ideas that are journalism or news-focused. We are open to all kinds of topics, lengths and formats; however, the podcasts must be fundamentally journalistic, educational and/or informative in nature.

Ideas we welcome:

• Political interviews or roundtables

• Investigative series about defining local events

• News bulletins or magazines

• Current affairs or historical events reporting

• Local arts and culture

Ideas we won’t accept:

• Comedy shows

• Fiction and audio dramas

• Live theater or musical performances

• Experimental art

• Game or variety shows

Beyond the content itself, we are looking for passionate and creative news and production teams who:

• Work at a non-profit news organization that is currently producing audio journalism and/or making podcasts

• Work at a non-profit news organization that is based in or serves any of these Knight cities

• Have the full and enthusiastic support of their leadership to participate in a multi-week rigorous training and mentorship program

• Are looking for new methods and strategies to sustain audio and podcast production at your news organization

• Are looking for a supportive community of like-minded news organizations that can offer feedback, resources, and networking opportunities; and

• Like trying new things and are in search of radical and innovative ways to create content for target audiences!

Yes, we are only accepting applications from established news media organizations. That includes public media stations, online news sites, magazines, newspapers, alternative weeklies, radio and TV stations. Each application should be submitted by a single primary contact, and that person must currently be an employee or contractor at an organization.

Please note that not all members of the podcast team have to be full-time employees. An organization may work with freelancers or other contractors. But in order to participate in the program, we require approval and support from an organization.

We recommend reaching out to a news organization near you and pitching your idea to them. You could then get approval to apply on behalf of that organization. But please make sure you have full buy-in and support!

Otherwise, please visit us at training.prx.org for more updates about upcoming training programs and events that may be more suitable for individuals.

Technically, no. This accelerator is prioritizing news organizations that are based in any of the cities detailed in the map and list below; however, even if your organization isn’t directly in these cities, as long as it covers and serves a Knight city, you are eligible. We are also open to working with newsrooms outside of these exact regions, as long as they are able to demonstrate a strong interest and drive in producing podcasts and audio.

Yes, we believe you should make content that will best serve your news community. We encourage you to produce non-English, bilingual or multilingual content, if that is the case.

Yes, the training will focus more on idea development, audience and community engagement, and sustainability. We ideally want to work with news organizations that are already making podcasts and/or audio. You do not have to be a seasoned sound engineer to participate, but the training will not cover basic audio production. It is imperative that at least one member of your team has a background in audio.

Yes, we are open to both new ideas not yet in production and shows that need to be revitalized and re-strategized. If you are submitting an entirely new idea, please be sure to detail what experience your organization has had with audio and/or podcast production.

Yes, you can apply with a working title.

Yes – however we recommend applying with a new or different podcast. We also understand that podcasts can hit a wall and need opportunities for new life. If you have participated in a previous PRX accelerator and are applying to this training with the same show, please explain what more you are looking to gain. Tell us about what brings you back, what new goals you may be trying to achieve and how another round of training will help. We also recommend you send different team members, so your organization gets the most out of this experience.

We are only able to accommodate up to two (2) people per podcast team for the in-person orientation and cohort-wide virtual sessions to maintain an optimal learning environment. However, we can work with larger teams in 1-on-1 sessions, and additional members will be invited to join webinars and access all training materials and resources.

We recommend that the two people who attend the in-person orientation be consistent participants for the entirety of the training, as they will ultimately be ambassadors for the podcast and the training itself and will be expected to apply what they learn across their larger team and other departments.

This accelerator is broken down into four (4) core types of engagement:

1. The accelerator program kicks off with a 4-day in-person orientation with the selected podcast teams, where we will cover program expectations and norms, fundamental skills, tools as well as mindsets that will set up the teams for the remainder of the training. This initial meetup is a pivotal opportunity to connect with other podcast teams and set intentions together.

2. Then, podcast teams will attend weekly 60-min virtual 1-on-1 sessions with a PRX mentor to set goal posts, prototype, receive feedback and work through creative questions and struggles. These structured sessions will integrate a design-thinking approach to content and product creation, and is where a lot of the progress is made.

3. There will be weekly 90-min virtual webinars that support the work being covered in the 1-on-1 sessions. We’ll bring in podcast industry professionals as well as experts within PRX to cover a range of topics – from audience surveying to script-writing to establishing workflow.

4. There will be monthly virtual cohort sessions, during which all participating podcast teams will reconvene for peer-to-peer learning, group feedback and group ideation. These monthly meetups serve as key benchmarks in the program and are opportunities to present progress and test ideas.

As a reminder, the exact dates of the accelerator will correspond with the regional cohorts:

• Western (Pacific, Mountain, Alaska, Hawaii): September 19 - December 16, 2022

• Central: March 20, 2023 - June 16, 2023

• Eastern: July 31, 2023 - October 27, 2023

This is an intensive training program that will take your podcast team from idea to launch or relaunch. How much time you spend on this program will depend on the podcast and the team but you will likely spend, at minimum, 10 hours/week during this program doing some combination of the following: attending online sessions, meeting with your program mentors and industry professionals, completing assignments designed to expand your thinking, producing audio, and giving feedback to other teams.

We will do our best to set a pace that accommodates each podcast team’s schedule, but we ask you to please offer your greatest flexibility to maximize your participation and overall benefit.

Yes, the first week of training will be an in-person orientation scheduled to take place in each cohort’s respective region. Exact locations will be disclosed to selected participants upon acceptance.

Please see the specific travel dates for each cohort:

• Western (Pacific, Mountain, Alaska, Hawaii): September 19 - 23, 2022

• Central: March 20 - 24, 2023*

• Eastern: July 31 - August 4, 2023*

  (includes 1 day of travel)

Travel and lodging expenses will be reimbursed as a part of this program.

There are four (4) key deliverables for this program. We know that a lot of things can change throughout the production process, so we do not expect you to commit entirely to everything you submit – but your deliverables should be close to a final product or, at the very least, provide a strong and clear foundation for the remaining trajectory of your work:

• One (1) pilot episode prototype (with transcript)

• A pitch deck and one-sheet;

• A production and editorial calendar for the upcoming season;

• A preliminary promotion/community engagement strategy.

We also expect participating podcasts to launch within a year of the program’s completion.

Neither PRX nor the Knight Foundation takes any intellectual property in this process. PRX will ask the selected organizations to sign an agreement that covers expectations and responsibilities throughout the program, but participants own their shows for the purposes of the training.

We’ll explore avenues of monetization that make the most sense for your organization and your audience, whether that be institutional funding and grants, subscription and membership, advertising and sponsorship, live events, partnerships or crowd-funding. It is our goal to equip the larger organizations with the skills and knowledge to build their own monetization systems, distribution and sponsorship acquisition tools.

The focus of this training is to provide production teams and their supporting news organizations with the best development tools and experiences for producing a podcast. After the completion of the training, neither PRX nor the Knight Foundation will have financial involvement with the podcast. However, each podcast team will continue to have access to ongoing coaching and mentorship with PRX, in addition to use of PRX’s distribution platform at no additional cost. While we are unable to fully fund a podcast, we don’t want this to hinder its development and launch. PRX is committed to helping participating organizations find monetization and growth opportunities that make the most sense for them.

PRX accepts applications through Submittable, whose Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (or VPAT) follows industry standards outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. You can learn more about Submittable’s commitment to accessibility standards and practices on their website.

The application contains 18 required fields, with a combination of short and open-ended questions. You will also be asked to upload an audio file.

You can expect to spend about 1-3 hours (give or take) on the application. This process is intentionally rigorous because we want you to answer thoughtfully. It will make your podcast idea that much stronger.

The application form will auto save every few seconds and can be accessed again as a draft in your account. Once submitted, if you need to make any changes, you can withdraw the application and resubmit it. Please find instructions on how to do so at Submittable’s help page.

If you would prefer to work on your application offline with your team, we’ve provided an e-reader-friendly version of this application in Google Docs, which you can copy. Keep in mind that you will still need to submit your application through Submittable.

PRX strives to be as inclusive, equitable and accessible as possible. The PRX Training Team follows the core tenets of universal design to ensure that all classes, events (virtual and in-person) as well as materials adhere to a baseline level of accessibility for people experiencing blindness or low vision, hearing loss or impairment, and limited movement (e.g. screen-reader compatibility, closed captioning, self-description for inclusive gatherings, etc…).

Participants will also receive an accessibility survey upon acceptance into the program, which will help us make accommodations to serve a spectrum of needs and circumstances. As the Ready To Learn accelerator will be held remotely, we are prepared to meet the various challenges that arise in virtual spaces (e.g. “Zoom fatigue,” unstable Internet, disruptions at home, etc…).

We are committed to creating and fostering a pleasant and safe environment for all our participants.