Mashable spoke with Knell on Friday, his second day on the job, to hear his plans and aspirations for the federally-funded radio powerhouse.
Knell spent a little more than 12 years at Sesame Workshop (the non-profit behind Sesame Street) evolving it from a television show to a multimedia and social success. That is, more or less, the plan at NPR, which acts like an umbrella organization to hundreds of radio stations across the country.
The trick, Knell said, is to be like Wayne Gretzky (pictured), one of the most revered hockey players of all time. "I've been looking to Wayne Gretzky as my compass for digital and social media in the sense that Wayne Gretzky's secret about why he was a great hockey player is he would say, 'I go to where the puck is going.'" Knell says. "So that's sort of the idea, right? I think you need to be connected to the audience and if we're going to be growing in the future, demographically, we need to go where the people are going and not be part of the pack.... we have to go there or its kind of extinction down the road."
Knell believes the people are going online, which is precisely where he's directing NPR. He's vowed to make social media a more core part of how NPR is distributed and how it reaches its fans.
Part of that shift has meant reverse-engineering many of the talented, albeit older, journalists in the NPR newsroom to start thinking about social media as a core tenant of NPR's day-to-day. Knell imagines there's been some pushback with that transition but ultimately the change is happening for a good reason. Knell has yet to fully move into his office but he's already hanging a poster quoting General Eric Shinseky, retired Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army which reads, “If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less.”
Change is necessary to ensure NPR's future, especially since it's come under fire for its federal funding and a high-profile firing. Social isn't just a way to gain new, younger listeners but as a way to address controversy and set the record straight. Knell has already held a Twitter townhall where he answered questions from NPR fans and critics alike.
Though Knell is keeping his cards close to his vest, he did say that many NPR affiliates are already looking for ways to revamp their digital strategies. Mobile is catching up as well: KCRW has put out an iPad app, NPR news has an app and NPR Music is planning a new music app for release sometime in February, though NPR wouldn't comment on features or extra details.
Online is a good way to reach silos of niche listeners. Series like the Tiny Desk Concerts -- which features top artists playing impromptu, claustrophobic concerts around an NPR desk -- have been a huge hit on YouTube and Knell is certainly not ruling our similar such series in the future.
More than anything, social is a way to reach NPR listeners and create a sort of public square of thought. "We want to have a big tent of thought and content and people being able to have those conversations [via NPR]," Knell says.
Anyone concerned that a former CEO of Sesame Workshop won't be able to handle the grueling pace and public scrutiny ladled onto NPR should instead look to the similarities between Sesame and NPR. Content aside, both are massive non-profit organizations, legacy brands with a history of excellence and a dire need to embrace social media. "I was able to pivot [Sesame Workshop], with a lot of help from my colleagues, into a totally relevant media organization that is growing and is reaching more people now than it was 10 or 15 years ago," Knell says. "And a lot of it is through digital and social media that didn't exist before."
Knell was able to shift Sesame and, somehow, increase its popularity. NPR may not have Elmo but its certainly ready for the same fate.