Jul 29, 2009 5:08 AM

Quality Still Matters: Public Radio's iPhone App

As their over-the-air audience dwindles, radio programmers look to smartphones for new ears, and public radio is no exception. The country’s public radio networks recently launched an iPhone app with hundreds of stations and podcasts united in a single, searchable collection of live and on-demand streams. With nearly two million downloads (updated) Public Radio Player […]

All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.

As their over-the-air audience dwindles, radio programmers look to smartphones for new ears, and public radio is no exception. The country's public radio networks recently launched an iPhone app with hundreds of stations and podcasts united in a single, searchable collection of live and on-demand streams.

With nearly two million downloads (updated) Public Radio Player 2.0 (iTunes link) is a breakaway success with the iPhone listening public, owing to a simple, if often overlooked concept: quality.

Although it may not be as popular as apps that forgo talk and music in favor of flatulence, public radio's slower-paced, in-depth programming has made quite a mark on an audience notorious for its multitasking-induced short attention span.

"[Quality programming] is one reason public radio has continued to maintain and even grow audience, despite the broader decline of radio listening in commercial radio land," argued Jake Shapiro, founder of Public Radio Exchange, a non-profit organization that facilitates the exchange of content between the nation's public radio organizations and facilitates royalty payments between them.

At a Corporation for Public Broadcasting retreat at Apple headquarters just before the Apple App Store launched last summer, Shapiro says he "got a sense" that there was an opportunity for the various public radio organizations to put their heads together and work on a radio app.

Neither American Public Media, National Public Radio or Public Radio International had launched its own app at that point, but APM had one in the works, the code for which it donated to the project at large.

The finished product, Public Radio Player 2.0, lets you scroll through over 400 stations and over 800 podcasts, picking favorites for later listening. Am alphabetical navigation strip on the right augments search by title, call letters and description. You can't pause, rewind, fast-forward (or search by guest), but those features should be added eventually. Another change Shapiro hopes for is that Apple would alter its policy regarding charitable contributions.

"Until Apple resolves this gap between their interest in hosting other kinds of financial transactions but not charitable giving, we'll have to come up with workarounds," said Shapiro. "My hope is to have that conversation with Apple and get their help in making this happen, because it's such an important thing — not just for public radio, but eventually for all charitable causes and non-profits."

Assuming people contribute through the app, public radio's various factions will then have to figure out how to divide the loot. One option is to track each listener's habits, so that if they contribute, listeners will have the option to distribute their contributions proportionally among the shows they listen to. If that fails, stations can always try giving away iPhone-shaped canvas tote bags.