Music as engagement: How WWNO is using New Orleans’ rich music scene to reach new audiences

Photo by Monet France | Pocket Chocolate performing at DMac’s Bar & Grill, February 5, 2022

Music is at the heart of the city of New Orleans, and now it’s at the heart of their public radio station’s engagement strategy, too. Inspired by the podcast Song Exploder, producer Alana Schreiber is bringing musicians into the studio to break down one of their songs. She told us how that process has made her a better listener and how she envisions the city’s music scene as a gateway to building a stronger relationship between WWNO and the community.

Tell us who you are, and share a brief summary of the reporting project?

My name is Alana Schreiber and I am a radio producer for Louisiana Considered, the daily news show for WWNO and WRKF. The reporting project is called Liner Notes. We talk to members of local Louisiana bands and dissect an original song they have written. We music clips to help enhance the talking portion so that the listener can hear isolated pieces of the song. Then listeners hear the whole song come together when we play the song for our audience. 

How did community engagement inform your reporting? 

The band I worked with, Pocket Chocolate, is a group of born and raised New Orleans young adults. Talking with them they explained their musical journey and how they have been inspired as musicians by the musical community in which they were raised. At one of their gigs I also spoke with some of the crowd members to better understand the band’s relationship with their audience.

How did you build trust in the community you were reporting on?

I worked very closely with the band. I attended practice sessions, gigs, family events, and did an in-person interview at the studio. I got to know the two musicians I interviewed more intimately and better understood their songwriting process.

How are you bringing this reporting back to the community?

Often public radio only highlights “successful” artists. This gives us a chance to talk to more amateur musicians to better understand their journeys. These bands are generally not on spotify, don’t tour, but nevertheless have tremendous talent. We hope this project inspires musicians throughout Louisiana to pursue their passions regardless of how “success” might be measured. We hope this project will allow us to continue engaging with undiscovered or less popular music groups. 

What lessons do you take away from this project in terms of strengthening your engagement?

Listener engagement is all about listening. One big takeaway from this experience for me was that it was my first non-narrated piece. While I interviewed the musicians, I completely cut myself out of the final version and allowed them to tell their own story with the help of music beds. 

I think that’s emblematic of the larger mission of community engagement. We, as reporters, are there to pass our mics to the community members and allow them to tell their own stories.