NETA Webinars
NETA webinars allow our members to participate in engaging discussions on a variety of topics to increase skills and strengthen the long-term commitment to public media's education mission. We work closely with thought leaders throughout the system, including our PLC Executive Committees, to produce timely and content-rich online events.
Archived NETA webinars and all associating materials can be found on publicmedialearns.org.
Fill out this form if you're interested in hosting a webinar, or contact us with any questions you may have.
You must be signed into Public Media Learns and enrolled in the NETA Webinar Archives course for the archived webinar links below to work. If you don’t have a PML account, you can create an account through requesting to be added to the Webinar Archive course. Go to the Webinar course and click Enroll Now. Fill out the form and click Register New Account.
Working with students through internships and work study programs has long been a great way to serve our educational mission. Join us for our next Education PLC Meetup when we'll have an open discussion about the ways education teams are using internships and work study programs to grow capacity and the next generation of public media professionals. We'll also discuss how recent legislation like the Big Beautiful Bill may impact how students are compensated.
Bring a question to ask and information about your station's approach to this topics to share to get the most out of this meetup.
Public media stations are uniquely positioned to build trust and relevance by connecting content creation with meaningful community engagement. In this session, we’ll explore how stations are bringing storytelling directly into community spaces – from producing content at live events to designing experiences that deepen audience connection to existing programs.
Presenters will share examples of how community-centered content strategies can strengthen visibility, expand impact, and open new pathways for fundraising and donor cultivation.
Whether your station is experimenting with field production at community gatherings, hosting engagement events tied to editorial themes, or exploring new ways to align mission and revenue, this session will offer actionable ideas you can adapt to your local context.
This webinar is co-presented by the Community Engagement and Content PLCs.
Learning Goals / Key Takeaways:
- Identify opportunities to integrate community engagement into content workflows. Attendees will learn how stations are capturing stories in real-time at events, co-creating content with community partners, and designing engagement strategies that enhance editorial relevance.
- Evaluate engagement-driven content initiatives that build audience loyalty and visibility. Participants will hear case studies illustrating how community presence can increase reach, strengthen trust, and extend the impact of multiplatform content.
- Explore strategies for leveraging community engagement to support fundraising and donor development. The session will highlight how mission-aligned events and participatory storytelling can attract new supporters, deepen donor relationships, and create sustainable pathways for revenue.
Though it has long been a suggested deliverable in documentary film production, the visual cue sheet is an underappreciated document whose preparation is seen as optional by many producers, which is why it's often submitted only in cursory fashion, if at all. But, a properly completed VCS is one of the most important rights tracking tools in a producer's toolbox.
Join rights and clearances maven Joe Basile as he explains why the VCS is important and lays out its vital role in rights management. In so doing, Joe will also introduce attendees to a more comprehensive VCS form that he developed while at WNET.
Learning Goals / Key Takeaways:
- Learn the purpose of the VCS and why it's not employed in public media production as often as it used to be
- Understand the VCS's usefulness as a rights tracking tool, especially in comparison to more expensive rights management options
- Introduce a new, comprehensive VCS that can potentially capture more relevant data than existing VCS forms can
Great ideas shouldn’t stay siloed. In this open conversation, stations will share practical, replicable concepts that have strengthened their content, operations, revenue, audience engagement, or community impact. This session is built around quick case studies (i.e. real experiments, smart pivots, small wins, and big swings) so attendees can walk away with strategies they can adapt immediately.
Rather than a formal presentation, this is a collaborative idea exchange. Presenters will briefly highlight what they tried, why they tried it, what it took to make it happen, and what they learned along the way. The goal is simple: equip stations with proven, station-tested ideas that can be lifted, tweaked, and applied to meet local needs.
Learning Goals / Key Takeaways:
- Identify proven, replicable ideas from peer stations that can be adapted to their own environment, regardless of size, capacity, or market.
- Understand the practical steps behind each idea (including staffing, workflows, timelines, partnerships, and costs) so they can realistically plan similar efforts.
- Spark cross-station collaboration by connecting with peers pursuing similar goals, challenges, or experiments.
Archived Webinars
Join the Marketing & Communications PLC and Public Media Innovators for a joint conversation on how public media stations are evolving audience engagement through collaborations with creators and influencers. As we seek to reach and engage new audiences while telling stories in modern, relevant ways, many stations are experimenting with nontraditional talent — from local subject-matter experts and digital content creators to community bloggers, social media personalities and even internal staff who can authentically play the role of “digital influencer.”
Public media stations are producing more content than ever but turning that content into sustainable revenue remains a persistent challenge. In this session, we’ll move beyond theory and dive into real-world examples from stations that are actively experimenting with new monetization strategies. Presenters will share short case studies (what they tried, how it worked, what surprised them, and what they’d do differently) to give attendees actionable models they can adapt at their own organizations.
Finding efficiencies in our work doesn’t need to decrease impact. From connecting individual marketing efforts to multiple platforms (and audiences) to tools that help ease work and expand reach, join the NETA MarCom PLC for an open forum discussion around marketing efficiencies that our public media peers have uncovered and undertaken that have expanded the impact of our work without the need for additional resources.
Join Public Media Innovators and Current for our second annual conversation about what the year ahead holds for public media. Suffice to say, 2025 didn’t go the way many of us hoped. So, now what? How can public media position itself for a successful 2026 amid ongoing uncertainty and change?
Join GBH and NETA to learn about the new and improved resources from Playtime with the Wombats!, a community initiative that seeks to engage young children in active play around computation thinking (CT). Thanks to station feedback, GBH has updated these resources to feature an improved design, making the resources more flexible and easier to transport and use. They’ve also added some new elements, including an activity passport for kids, a parent brochure, Wombats badges, and more.
Join members of the Fred Rogers Productions team to learn about Many Ways to Show You Care, a multiplatform content initiative for children ages 2-6, their families, and caregivers. The initiative shows that caregiving is part of a loving family. The project includes documentary shorts, a Fred Rogers-inspired music video, educator lesson plans, and family activities.
Join your peers across public media for an open conversation about how stations are rethinking their content strategies for the year ahead. From programming priorities to platform choices and audience engagement, this session will explore how stations are adapting to new realities and opportunities.
Join us for an insightful webinar designed for public media professionals navigating the complex world of rights and clearances. This session offers a practical overview of how Rights & Clearances (R&C) staff support producers in acquiring the necessary permissions for their content—whether it's a nationally broadcast series or a short-form digital piece.
Sharing our local value and identity is more important than ever for public media stations! Join the NETA Marketing and Communications Peer Learning Community for a meetup aimed at sharing value and image spots that you and your peers have created to inspire others with your creativity, messaging, and approach to sharing your unique local identity, value, and impact with the communities you serve every day!
Have a spot or two you'd like to share with your peers? Let us know in the question when you register for this meetup!
Every leader knows the struggle: departments with shared goals but disconnected workflows. In this interactive session with Tailwind Collective, a NETA Knowledge Network partner, we’ll explore how culture, systems, and leadership all play a role in building sustainable cross-team collaboration. Come with questions, leave with real examples and fresh ideas to try at your own station.
Learning Goals / Key Takeaways: