Strategic Priority: News

KQED is transforming its owned and operated digital news platforms into essential, daily companions for Bay Area residents. Our vision is to earn a permanent place on people’s home screens, mobile phones and devices by delivering personalized, routine-building digital experiences that connect communities to the news, culture, and conversations that matter most to them. Unifying content strategy across our News, Product, Membership, and Audience teams, we will deliver deeper service and greater value—driving both engagement and long-term sustainability.

A unified content strategy will elevate KQED’s mobile app and website into indispensable destinations. Through targeted investments in platform and API development, more personalized user experiences, and intentional revenue opportunities, our strategy positions our digital ecosystem as the go-to source for trusted local news and information and meaningful discovery.

To cultivate daily use, we will create mobile and web experiences that feel tailored, interactive, and engaging—using personalization, interactivity, gamification, and notifications to build lasting habits. Greater understanding of audience behavior and by mapping end-to-end user journeys, we will deliver the right content and promotions at exactly the right moments, strengthening loyalty and increasing the value of every user interaction.

Achieving this vision requires aligned priorities across the organization and a modern technical foundation. KQED will build the infrastructure needed for behavior tracking, member data integration, and optimized engagement and revenue pathways. We will explore AI-powered tools, including transcription, content tagging, research support, and recommendation engines to accelerate newsroom workflows, produce more daily content, and deliver hyper-localized feeds.

KQED is 100% community-fueled, independent media serving the Bay Area. Together, we can build a strong, resilient public media institution for today and the future. Explore ways to support this plan through membership, major giving, legacy giving, and volunteering opportunities.