Ernesto Aguilar

Stop letting daily station emergencies crowd out your highest-impact work. Use "commitment triage": 1️⃣ Sort tasks by core impact vs. noise 2️⃣ Stop saying yes out of guilt 3️⃣ Protect your peak hours for deep work

"By building a diverse, regionally representative map of creators and trusted messengers... we aimed to strengthen connections and identify authentic opportunities for collaboration." betternews.org/journalism-c...

We all flub sometimes. Embarrassment at work is part of trying hard things. When it feels not great, own the mistake, fix what you can and do your best to learn for next time.

Public media is increasingly influenced by shifting audience demographics. OIGO is committed to staying ahead of these changes by actively engaging with the latest audience research. Subscribe to stay updated on our efforts to elevate the industry. oigo.us

Listen again: Ghost Frequency / 18th October 2026 🌟3rd: #MusiqueConcrète 🌟10th: #Drone 75th: #Electronic Playing tracks by Autechre. @eaxlr.com | www.mixcloud.com/camp_fr/ghos...

In public media's uncertain financial climate, ambitious visions aren't enough. If your strategic aspirations outpace what your team believes is possible, trust naturally erodes. My fix? Inspire sustained effort by connecting a better future to a credible path forward.

We obsess over how our newsrooms produce content, but rarely consider when. If you schedule heavy strategic work without considering when your team is naturally sharpest, you risk missed potential. Try aligning workflows with your team's natural rhythms.

Research indicates that the current CEO selection trend is having the most difficult impact on Gen-X women professionals. www.kornferry.com/insights/...

Acting on newsroom feedback strengthens your station, but pacing matters. The way forward? Pause, process the feedback, and manage how you implement the change.

See you soon!

See you soon, Colorado radio friends! rockymountaincommunityradio.org

How do we plan for the long-term sustainability of public media in an era of AI disruption? It requires making disciplined, strategic bets on audience platforms despite the volatility. Your core editorial value is what matters most.

I don't do enough for OIGO's gracious paid subscribers, but decided to explore for them the whole Tiny Desk Los Tigres Del Norte scandal that popped off Friday. Read on, and sub if you are so moved. oigo.us/p/tiny-desk-controv...

Leading organizational change in public media requires navigating competing expectations. Clarity is sometimes the need when we talk transparency. So, slow down important messaging, invite questions, and give your staff the context they need to absorb shifting strategies.

See you later this week in Burbank, at the Maynard Institute's next Propel training! If you're in the area, say hi. Would love to catch up.

5-6pm: Ghost Frequency From experimental compositions to ambient landscapes, Ghost Frequency is where unseen vibrations and avant-garde textures reshape the boundaries of sound. @eaxlr.com | ghostfrequency.xyz #Experimental #Noise #MusiqueConcrete #Drone #Electronic *⏰️CEST

AI can speed up workflows, but it can also cause brain fry. If people are juggling multiple tools without clear guardrails, attention overloads. A solution? Design integration that boosts journalism and vets tools without exhausting our teams.

More research indicates using "democracy" in messaging may not be the benefit public media think it is. Helpful perspective. www.newspapers.org/stories/...

Many newsroom leadership problems stem from misreading what people actually need. If you're in power, don't offer broad vision when people need fairness, or empowerment when they need clear editorial direction. Everyday frustrations are signals.

Total legends, and still sounding so good to this day.

If you're in programming, when leaders question broadcast metrics, don't just dump data. Identify their underlying need, whether it's reassurance on underwriting or clarity on audience analytics, and you'll build far greater bonds. Your analysis can be helpful.

Back Sunday on Camp Radio with experimental sounds for your weekend. Listen in at 8 am Pacific here: listen.camp/

In public media, to me consistent excellence isn't only about the best talent. It's also about the output of well-designed systems. My tip? Workflows that embed learning and accountability into daily work, rather than relying on individual heroics.

TOMORROW is your deadline to register for the next Maynard Institute Propel series training session for California journalists! Join me and some rockstar instructors covering subjects relevant right now. Details here: mije.org/the-propel-initiat...

Breathe. It's okay. Stop racing past wins. Celebrate audience growth, community partnerships and staff milestones so people see that progress is possible.

Now available from Fieldworks here in the Bay Area! Proceeds support KQED. Get yours now!

Sit next to somebody you don’t know. Introduce yourself. Ask what they make. Go to a session outside your usual lane. Some of the best things you’ll take home from CBI won’t fit in your suitcase. 3 days. See you in Philadelphia. #CBI2026

A big anxiety about AI I hear is not knowing. That's okay. It is fine to admit you do not know something about AI or new platforms. Modeling learning in public so your team feels free to learn too is powerful.

This is the five-year birthday of OIGO. We have had to dig deep. We have had to fight. I reflect on that, and what's comes now. More at oigo.us.

Best suggestion I got coming up? Delegate outcomes, not tasks. Tell people what success looks like and let them figure out how to get there.

An important point: low quality AI-generated content costs companies. Training and guidance are critical right now. tvnewscheck.com/ai/article/...

High-stakes moments in the newsroom reveal your default leadership reactions. Do you move too fast? Do blind spots emerge? Performing well under pressure starts with understanding your patterns and building the flexibility to adapt. 

How do you drive sophisticated AI use across your station? Start by developing AI-first best practices. Turn effective behaviors into practical playbooks and peer-led guidance. Reinforce what good AI use looks like daily to build a shared understanding.

Only a few days left to register for the Maynard Institute's Propel trainings. Sign up now for a range of powerful lessons: mije.org/the-propel-initiat...

As you advance in public media, choosing where to focus your professional development gets harder. Competing priorities pull you in every direction. Step back and diagnose your situation before investing your limited time in the wrong areas.

Always on the hunt for interesting people and projects to highlight related to diverse audience service. Is that you or someone you know? Reach out anytime! I'm always interested to learn more.

Managing a hybrid human-AI workforce in media requires new leadership skills. Your role shifts to orchestrating performance, safety, and alignment with journalistic goals. Start by building deep AI operational literacy across your organization.

Listen again: Ghost Frequency / 20th September 2026 🌟5th: #MusiqueConcrète 🌟10th: #Drone 78th: #Electronic Playing tracks by Brian Eno. @eaxlr.com | www.mixcloud.com/camp_fr/ghos...

So thrilled to join Colorado friends next month at the Rocky Mountain Community Radio gathering. Reach out if you'd like to catch up while I'm there!

A grand AI strategy won't deliver if your newsroom isn't set up to succeed. Diagnose before prescribing: assess where teams are aligned and where they resist. Get a ground-level view of day-to-day reality before forcing top-down tech mandates. 

My wonderful friends at WPLN/WNXP are in the closing hours of pledge. Make your donation today, Nashville friends! Journalism and culture need you! wpln.org/

AI can quickly draft station communications, but the real challenge is exercising editorial judgment on that output. To collaborate effectively with AI, you must articulate what used to go unstated. The goal is to get better, not just faster. 

When a station's strategic shift stalls, the culprit is often false alignment. Teams assume shared priorities, only to hit conflicting expectations later. Create clarity before execution: define who makes decisions and how disagreements get resolved.

With search engines aspiring to be answer engines, the day when public media gets no traffic from them is almost here. See how the Journal is thinking about it: digiday.com/media/how-the-w...

Collaboration in public media is great, but there's a line between cross-departmental thinking and overstepping. If a colleague constantly weighs in on your turf with unsolicited opinions, it's time to set boundaries to protect your team's focus.

Only about two weeks remain to register for the Maynard Institute's next Propel training. Join me and some great trainers in support of California journalists. No cost. Go here, and hope to see you there: mije.org/the-propel-initiat...

As AI adoption grows, we need to be deliberate about managing it. We must establish systems that protect collaboration, trust and well-being. AI can handle the routine, but it's the human connection that fuels the creativity and empathy at the heart of public media.

Though collaboration in commercial TV news gets less attention, all networks and groups now develop complex internal structures and external digital partnerships to meet modern demands for more multimedia news content across more platforms. To watch: medium.com/centerforcoopera...

When pivoting your station's strategy, don't forget to assess whether major donors and underwriters will come along. Treat stakeholder alignment as a core part of strategic planning from the start, not an afterthought.

If your station is reviewing underwriting choices for the upcoming fiscal year, consider using my latest guide to speed up your copywriting process while ensuring legal compliance. Get it here. www.amazon.com/Underwriting...