Atlantic Public Media
Atlantic Public Media is a non-profit public media organization that produces nationally distributed radio programs, trains aspiring storytellers through Transom.org, and operates local public radio stations (WCAI/NAN) serving Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket. Its revenue is sourced from individual donations, foundation grants, and fee-for-service production work for select institutional clients.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1995
- HeadquartersWoods Hole, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Atlantic Public Media does
Atlantic Public Media (APM) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public media organization founded in 1995 by Jay Allison and headquartered in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The organization operates three interconnected business lines: (1) local public radio broadcasting through WCAI, WNAN, and WZAI stations serving Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket; (2) national program production and distribution, including Peabody Award-winning series such as The Moth Radio Hour, This I Believe, Lost & Found Sound, Hidden Kitchens, and Frontline Dispatch, distributed via PRX, NPR, and PBS; and (3) training and educational programming through Transom.org (the first website to win a Peabody Award, in 2004), the Transom Story Lab, and the Transom Story Workshop. APM also provides paid production, editing, and consulting services to non-profit clients such as Massachusetts General Hospital and Milk Street Radio.
The organization's core technology is built on conventional professional audio production workflows — industry-standard recording equipment and editing software — with no proprietary software or technology platform. Its distinguishing craft is the Sonic IDs format: interstitial station ID breaks layered with community voices, sounds, and stories, which has been replicated by stations across the U.S. and functions as a growing living oral history archive. The Transom.org digital platform serves as a content and training hub distributing editorial resources, showcases, and the Sound School podcast.
APM's revenue model is typical of a public media non-profit: a diversified mix of individual donations, foundation grants (MacArthur Foundation via PRX, National Endowment for the Arts, Nature Conservancy, Marine Biological Laboratory), program licensing through PRX distribution, and fee-for-service production work for institutional clients. The organization also derives earned revenue from its training workshops. APM has no parent company, no institutional investors, and is governed by a member board. The 2024 forced relocation of WCAI from its historic 3 Water Street building (subsequently purchased by the Woods Hole Community Association) represents a recent operational disruption.
Atlantic Public Media firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Atlantic Public Media
- Legal name
- Atlantic Public Media, Inc.
- Website
- https://atlantic.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1995
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Atlantic Public Media is a non-profit public media organization that produces nationally distributed radio programs, trains aspiring storytellers through Transom.org, and operates local public radio stations (WCAI/NAN) serving Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket. Its revenue is sourced from individual donations, foundation grants, and fee-for-service production work for select institutional clients.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Atlantic Public Media industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Public Media Production and Training
- NAICS
- Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611)
- SIC
- Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832)
- akta.pro primary industry
- National Public Radio Networks & Member Stations (NPR-style) (MPABADAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Public Media Digital Platforms & Streaming (Apps, On-demand, Podcasts) (MPABADAG), Public/Noncommercial Radio Broadcasting (NPR, Community, Campus) (MPAIAEAB)
Keywords
Where Atlantic Public Media is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Woods Hole
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Atlantic Public Media business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Donations and Contributions: Tax-deductible donations from individuals and supporters to sustain the organization's mission of nurturing new voices and creating innovative public media programs
- Foundation Grants: Support from foundations including MacArthur Foundation (which awarded PRX a Genius Award), National Endowment for the Arts, and other organizations committed to public media
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Atlantic Public Media product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Atlantic Public Media is a non-profit media arts organization that produces award-winning public radio programming (including The Moth Radio Hour, This I Believe, and the WCAI/NAN Cape & Islands stations), trains aspiring audio storytellers through Transom.org and the Transom Story Lab/Workshop, and provides multimedia production, consulting, coaching, and editing services to other non-profits, public media outlets, and content partners.
Product overview
Atlantic Public Media is a non-profit media organization offering a portfolio of radio production programs, training initiatives, and local public radio services. The core offerings include The Moth Radio Hour (Peabody Award-winning storytelling series), Transom.org (online public media training platform), and the Transom Story Lab/Workshop (hands-on storytelling training programs). These are complemented by local programming through WCAI/NAN including The Sonic IDs, Local Food Report, Science Minutes, and Arts & Ideas. APM also produces or co-created notable national projects including This I Believe (NPR series), Public Radio Exchange (PRX), Stories from the Heart of the Land, The Sonic Memorial, Lost & Found Sound, and Hidden Kitchens. The organization provides multimedia, consulting, coaching, and production services through its staff including Jay Allison, Viki Merrick, and Sydney Lewis.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Transom Story Lab: A residential storytelling workshop and creative space supporting artists and audio storytellers, bridging differences, strengthening communities, and creating significant work in audio and other media.
- Transom Story Workshop
- Transom.org
Products and services
- The Moth Radio Hour Peabody Award-winning weekly radio series featuring true stories told live on stage without scripts, notes, props, or accompaniment; each hour mixes humorous, heartbreaking, and poignant tales produced for public radio distribution.
- This I Believe International project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values that guide their daily lives; short statements of belief curated by Jay Allison and edited by Viki Merrick for NPR broadcast and educational use.
- Transom.org Online master class and audition stage for the next generation of public media makers, offering tools needed to tell a story and inspiration to make that story matter; won the first George Foster Peabody Award ever granted exclusively to a website in 2004.
- Transom Story Lab Residential storytelling workshop and creative space supporting creators to bridge differences, strengthen communities, connect to environment, and create significant work in audio and other media; includes programs like the IMI Fellowship, Story in Science workshops, Music for Story, and Audio Storytelling for the Helping Professions.
- Transom Story Workshop Hands-on workshop for public media storytelling conducted online, on the road, and in Woods Hole for beginning radio producers; ran twice yearly from October 2011 until 2020.
- Sound School Podcast
Quantifiable outcome
- The Sonic IDs have become a blueprint replicated by stations across the country
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Atlantic Public Media
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Atlantic Public Media technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Atlantic Public Media partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered major, ongoing, core, local partner, funding partner, collaborator and client.
- PBS FrontlinemajorFrontline decided to create a podcast and enlisted Jay Allison at Atlantic Public Media in developing it. Jay served as Senior Editor and producer/engineer for the first season. Episodes produced in collaboration with Transom won a Gold Baton duPont-Columbia Award.
- Milk Street (Christopher Kimball)ongoingAPM handles editing and mixing for Milk Street Radio, the food-focused radio show/podcast created by Christopher Kimball. APM previously did production work for America's Test Kitchen radio show.
- Station Resource GroupcoreCo-founded the Public Radio Exchange (PRX) with Atlantic Public Media as an innovative Internet-based distribution system for public media, allowing every citizen's voice to reach the public radio system.
- WGBH BostoncoreWGBH partnered with WCAI in 1997, allowing the new station to create its own identity while benefiting from WGBH's infrastructure. WGBH owned and operated WCAI and provided broadcast management. In 2010, WGBH purchased the building at 3 Water Street as a permanent home for WCAI.
- The MothcoreAPM produces The Moth Radio Hour, a Peabody Award-winning series featuring true stories told live on stage. Jay Allison serves as producer. The series is distributed via PRX.
- The Kitchen SistersmajorAward-winning collaborations with The Kitchen Sisters (Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva) on multiple projects including Quest for Sound/Lost & Found Sound, The Sonic Memorial Project, and Hidden Kitchens. The Kitchen Sisters' audio archive was acquired by the Library of Congress in 2022.
- NPRcoreAPM created content broadcast on NPR including This I Believe (curated by Jay Allison, edited by Viki Merrick) and various documentary series.
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC)coreFCC granted license to CICPR (later APM) with call letters WCAI in 1996 for public radio frequencies serving the Cape and Islands region.
- Marine Biological Laboratorylocal partnerMBL supports Atlantic Public Media in enabling scientists and journalists to become better partners in the science communications process. MBL is one of six world-class scientific institutions in Woods Hole.
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institutionlocal partnerWHOI supports the Transom Story Lab's commitment to unite art and science, encourage education and creativity, and benefit the local community through their programs.
- Nature Conservancyfunding partnerFunded 'Stories from the Heart of the Land,' a six-part series featuring intimate stories about human connection to land and landscape.
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural HistorycollaboratorCollaborated on the Encyclopedia of Life's 'One Species at a Time' podcast series, along with Harvard Museum of Natural History and Marine Biological Laboratory.
- Massachusetts General HospitalclientAPM produces multimedia fundraising videos for MGH and its Aspire program for children and adults on the autism spectrum.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Atlantic Public Media competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Third Coast International Audio Festival: Chicago-based audio storytelling festival and community recognizing work that often originates from APM's Transom ecosystem (e.g., 'Borders Between Us' won a 2019 Third Coast Silver). Overlaps as a peer in the audio storytelling talent pipeline.
Broad incumbents
- NPR: National public radio network that broadcasts and co-develops content with APM (This I Believe, Lost & Found Sound, Hidden Kitchens). Comparable as the dominant public-media distributor, though at vastly different scale.
- WBUR (Boston University): Large regional public radio station in Boston with significant national podcast production. Comparable to APM as a public radio outlet with national ambitions, but with substantially larger staff and budget.
- WNYC (New York Public Radio): Major-market public radio operator producing national podcasts (Radiolab, On the Media). Comparable as a public radio content producer, but operates at substantially greater scale and with commercial-style sponsorship revenue.
- WAMU (American University Radio): Washington, D.C.-based public radio station with national podcast output (e.g., 1A). Comparable as a station-led public media organization producing training-adjacent and nationally distributed content.
Direct peers
- The Moth: Storytelling nonprofit whose Moth Radio Hour is produced by APM. Shares a near-identical mission of authentic, first-person audio storytelling and is the primary programmatic client/partner for APM's editorial team.
- StoryCorps: National nonprofit dedicated to recording and preserving oral histories, with a comparable community-led storytelling mission and similar reliance on donations, grants, and broadcast distribution to NPR.
- PRX (Public Radio Exchange): Co-founded by APM in 2003 to distribute public radio content nationally. Operates the same public-media distribution ecosystem in which APM's flagship programs are monetized, making it the closest comparable organization in mission and infrastructure.
- KCRW (Santa Monica College): Independent public radio station with strong local programming, a training/incubator program (KCRW Independent Producer Project), and podcast production — closely parallel to APM's station-plus-training-plus-production model.
- Pushkin Industries: Premium podcast production company co-founded by Malcolm Gladwell; hires APM alumni (e.g., Sophie Crane is Senior Editor). Comparable as a high-end audio storytelling producer serving national brands, and a direct competitor for premium production contracts.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Atlantic Public Media social profiles
Digital presenceAtlantic Public Media financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Atlantic Public Media leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Atlantic Public Media funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Atlantic Public Media M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Atlantic Public Media
What does Atlantic Public Media do?
Atlantic Public Media is a non-profit media arts organization that produces award-winning public radio programming (including The Moth Radio Hour, This I Believe, and the WCAI/NAN Cape & Islands stations), trains aspiring audio storytellers through Transom.org and the Transom Story Lab/Workshop, and provides multimedia production, consulting, coaching, and editing services to other non-profits, public media outlets, and content partners.
Is Atlantic Public Media a public or private company?
Atlantic Public Media is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Atlantic Public Media founded?
Atlantic Public Media was founded in 1995. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Atlantic Public Media based?
Atlantic Public Media is headquartered in Woods Hole, United States, in the North America region.
How does Atlantic Public Media make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donations and Contributions are the primary driver. The others are foundation Grants.
Who are Atlantic Public Media's main competitors?
Third Coast International Audio Festival is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are NPR, WBUR (Boston University), WNYC (New York Public Radio) and WAMU (American University Radio). Direct peers are The Moth, StoryCorps, PRX (Public Radio Exchange), KCRW (Santa Monica College) and Pushkin Industries.
Does Atlantic Public Media have an API?
No public API is recorded for Atlantic Public Media.
What industry is Atlantic Public Media in?
Atlantic Public Media's product category is Public Media Production and Training. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPABADAB, National Public Radio Networks & Member Stations (NPR-style), with a secondary code of MPABADAG, Public Media Digital Platforms & Streaming (Apps, On-demand, Podcasts). Its NAICS code is 51611 and its SIC code is 4832.