The doors are open one more time! We’re excited to reopen our call for session proposals for PMGC26, happening in Chicago from July 8-10, 2026.
What important work or innovative practices are shaping public media right now? Share your expertise and inspire your colleagues by submitting a session proposal.
Check out an example of a fully designed session proposal.
We’re particularly interested in proposals addressing the following topics:
- Audience Development and Marketing: engaging local communities, repeatable events, iterations of audio and video, and tools/tactics to drive digital growth
- Corporate Support: success stories around events, community engagement, sustaining local support, and digital revenue
- General interest: breaking down silos, content and revenue collaborations, government relations, leading through uncertainty, preventing burnout, and managing change
- Membership: budgeting for the future, fundraising “off-air” (ie. email, direct mail, social media, and mobile), cultivating sustainers, and building relationships
- Philanthropy: major donor retention, federal and local grants, and working with community foundations
Of course, we also welcome proposals that align with our core conference key topics: revenue generation, audience development, organizational health, and community connections.
Share your expertise and inspire your colleagues by submitting a session proposal.
The final deadline for this second round of submissions is April 17. Submitters will be notified about the status of their proposal no later than May 29, 2026. If you submitted a session proposal during the first window and have not yet heard back, your proposal is still under review and may still be chosen.
For business partners and vendors: We welcome your proposals! However, ensure they highlight diverse perspectives (e.g., station or client voices) and avoid direct product pitches. Attendees value in-depth information, practical applications, and real-world case studies over sales-oriented content.
The final deadline for this second round of submissions closed on April 17.
Learn more about our conference content selection process
A team of Greater Public advisors, staff, and contractors curates the conference content. This process begins with the first public call for proposals, happening January 20 – February 13, 2026. A second call for proposals will take place April 7 – April 17, 2026.
Anyone can submit a session proposal. Once the deadline ends, the conference content team receives all submissions at once.
The content team then evaluates and rates every submission with the other advisors and staff in their learning area. The content team selects proposals with the following conference priorities in mind:
- Key Topics: Revenue generation, audience development, organizational health, and community connections.
- Diverse Voices: Representation from Asian, Black, Indigenous, LatinX, and other People of Color, plus perspectives from leaders and staffers.
- Station Variety: Reflecting different sizes, formats, and markets.
- Clear Takeaways: 2-3 measurable and achievable learning goals.
- Engagement: Interactive elements to involve attendees.
Typically, the content team receives approximately 100 session proposals! This year’s conference will feature approximately 30-40 sessions, so, unfortunately, we cannot provide a slot to every submitter. However, our content team works hard to group session proposals that have a common theme, bringing more voices to one session.
Business partners or vendors are invited to submit proposals or ideas, but should remember to focus their session on station attendees. Avoid promoting and/or selling your product directly. Attendees consistently tell us they don’t want pitches. Instead, provide thorough information about how a tool or service is used, along with user case studies.
Those who submit proposals for the 2026 conference will be contacted no later than May 29, 2026. The full conference schedule will be announced in early June.