The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has awarded WAMU 88.5, Washington’s NPR station, $750,000 to fund 1A Across America, a two-year collaborative effort to bring more local viewpoints to 1A’s national audiences. Produced by WAMU, 1A is a daily weekday show reaching listeners nationwide on 335 NPR stations. With support from CPB,1A’s production team will work with six public media stations across the country to cover underreported local issues and points of view through on-air discussions, interviews, field reporting, and live events.
“CPB has a long-term commitment to supporting diversity in public media – including geographic diversity and points of view,” said Kathy Merritt, CPB’s SVP of Journalism and Radio. “With our support, 1A Across America will bring more local views on issues of importance into a national conversation that is informed by local journalism.”
“1A Across America is a valuable opportunity to explore local conversations and tap into original local journalism taking place at our partner stations leading up to the 2020 presidential elections,” said Andi McDaniel, WAMU’s Senior Director of Content and News. “This is part of our commitment to programming that truly reflects America.”
Since its launch in January 2017, 1A, hosted by Joshua Johnson, has grown more than 90 percent in station carriage and expanded its audience to 3.63 million listeners nationwide.
