The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has granted Alaska Public Media $936,000 to fund the Alaska Desk initiative – a collaborative effort among public radio and television outlets across the state to bolster local news coverage, especially in rural areas.
This grant aims to address the unique challenges faced by these communities by funding additional resources including four reporters stationed across the state, three shared editors, and necessary travel and equipment.
The initiative also includes the funding of a full-time development officer to seek further financial support to maintain the sustainability of local journalism. Alaska Public Media and other local stations have a long-standing tradition of collaboration, sharing resources such as the daily newscast Alaska News Nightly and a dedicated Washington, DC correspondent.
APM operates KSKA in Anchorage, as well as translators in Girdwood, Prudhoe Bay, and Unalaska.
Stations across Alaska will soon have the opportunity to join the Alaska Desk as partners, provided they agree to host a reporter and share in the operational costs. The project will be overseen by a governance committee consisting of representatives from participating stations, who will set the editorial direction and strategic priorities.
APM President Ed Ulman said, “Alaska’s public media stations provide a critical lifeline for many rural and Alaska Native communities, who depend on them as their sole source of news and public affairs coverage. Roughly 80% of Alaska’s communities cannot be reached by road, which means that information access is critical to making everyday decisions in remote areas, where resources can be costly to obtain.”
CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison commented, “In just the last several years, CPB has invested more than $1.5 million to advance collaboration among Alaska public media stations, increase the numbers of editors, and raise the caliber of their fact-based reporting. This additional support of $936,000 to Alaska Public Media will further strengthen the important public media information lifeline across the state.”
