*Editor’s Note: The “Views from NAU” blog series highlights the thoughts of different people affiliated with NAU, including faculty members sharing opinions or research in their areas of expertise. The views expressed reflect the authors’ own personal perspectives.
B
y Gillian Ferris
News director and managing editor, KNAU
Jan. 13 is Public Radio Day—let’s celebrate!
2021 marked 50 years since NPR went on the air with its debut daily news show, All Things Considered. In the early years of public broadcasting, many of the first NPR member stations were formed on college and university campuses that wanted to experiment with a new kind of news medium meant to educate and entertain.
KNAU signed onto the airwaves at Northern Arizona University in 1983 and has since become a prominent and familiar source of news for the greater northern Arizona region, Colorado Plateau. Many award-winning reporters, producers and editors have made their mark on KNAU over the last nearly 40 years, shining a light on environmental and tribal issues, arts and culture, and more recently, the coronavirus pandemic and the country’s sociopolitical divide.
KNAU listeners are passionate and devoted, and often call or send emails about the things they especially love or are moved by. We don’t have room to list all of the things that are awesome about public radio, but these are just a few of the things we hear a lot:
- Topics you don’t hear about anywhere else
- New music and artists
- International reach
- Oasis in the desert of mainstream and social media
- Terry Gross is a legend.
- Builds community connections
- KNAU’s Earth Notes series
- Doesn’t involve screen time
- Sunday Puzzle with Will Shortz
- Truckers love to listen to NPR member stations.
- Neutral news without sensationalism
- Susan Stamberg’s annual cranberry relish stories
- Inclusive and intersectional
- Multicultural and multilingual stories
- Hearing KNAU reporters on the national network
- Something friends and family share
- The nuance of sound speaks to the human soul.
- KNAU’s Eats and Beats series
- Driveway moments
- Pledge Drive swag
- Scott Thybony’s Canyon Commentaries
- More than 1,000 member stations in the U.S.
- American Routes is the best music history show on the planet.
- Thought-provoking programming
- Cool bumper stickers
- Preserves the legacy of public broadcasting
- You can listen while you cook or change the oil in your car.
- You always learn something.
- Keeps dogs and cats company when you’re not at home
- Best programming in U.S. radio
