I’ve always been a news junkie. When I was a kid in rural Georgia, my family ate dinner early every night so that my father could be in front of the Nightly News at 7 p.m. sharp. We were magnetically drawn in, sitting for half an hour to hear the facts of the day in the world around us from a trusted news source. This was not opinion, this was journalism. And though the news was sometimes hard to hear, it promoted a set of facts shared by us all.
Later I made the leap to NPR because I was always in the car, driving my own kids in endless loops of soccer car pools and school pickup. Still, it was that delivery of fact-based journalism and powerful storytelling from a trusted news source that kept me tuned in. I have had many “driveway moments” that NPR is famous for, staying in the car to hear the rest of the story. I am now honored to serve on the NPR Foundation board and want to make sure my fellow Georgians know that public media in America is under threat of losing critical federal support.
At NPR, our mission is to create a more informed public. We are an independent, nonprofit media organization with about 250 member stations that reach 99% of the U.S. population with free news, music and cultural programming. NPR is part of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a nonprofit corporation authorized by Congress in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. A bipartisan majority in Congress has supported public media funding for nearly 50 years.
NPR offers the most expansive news delivery network in America. More than 42 million people listen to public radio programming each week across all platforms and through their local stations. It provides essential services to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for information during emergencies, especially essential in rural America.
Federal funding for public media amounts to about 0.01% of federal spending — approximately $1.60 per person per year. It is a highly successful example of a private-public partnership, leveraging $1 in federal grant money to raise $8 from local sources. Federal investment is especially vital for rural stations where it can account for 30% to 50% of the station’s budget.
No matter who we are or where we are from, we each have an innate desire to be understood, connected and validated. This desire extends to what we want to see in our media — headlines on the issues impacting our daily lives, local legislation matters, safety updates or just news about what is going on this weekend. Today’s media landscape has become increasingly polarizing and often struggles to make personal connections to its audiences. This is exactly where public media shows its strength, with stories that come up through our regional stations to hit the national stage, broadcast alongside national and international stories that come down to us through our local, trusted public media stations and answer the question of “what does this mean for me” by making coverage relatable and engaging.
This trust is reflected in polling. In a 2022 Harris poll, NPR remained the most trustworthy and high-quality news brand among familiar audiences. A recent report from Gallup found that 6 in 10 Americans reported having more trust in their local news to give them the information they use in their daily life.
In Georgia, the case is particularly complex because local news media is facing a serious decline. The challenge, according to a report from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, is that Georgia had just 1.8 news outlets per 100,000 people — putting it 40th among all states. It has among the highest number of counties identified as “news deserts,” a designation for counties with only one news source that are at risk of losing that source.
The good news, however, is that Georgia is proudly home to four NPR stations. These stations have a long-standing tradition of providing news and cultural programming in addition to offering critical educational services to the people of our state.
Georgia Public Broadcasting is the statewide public radio and television network that reaches 98% of the state with in-depth local programming across platforms. As Georgia’s digital resource content provider for the classroom, they provide free educational materials (aligned to Georgia standards) for pre-K through 12th grade in all subject areas. In 2024, GPB’s free online educational content was accessed more than 14 million times. Additionally, GPB’s partnerships with the Georgia Emergency Management, Homeland Security and the National Weather Service allow them to distribute weather alerts to audiences across the state. WUGA, located at the University of Georgia, is also part of the GPB network.
WCLK, a preeminent jazz station, is licensed to Clark Atlanta University, and just celebrated its 50th anniversary. WCLK was the first Black federally licensed educational FM station in Georgia and currently produces nationally distributed programs including “Jazz in the New Millennium” and “The SOUL of Jazz.”
WABE is a noncommercial, educational FM radio station serving the Atlanta metropolitan area and owned by the Atlanta Board of Education. WABE hosts dozens of in-person community engagement events every year and reaches nearly 1 million listeners per month across platforms. WABE’s 22-person local newsroom has won numerous journalism awards, including Edward R. Murrow regional awards for reports such as “Dangerous Heat and High School Football: How Georgia Started Protecting Student Athletes,” which was recognized as Best Sports Feature. It co-produced the NPR podcast “No Compromise” with KCUR in Kansas City, Missouri, which won a Pulitzer Prize for Audio Reporting in 2021.
Georgia can celebrate a rich offering of free, public news and community programming. Each of these stations offers a vital touchpoint to community and culture to populations of our state who would otherwise not have a local source of news and information.
Continued funding of public media is critical right now. A functioning democracy requires an informed public, and public media is a well established, proven source of fact-based news, community connection and vitality. These “driveway moments” are the soundtrack of our everyday lives, performing a very real service to residents of our state who need it most. Please let your congressperson know how much you care about staying tuned in.
Credit: contributed
Credit: contributed
Nancy Farese is a member of the NPR Foundation board. She is also an owner of Southwire Co. in Carrollton, Georgia, a leading manufacturer and distributor of wire and cable used in the transmission and distribution of electricity in the U.S.
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