KUNC today joins five other public radio stations to launch a consortium that covers the news, issues, themes and culture of the Rocky Mountain region. The Collaboration in the Mountain West is a partnership that spans Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and Montana. The stations have received a grant of $475,000 from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting to launch the long-term news initiative to better serve people in the region.
The grant provides seed funding for Northern Colorado-based KUNC and the other stations to add journalists and share broadcast and online news content across the region. A Managing Editor housed at Boise State Public Radio will lead a team of reporters in coverage of vital regional issues. The other participating stations are lead station Boise State Public Radio (based in Boise, Idaho), KRCC (based in Colorado Springs, Colorado), KUER (based in Salt Lake City, Utah), Wyoming Public Media (based in Laramie, Wyoming) and Yellowstone Public Radio (based in Billings, Montana).
This project focuses on the unique issues in the urban and rural areas of the Rocky Mountain West. The main areas of editorial focus are land and water, growth in the expanding west, including the rural-urban divide, issues facing the rural west and western culture and heritage. The stations will work collaboratively to highlight these issues for a broad audience across the region.
“I’m excited that KUNC will be part of this important collaboration,” said KUNC Director of News Content Michael de Yoanna. “For too long, the Rocky Mountain West, particularly the smaller communities, have been given too little attention from the national media. This collaboration makes covering the rich, diverse, politically-relevant communities of the west a priority while creating pathways to tell those stories across our five states as well as nationally.”
The editorial partnership will share content across their media markets and will also work closely with national media distributors such as NPR, APM, PRI, and PRX.
Boise State Public Radio will serve as the lead station on the grant. Boise State General Manager Tom Michael said: "Here in the West, we're watching the fast growth of new American cities, but we're also seeing significant changes in the rural outposts. This partnership will explore this national contrast and share these compelling news stories to a wide audience in the distinctive voice that is public radio today."
KUNC will add a new reporter to the newsroom for the collaboration. Joining the Collaboration in the Mountain West aligns with KUNC’s strategic goal to provide more coverage of the west to broadcast and online audiences.
“This is an exciting time at KUNC,” de Yoanna added. “This isn’t the only new reporting position we’re be adding this fall. We plan to add at least one more news reporting position in a critical area in the weeks to come. KUNC’s audience is growing and as it does, our newsroom will grow too.”
KUNC is an NPR affiliate. The station reaches a large audience in Denver, Boulder, Longmont, Fort Collins, Greeley, Breckenridge and Vail. KUNC is a mainstay in many of Colorado’s mountain and plains communities.
KUNC Front Range Radio Frequencies
- Colorado's Front Range 91.5
- Boulder 102.7
- Denver & West Metro 91.7
KUNC Mountain Communities
- Steamboat Springs 88.5
- Estes Park 90.7
- Dillon 88.1
- Breckenridge 90.7
- Grand County 91.9
- Vail 90.9
- Eagle 99.7
- North Park 90.7
- Leadville 91.7
- Buena Vista/Salida 89.9
KUNC Eastern Plains Communities
- Morgan County 96.7
- Sterling 90.3
- Yuma 88.3
- Wray 93.5
- Holyoke 90.5
- Julesburg 89.1
