General Manager's Newsletter | December 2018

NPR president and CEO will step down at the end of his 5-year term in June.  Jarl Mohn has opted not to renew his position as NPR president and CEO.  Rather, as president emeritus, he’ll focus on building NPR’s financial stability.  Along that line he and his wife Pam will donate $10 million to NPR to help the organization carry on its mission of providing fact-based journalism. .... Continue reading.

Giving Tuesday Brings in NonProfits from Around Wyoming On November 27th, WPM listeners had the opportunity to promote their favorite nonprofits. The on-air staff recognized close to 300  organizations that provide goods, services, programs, and assistance to people all over Wyoming and beyond! View the full list of organizations here.

December Programming Gets Festive for Hoiday Season Tune in for a variety of holiday programming and music specials on Wyoming Public Radio. Programs and features include Welcome Christmas!, A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and Happy(ish) Holidays from Terrible, Thanks for Asking. 

PopUp News Room At Conference On Violence Prevention Reporters Tennessee Watson and Melodie Edwards set up a pop-up newsroom at the third annual Wyoming Conference for Violence Prevention and Response hosted in Riverton. They joined Caroline Ballard for a conversation about the newsroom and its goals. This event is part of WPM’s community outreach initiatives. Listen here. 

WPM Airs NPR Coverage of President George H.W Bush State Funeral For those not able to access this historic event via television, WPM pre-empted programming and offered live coverage from NPR on both radio (audio only) and online (audio and video). Wyoming Senator Al Simpson was one of the speakers delivering the eulogies. If you were not able to tune in, the archived broadcast can be accessed here.

Join Us For Holiday Festivities You're invited to our Holiday Open House on December 14th from 10am to 2pm. If you’re in the Laramie area, please join us on the University of Wyoming Campus in Knight Hall (downstairs) for refreshments, meet and greets with staff, station tours, and live music from Laramie-based band The Woodpile at 11am. 

UW Featured Author Receives National Recognition NPR’s annual roundup of the year’s best reads links to an episode of Spoken Words that features UW author Alyson Hagy. In the novel, Hagy "sketches a world that's like an Appalachian fairy tale from the future complete with boggy magic, mysterious men, powerful women and a quiet, mythic furiousness unlike anything else you'll read this year." See the full review here.

HumaNature's Second Appearance on 51% In November, HumaNature was featured on 51%, a weekly show from WAMC that tells stories from women’s perspectives that airs on about 100 public radio stations nationwide. 51% aired HumaNature’s story of a conservationist who took her documentary film on a bike tour and encountered an unexpected viewpoint at one of the screenings.

Edwards Contributes Coverage to National Native News Almost every month, Reporter Melodie Edwards can be heard on National Native News covering a variety off issues in and around the state of Wyoming. In November, Edwards contributed stories on the Tribal Bison Summit and the overturning of a Wyoming House seat by Northern Arapaho Andrea Clifford. See more of Edwards' contributions here.

McKim Featured on Here & Now On November 8th, WBUR’s Here & Now aired a story by Cooper McKim about Westmoreland Coal Company filing for bankruptcy. The Westmoreland is one of the largest and oldest coal companies in the United States, and the Here & Now report suggests that the company's fall is the latest sign coal markets are not bouncing back, despite the Trump administration's intentions.  

Mullen Provides National Report on Church Bell Return Reporter Maggie Mullen was featured on Mordning Edition for her report on the meeting between Defense Secretary James Mattis and the Philippine ambassador to the U.S. that occurred in Wyoming on November 14th. The meeting began the process of returning church bells from the Philippines that were taken by US soldiers more than 100 years ago. 

McKim Reports on Push for "Energy Dominance" On November 25th, Reporter Cooper McKim was featured on Weekend Edition Saturday for his report on the recent oil surge in the state of Wyoming. This spike in drilling in the state is getting a boost from the Trump Administration, which has encouraged federal agencies to streamline the leasing process and has increased the amount of land available for lease six times over.