The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced Wednesday that North Carolina's public media stations have been awarded a joint grant that will allow them to hire a new reporter and editor to enhance statewide political coverage.
The $542,000 grant will fund two positions based at WUNC in Raleigh. Partner stations include WFAE in Charlotte, WFDD in Winston-Salem, BPR in Asheville and WHQR in Wilmington. The new, dedicated positions will provide all of the partner stations with additional coverage of what the state government is doing and how the actions of lawmakers, elected officials and government agencies affect people's lives throughout North Carolina.
The CPB also announced grants to increase government coverage at local stations in Colorado, Florida, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey and New York.
“The growth of local journalism is essential to the civic health of our nation,” said Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of CPB, in a statement. “Public radio and television stations, locally operated, are deeply connected to the communities they serve. Their primary mission is to provide trusted, fact-based reporting on issues of local concern so that people can make fully informed decisions. Public media’s journalism earns the trust of Americans every day as it encompasses the complexity and integrity necessary to serve our civil society amidst growing mis- and disinformation.”