CPB Boosts Mountain West News Bureau With New Funding

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, November 25, 2025 | 2:10pm CT

Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has committed an additional $507,000 to the Mountain West News Bureau (MWNB), extending the regional journalism partnership through June 30, 2028, and funding a new Digital Editor position to enhance its multi-platform reporting. The new investment brings CPB's total support for the project to more than $1 million.

Launched in 2017 with CPB funding, the Mountain West News Bureau produces journalism focused on rural, land, environmental, and Tribal issues across one of the nation's largest geographic regions - more than 750,000 square miles spanning Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Over eight years, the initiative has strengthened reporting resources in small and mid-sized public media newsrooms, helping ensure that distinctive stories from the Mountain West are covered with insight and local expertise.

The collaboration is led by Boise State Public Radio and includes KUNC (Greeley, CO), Wyoming Public Media (Laramie, WY), KUNR (Reno, NV), KNPR (Las Vegas, NV), KANW (Albuquerque, NM), new partner NPR, and associate station partners Colorado Public Radio (Centennial, CO) and KJZZ (Phoenix, AZ). Together, the partners support a managing editor, six full-time reporters based at member stations, and additional part-time staff producing enterprise journalism for broadcast, digital platforms, and visual storytelling.

"Public media plays a vital role in ensuring that communities-especially rural and underserved ones-have access to trusted local journalism," said Kathy Merritt, chief operating officer of CPB. "By extending this grant and supporting the growth of the Mountain West News Bureau, CPB is helping strengthen a regional collaboration that continues to deliver essential reporting on issues that shape the daily lives and future of Mountain West residents."

Tom Michael, general manager of Boise State Public Radio, said the funds will help the bureau amplify local voices. "These are timely stories of families, workers, and neighbors navigating change in the places they call home," he said. "By collaborating across newsrooms, we're ensuring that local voices are heard, respected, and reflected in the journalism that serves them."