IT IS A UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP. This magazine, Desert Companion. This radio station, KNPR. They go together. A benefit of listening. A benefit that comes with financial support for this nonprofit media institution, Nevada Public Radio. A benefit that informs our city and region. Stories and conversations that resonate across Nevada and beyond, in every issue of the magazine and every day on the radio and online.
Desert Companion is something that we hang onto and read over time, delving deeply into the stories and images that help us understand and learn more about ourselves. And KNPR is your NPR News station, singularly providing reliable daily journalism and programming over the airwaves every day, and — with our network of NPR station colleagues’ reporting — regionally, nationally, and internationally, a tremendously powerful news service for our country.
Remarkably, this is one of very few places in the U.S. where an in-depth regional magazine and high-quality public media station still work hand in glove, as they have for many years.
We want to highlight and expand this close relationship, and as you’ll see clearly in this issue and hear on air this month, our stories will be intentionally shared and illuminated by each other in each medium. Going forward, you’ll see a greater integration of cross-reported stories, interviews, voices, deeper journalism, and even better digital content.
I’ve come to Nevada Public Radio to help us find new ways to expand and grow. As a reader and listener, you likely have ideas to share with us. We welcome that conversation. Here are a few things that are coming soon.
- A new digital presence at Nevada Public Radio. We will debut a DesertCompanion.com/KNPR.org website that is mobile-agile, NPR News-friendly, and gives you even faster access to breaking news and social media. The promise of reading both in print and on digital devices is not an either/or decision, but rather an array of options for you, as a supporter of this institution, to choose from. Would you be interested in Desert Companion-quality photo essays online? Is social media how you get your NPR News? Let us know.
- More audio options. Our Fifth Street newsletter is growing in use — maybe you’d like to click through and hear it as a podcast? Would you like to listen to Desert Companion stories told in the distinctive sound of our shared human voice? This is an amazing editorial and journalistic effort, but now, in the era of digital media, what are the investments, and what is the content that you believe we should focus on?
Although I’m new to this role, I want to share with you, our readers and listeners, my deep professional and personal life goal of enhancing the role and importance of public media. I’m privileged to be only the fourth CEO of Nevada Public Radio over its 40-year history of serving the communities and people of Southern Nevada and beyond through independent journalism.
Let’s stay in touch. Write me at mark@desertcompanion.com with your thoughts on what you’d like to see in our pages and digital spaces and hear on our air. Thanks for your support.
Mark Vogelzang
President & CEO
Nevada Public Radio
