CENTENNIAL, Colo. April 05, 2019 – Colorado Public Radio (CPR) today announced plans to increase its environmental reporting and create a hub of information for solutions to climate-related issues with a $1.21 million grant from the Jacques M. Littlefield Foundation. The grant will be distributed over five years and fund a team of reporters dedicated to the topic.
“Climate change is an important subject that has the potential for deep impacts on our state, from tourism and travel to natural resource management,” said Colorado Public Radio President and CEO Stewart Vanderwilt. “Our Climate Solutions reporting team will provide deep and ongoing coverage of Colorado's role in research, innovation and action to address climate issues.”
Under the leadership of Executive Editor Kevin Dale, the team will include an editor and three reporters. When fully staffed, the Climate Solutions team will more than triple CPR’s current scale of coverage, generating a critical mass of stories to inform the public dialogue on climate solutions. Coverage will be distributed via long-form stories, data-driven reporting, immersive explainers and rich digital presentations, as well as on-demand audio, including podcasts.
“Many Coloradans are focused on this global issue, which deserves deeply researched, comprehensive coverage from independent journalists,” said Dale. “This team is a natural extension of our current energy and environment beat and will dramatically increase our reporting, enabling new partnerships with regional and national collaboratives about climate change and sustainable living. We are committed to fact-based reporting on the impact, solutions and political aspects of climate change.”
This announcement follows a string of growth initiatives for Colorado Public Radio’s newsroom, including the addition of regional reporters throughout Colorado, the acquisition of local news site Denverite, as well as the creation of an investigative team.
“We’re growing to meet the news needs of Colorado, and that’s a direct result of the investment the community has made in Colorado Public Radio,” noted Vanderwilt. “Whether it’s an annual membership or a transformational gift from the Jacques M. Littlefield Foundation, Coloradans continue to support news from and for Colorado.”
The Jacques M. Littlefield Foundation supports educational opportunities in California and Colorado and seeks sustainable improvements in the society, economy, and environment. This is the Foundation’s third grant to CPR. Past funding has supported the general newsroom, the Max Wycisk Fellowship program, and energy and environment bureau.
"The Jacques M. Littlefield Foundation is impressed with Colorado Public Radio's forward-looking, insightful, and creative approach to informing the public,” said Dr. Scott Littlefield, vice president of the foundation. “We are thrilled to continue our relationship with CPR and look forward to supporting its expanded reporting on the critically important area of climate change."
Learn more about Colorado Public Radio at www.cpr.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Colorado Public Radio is a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization that produces and curates in-depth and meaningful news and music, establishing thoughtful connections to Colorado for listeners seeking to be informed, enlightened and entertained. Roughly 95 percent of CPR’s funds come from the private support of listeners, businesses and foundations.
CPR News delivers in-depth, insightful and impartial news and information from around the world, across the nation and throughout Colorado, examining its relevance to our state and connecting it to our community.
CPR Classical takes listeners on an in-depth exploration of thoughtfully curated music – with an emphasis on Colorado’s classical community – providing context to a broad range of meaningful and compelling works from past to present.
CPR’s OpenAir takes listeners inside the world of new and independent music – exposing them to up-and-coming artists and highlighting Colorado’s local music scene.
Denverite is an online news source dedicated to Denver's curious and concerned.
