Transformational grant will create CPR’s first full multi-media news bureau
CENTENNIAL, Colo. – January 23, 2013 – Colorado Public Radio (CPR) today announced the addition of an arts news bureau and online arts hub, thanks to a generous three-year, $900,000 grant from the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation. The arts bureau will enable CPR to become a comprehensive multi-media news bureau and significantly increase arts coverage of the Denver/Boulder metro area and across the state. It will not only benefit CPR’s current listeners but will also reach an expanding audience to reflect Colorado’s increasing diversity.
“Colorado Public Radio is honored that the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation has endorsed our commitment to Colorado news and arts,” said Max Wycisk, president of Colorado Public Radio. “This grant will transform the organization, providing the first full news bureau for CPR News, while substantially expanding our existing commitment to arts in Colorado through CPR Classical and OpenAir.”
“Having a vibrant and energized arts community is central to our mission at the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation so we’re especially excited to be able to fund this new initiative and see it come to fruition here in Colorado,” said Dorothy Horrell, president of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation. “We’re confident that CPR is the best organization to spearhead this transformational resource and create a more meaningful destination for people in our state interested in learning about and engaging with the Colorado arts community.”
Arts news will range from previews and in-depth stories about major cultural and arts organizations, to funding and sustainability of the arts, and connections to other topic areas such as education and state government. Reviews, interviews, audio and video performances, and events calendars will all be part of the online arts hub. Much of this coverage will be regularly featured on all three of CPR’s on-air services.
The arts bureau’s online hub is intended to become a one-stop, multi-media destination for arts news, information and performances in Colorado. The new editorial team will produce a wide range of content beyond CPR’s current radio focus, including text, images and video. Content will also come from classical and new-music experts from CPR’s two music services.
“Given our mission to support the arts in Colorado, and become a primary resource for Colorado news, this is the optimal time for us to create a news bureau and an online arts hub,” said Sean Nethery, CPR’s senior vice president of programming. “By building out a dedicated editorial team and creating an online arts destination, we’ll provide a major resource for our current audience and for the community at large. Whether you want to understand the major issues and stories in the Colorado arts scene, or just decide what to do this weekend, you’ll now have a trusted place to go.”
The grant from the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation will fund three full-time staff for three years, including an arts editor and two full-time reporters, one specializing in broadcast reports and the other in digital content. The grant will also provide funding for individual contributors with expertise in various art forms, who will add reviews and a broad range of additional coverage on-air and online. All remaining resources, including the development of a new CPR website, which will include the new online arts hub, will be provided by CPR’s existing staff and infrastructure.
The search for the three full-time positions will begin at the end of January, while the online arts hub will be developed in conjunction with CPR’s new website. Launch of CPR’s new online assets, including the online arts hub and website, will be announced when closer to completion.
Colorado Public Radio is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that provides 24-hour, in-depth news and music to about 460,000 listeners each week (Source: Arbitron, 2011). More than 90 percent of CPR's funds come from the private support of listeners, businesses and foundations.
News: Denver 90.1 FM, Boulder 1490 AM, Pueblo 1230 AM, Vail 89.9 FM, Grand Junction 89.5 FM, Montrose / Craig / Parachute 88.3 FM, Gunnison 88.5 FM, Ouray 91.5 FM, Meeker / Rangely 91.1 FM, and online at www.cpr.org.
Classical: Denver 88.1 FM, Boulder 99.9 FM, Pueblo 91.9 FM, Colorado Springs 94.7 FM, Glenwood Springs 90.5 FM, Aspen 101.5 FM, Western Slope 103.3 FM, Dove Creek 88.7 FM, Gunnison 89.1 FM, Cortez 102.5 FM, Crystal River Valley / Old Snowmass 93.9 FM, Thomasville 93.7 FM, and online at www.cpr.org.
OpenAir: Denver 1340 AM. Online at www.openaircpr.org.
The Bonfils-Stanton Foundation cultivates the extraordinary by investing in people, organizations, and ideas to build a more vibrant Colorado. The Foundation’s grant-making focuses on arts organizations and initiatives that make Denver an artistically rich community. The Bonfils-Stanton Awards celebrate the contributions of exceptional Coloradans, and the Livingston Fellowship Program develops promising nonprofit leaders. For more information, please visit www.bonfils-stanton.org.
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