Michigan Radio will begin bringing more stories from across Michigan to the national audience of the daily weekday public radio program 1A through 1A Across America, a two-year collaborative effort. Leading up to the 2020 general elections, 1A Across America introduces a fresh model for strong community-based coverage of critical issues.
Supported by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the 1A Across America project will be spearheaded by WAMU 88.5, Washington’s NPR station and the station that produces 1A. Over the course of two years, Michigan Radio will be an editorial partner to WAMU. Michigan Radio and five other public media stations will work closely with 1A’s production team to source stories, conduct live broadcasts and events, produce collaborative content and elevate local journalism.
"Michigan Radio is thrilled to partner with 1A as one of the flagship stations for the 1A Across America project," said Zoe Clark, Michigan Radio Program Director. “We look forward to bringing more Michigan voices to the national dialogue."
Zoe Clark will be a special guest on 1A this coming Monday, October 29 to discuss the 1A Across America project and the station’s involvement in more detail.
WAMU selected the six partner public media stations including Michigan Radio because of their deep community ties. Additionally, the participating stations represent a geographical and political cross-section of America. Through 1A Across America, the nuanced, diverse issues and concerns of the communities that Michigan Radio covers across the state will be brought to 1A’s 3.63 million weekly listeners on 335 NPR stations.
Other NPR stations participating in the project are WBHM in Birmingham, Alabama; KUNC in Northern Colorado; Houston Public Media in Houston, Texas; KMUW in Wichita, Kansas; and Minnesota Public Radio in Minneapolis.
“To host a truly national conversation, we must leverage our connections to the powerful grassroots network of public media stations around the country,” said Andi McDaniel, senior director of content and news, WAMU. “1A Across America gives 1A the opportunity to uncover critical local conversations, tap into the original journalism taking place at partner public media stations like Michigan Radio, and bring it forth to national audiences.”
