The Lyda Hill Foundation has donated $1 million to Dallas pubcaster KERA to expand regional news coverage.
The donation comes on the heels of the foundation’s 2011 support for KERA’s reporting on health and science issues that included sponsorship of the station’s weekly “Health Checkup” segment. The Lyda Hill Foundation focuses on funding organizations “that make game-changing advances in nature and science research.”
“As a KERA viewer, listener and donor, I recognized the importance of funding such a vital community resource,” Hill said in a prepared statement. “This gift is also meant to inspire others to support the kind of local news stories and reporting not found anywhere else in North Texas.”
Lyda Hill, via KERA.org.
The foundation listed total assets of $5.3 million according to its IRS Form 990 for the year ending Nov. 20, 2011.
KERA announced the grant shortly after NPR News veteran Rick Holter signed on as vice president for news. Prior to joining the Dallas pubcaster, Holter was the supervising editor of digital news at NPR. He also worked as the supervising senior editor for Weekend All Things Considered and spent 15 years at the Dallas Morning News. Holter’s responsibilities include supervising KERA’s radio, television and digital news staff.
KERA licensee North Texas Public Broadcasting operates two radio outlets in the Dallas/Fort Worth market — KERA 90.1 FM, an NPR News station, and KXT 91.7 FM, a contemporary music outlet — as well as KERA-TV.