CPB extends support for Mountain West News Bureau

CPB has awarded $507,000 to the Mountain West News Bureau regional journalism collaboration.

The funding, announced Tuesday, will support the costs of two editors and an Indigenous Affairs reporting unit, according to Tom Michael, Boise State Public Radio GM and managing director of MWNB.

The grant extends CPB’s support to the bureau to more than $1 million, according to a news release. 

The bureau’s managing partner stations include Idaho’s Boise State; KANW in Albuquerque, N.M.; KUNC in Greeley, Colo.; KUNR in Reno, Nev.; Nevada Public Radio; and Wyoming Public Media. Colorado Public Radio and KJZZ in Phoenix are associate partners. 

NPR joined the collaboration in August and provided funding awarded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation to support NPR’s regional journalism collaborations. For MWNB, those funds are directed to the bureau’s Indigenous Affairs coverage and the addition of a digital editor position.  

CPB’s additional funding is crucial “because it gives us confidence at a time when many stations are having to cut back,” Michael told Current in an email. 

“Without this funding, would we close up shop? No, but it would limit what we could do,” he said. 

CPB’s new grant bolsters bureau staffing for key positions, including that of managing editor Michael de Yoanna. Michael described his job as “the crux” of the collaboration. It also extends financial support for the new digital editor position from June 2027 to June 2028.

The bureau is reviewing candidates for the digital editor position, a job that includes assistant editor responsibilities, Michael said. 

Some of the CPB money will bolster the Indigenous Affairs unit by supporting its costs from June 2027 through June 2028, after the Schmidt grant expires, Michael said. 

MWNB’s Indigenous Affairs unit includes a part-time editor and part-time producer/reporter for the weekly Our Living Lands radio segment, which is produced through a collaboration with Koahnic Broadcast Corporation and Native Public Media. Koahnic funds the work of host Antonia Gonzales, Michael said.

CPB’s grant will also support consulting services to investigate options for more shared services among stations in the region, Michael added.

“By extending this grant and supporting the growth of the Mountain West News Bureau, CPB is helping strengthen a regional collaboration that continues to deliver essential reporting on issues that shape the daily lives and future of Mountain West residents,” said CPB COO Kathy Merritt in a news release.

CPB awarded $475,000 for MWNB’s startup in 2017 and $499,094 in 2024 through its program supporting regional journalism collaborations.