The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has awarded a $1.8 million grant to Southern California Public Radio (SCPR). The grant will launch the One Nation Media Project, a journalism initiative that enhances SCPR’s service to multi-ethnic communities in greater Los Angeles.
The CPB money will help SCPR expand its locally produced, mid-day programming, including the development of a new two-hour news magazine program that will provide a significant forum to discuss topics of importance and interest within southern California’s diverse communities.
Additionally, the grant will enable SCPR to launch three distinct online channels, each hosted by a dedicated digital journalist. The channels will generate in-depth digital news coverage focused on key areas of interest: emerging communities, public education, and criminal justice.
“At CPB, we are committed to investing in the Three D’s – digital, diversity and dialogue – to ensure we are utilizing technology to match our mission, to serve underserved and unserved audiences and to engage and address the needs and interests of communities throughout the country,” said Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of CPB. “We are very proud to support the One Nation Media Project, which will expand public media service to the diverse communities of Southern California.”
“CPB’s commitment to finding new and innovative ways to serve new audiences makes them an ideal partner for the One Nation project,” said Bill Davis, president of SCPR. “Los Angeles is one of the most diverse metropolitan areas in the world, and the One Nation Media Project is simply the most recent and ambitious effort on our part to expand the audience for public service media — in Southern California and across the country.”
Reporting from the One Nation Media Project will be integrated into SCPR’s news broadcasts and made available online and through mobile platforms. SCPR operates KPCC-FM Los Angeles, KUOR-FM in the Inland Empire and KPCV-FM in the Coachella Valley. Reaching more than a 600,000 listeners every week, SCPR says it is the most listened-to public radio news service of any kind in Southern California. In addition to radio broadcasting, SCPR also operates kpcc.org and the Crawford Family Forum.
