Mike Lyle: This week, NPR has been in the news. The White House has officially asked Congress to rescind funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. .
If federal funding is rescinded, the financial impact on NPR member stations would be significant.
NPR anchor, Lakshmi Singh, is visiting Colorado this week to moderate a session for which is hosted by CU Boulder. Lakshmi came by the 萝莉少女 studios to also have a conversation about the role member stations play in our communities.
Lakshmi, thank you so much for joining me today, and thanks for visiting us here in Greeley.
It is great to be here! Thank you so much for that welcome Mike.
I'm getting ready to moderate a discussion that explores connections between climate change and human rights.
The reporting team here, I gotta say, at 萝莉少女 has done an amazing, amazing job, a deep dive into some of the most compelling and impactful climate related issues that directly affect how we live and move through this world. And I think just as important, have strongly pursued solutions-based reporting we've been talking a lot about that. As a journalist and a human being, I'm constantly learning about this kind of reporting in these issues. So, I just want to express deep gratitude to you and your team for doing an amazing job.
ML: Could you talk a little bit about how local NPR stations, such as us here at 萝莉少女, interact with NPR national newscast.
LS: Local NPR member stations are vital to newscasts' ability to bring different aspects of our country and the world to an audience in five minutes. It's not as easy as it sounds. But to cover the most difficult news, such as the recent attack in Boulder, our newscast team relies heavily on member stations to share the voices of people who are directly affected, to show how communities are also rallying in details, that I think, express the gravity of what has happened and also what resilience looks like.
ML: Absolutely, and member station reporters work for the local station, but NPR often looks to us when there's breaking news of national interest, such as what happened on Sunday in Boulder. So, can you talk about how that works during, say, a breaking news situation, and how this vast network of stations utilized when the news first breaks?
LS: Yeah, on the actual process, we connect with our member stations every single day to follow stories for newscast.
Some areas, several member stations are covering the same major story in that region, such as the recent attack in Boulder. And we often communicate via a platform we call Slack that allows us to know in real time what a reporter on the ground is working on as they cover a quickly developing, a quickly changing, story.
And as a newscaster, the description in real time is vital. I've been an anchor for many years. Sometimes I've worn the hat of a show host, other times as a field reporter. So, I'm very familiar with what your reporters, your producers, and your hosts, and our newscaster must accomplish every single day to bring our audience a story.
I've learned that the pursuit of truth in a story requires more than fact. Fact is absolutely vital, but it also requires that we recognize the human experience as we're covering a story. It's about protecting our integrity as journalists in the field, so that we basically check ourselves as we are gathering news, gathering information, but also interacting with human beings that are directly affected by something that has happened. We have to recognize that person's experience and be very mindful of that. So, this entire experience we've been talking about also requires a recognition of, and respect for, human dignity.
ML: Lakshmi Singh is an award-winning journalist and newscaster for NPR. Lakshmi, we are so grateful for you to stop by today. We so appreciate it. Thank you so much.
LS: Well, it has been an honor to be here. Thank you so much for this, Mike. This has been a wonderful experience, and you're welcome.