Listen up. Listen here. KUOW 70 Years. Our Mission: To create and serve a more informed public. Our Vision: Broaden conversations. Deepen understanding.
Listen up. Listen here. Because your support has impact. KUOW 2021 Impact Report to Stakeholders

From the president

This year marks an important milestone for KUOW — 70 years since our first broadcast in 1952. 70 years. From our first days as a student-run radio station to a founding NPR member station to the community institution you know today, KUOW is an organization fundamentally transformed by community investment and engagement.

As we mark this anniversary with immense gratitude, we also must look forward with determination. As always, we’re here to keep you informed. We’re here to keep you engaged. We’re here to give you driveway moments and maybe even a little inspiration and delight. But make no mistake, we’re also here to have impact.

In the years to come, KUOW must evolve — in ways both radical and subtle — to meet the unique challenges facing our community and our democracy. We must continue to tell it like it is and help our community make sense of confusing times with factual and trusted information. We must make journalism not for, but with, our community — with a commitment to stories and reporting that reflect the diverse communities of the Puget Sound region, especially those that KUOW has not historically prioritized. We must radically rethink our way of doing things if we are to challenge narratives that have upheld racism and existing power structures. We must be nimble, innovative, thoughtful and above all else, courageous.

I have no doubt we have what it takes to meet the challenges of tomorrow — thanks in no small part to your continued investment and support. Thank you for 70 years and here’s to the next. The work continues.
Photo of Caryn G. Mathes
Caryn G. Mathes (she/her)
President and General Manager
The Paramount Theatre marquee reads 'One Year Closed 3/11/20 - 3/11/21,' as the sun sets on Thursday, March 11, 2021, along Pine Street in Seattle.

Listen up for stories with impact.

This year, our community navigated a complicated vaccine rollout, a pivotal election season and the most extreme temperatures on record. Through it all, the KUOW newsroom worked to keep you informed about the challenges and changes facing our region. Here are some of our most impactful stories of 2021, all made possible through your support.
Lauren Alexander is vaccinated against Covid-19 on Thursday, April 15, 2021, at the Lumen Field Event Center in Seattle. As of Thursday, anyone 16 years of age and older is eligible to receive the vaccine.

Navigating the new normal

As communities continue to adapt to pandemic changes and uncertainty, we took you with us for long-awaited first jab appointments and highlighted how the state vaccine rollout failed communities of color. We documented an anxious/excited return to in-person school, the joys and trials of giving birth during lockdown, and how neighborhood businesses across the region are recovering and rebuilding.

KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer
Bruce Harrell waves to supporters after speaking on stage surrounded by his family during an election night party on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, at Block 41 on Bell Street in Seattle.

Empowering you at the polls

We had several consequential elections this year — from the Seattle mayoral race to the city attorney’s office, to a nail-biter of a recall attempt. KUOW reporters were out in the community talking to voters and getting answers from the top candidates about important issues facing the city, like homelessness, policing and climate change, so you could make informed choices.


KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer
Tony Nguyen takes a break from skateboarding in 100-degree heat on Sunday, June 27, at Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill. Seattle dealt with record-breaking temperatures all weekend and into Monday.

Tracking the effects of climate change in our region

As temperatures and water levels continued to rise, we visited local communities battling dangerous climate realities with innovative solutions including a wall to hold back the Skagit River and the work of local tribes in the Nooksack River region to keep vital salmon populations alive. We also brought together west coast environment reporters to discuss climate solutions happening in their communities.

Genna Martin for KUOW
Interlake High School senior Alexa Harris speaks to a crowd of fellow classmates through a megaphone during a protest of the school administration's handling of sexual assault cases, on Tuesday, November 23, 2021, at Interlake High School in Bellevue.

Amplifying student protests of abuse and sexual misconduct

We reported on student protests at high schools in Ballard and Bellevue calling out school leaders lacking response to student reports of abuse and sexual misconduct. We also documented the aftermath of student demonstrations including emergency expulsions and a protest at the Seattle Public School board meeting.


KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer
Members of the Proud Boys, including chairman Enrique Tarrio, and organizer Joe Biggs, third from right, march across the Hawthorne Bridge during an "End Domestic Terrorism" rally in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019.

Documenting the rise of political extremism

The nation watched in shock on January 6 as rioters, including two Seattle Police officers, trespassed and violently broke into the United States Capitol. We reported on the ripple effects of conspiratorial thinking in local politics and the continued threat of extremist groups across our own state.


AP Photo/Noah Berger
The exterior of the Seattle police department's East Precinct building is shown on Saturday, June 13, 2020, in Seattle.

Holding police power to account

We pieced together the sequence of events that led the Seattle police to abandon the East Precinct during the protests for racial justice in June 2020, giving you a clearer picture of what happened. We also shed new light on a stalled investigation into the fatal police shooting of Andrea Churna, putting pressure on officials to bring her family justice.


KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer
A Zoom screenshot from a RadioActive workshop featuring youth journalists, RadioActive staff and mentors.

Listen here for youth storytelling.

KUOW’s award-winning RadioActive Youth Media program continues to help young people across the region discover and build skills in public radio journalism. Here are just some of the ways this program has impacted youth in our community and helped them share their stories and perspectives with a wider audience.

RadioActive's year in numbers

374
Youth participants in radio journalism and audio storytelling
237
Record number of applications for the intro workshop
28
New radio features and podcasts produced by youth journalists 
2
RadioActive graduates hired into full-time KUOW positions

A timeline of 2021 accomplishments

Design featuring a collage of polaroid photos from RadioActive youth journalists. Handwriting across each of the photos spells out the title of the story pictured.

February

Snapshots, a new series revisiting 10 RadioActive stories from the past 10 years.
RadioActive Musicals participants are depicted in a colorful grid with the event name and partner logos at the center.

February

RadioActive Musicals: Volume 2 in partnership with The 5th Avenue Theatre’s Rising Star Program.
RadioActive Youth Media's Soundbites: Mini Audio Storytelling Activities

March

A first-of-its-kind workshop series with the City of Seattle’s Creative Advantage program.
Three teens get ready to record an interview in the library at the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center during a RadioActive podcasting workshop on April 15, 2021.

April

An all-virtual workshop with youth who are incarcerated at King County Children and Family Justice Center.
A RadioActive youth journalist in front of a mic in a recording studio at KUOW.

May

First workshop for a national audience, presented with AIR Media.
A RadioActive youth journalist sits in front of a computer wearing headphones.

June

A workshop for non-accepted applicants to the RadioActive introductory workshop.
A RadioActive youth journalist in front of the mic in a KUOW recording studio.

July

A paid internship with KUOW’s Seattle Now. Youth attended news meetings and produced episodes. 
Thomas Foster, a senior at Rainier Beach High School.
September

A collaboration with the KUOW Newsroom on a story about the transition back to in-person school.
Two RadioActive participants conduct an interview.

November

A one-hour showcase of youth-produced stories of resilience.
Black and white photo of a woman in a KUOW recording studio in the early 1950s. KUOW Archives

Looking forward in our 70th year.

As we step bravely forward into the new year, KUOW and NPR are committed to keeping you informed, empowered, and entertained with the news, information and moments of joy you need to navigate what comes next. This year will bring more local perspectives, more community voices, more transparency, and stories with real impact. Here are just a few things we have in store for you.
Soundside Logo
Meet Soundside
 
Our new midday show, hosted by Libby Denkmann, is all about the Pacific Northwest and the people living in it.
Listen now
Photo of a KUOW microphone on a stage.
You're invited 
 
Our 2022 events will include a live taping of Splendid Table, a partnership with BBC Arts Hour and more! 
Subscribe now
https://www.kuow.org/schedule
New voices, new lineup

KUOW's new schedule includes the addition of popular NPR shows like Code Switch and Life Kit.
Learn more
A RadioActive youth journalist conducts an interview outside Seattle’s Pike Place Market.

Staying committed to diverse voices and perspectives.

At KUOW, we believe it is imperative to prioritize the inclusion of diverse voices. Since 2015, KUOW has tracked the diversity of sources in our local broadcast features — defined as planned stories, investigations, or profiles — and on our midday local show to better understand how we’re representing our community and to push for improvement.
47%
of sources for local news features in 2021 identified as people of color
56%
of sources for local news features in 2021 identified as women or nonbinary
23%
of sources for local news features in 2021 were under 35 years old 

This year, we’ve commissioned an outside firm to audit the diversity of our sources across platforms. We would also like to share the full report from 2020 with you. This report and its findings will help inform KUOW’s editorial strategy in the year to come and guide us as we work on improvements to our coverage. We are committed to transparency and accountability in this initiative and will share consistent updates as we work to ensure we are accurately reflecting the communities we serve and still hope to reach.

2021: The year in numbers

 427,983
Average Weekly Broadcast Listeners
Source: Nielsen
 2,005,268
Average Monthly Streaming Listeners
Source: Triton
48,661
Contributing Members
Source: KUOW Records
22,017
Sustaining Evergreen Members
Source: KUOW Records
357,290
Average Monthly Podcast Downloads
Source: Triton/Podtrac
10,110,136
Page Views on kuow.org
Source: Google Analytics
71,702
Newsletter Subscribers
Source: Salesforce
108,605
Social Media Followers
Source: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
378
Community Feedback Club Members
Source: Groundsource
4,459
Virtual Event Attendees
Source: KUOW Records

21 Awards for excellent, local journalism

2021 Edward R. Murrow Awards

For Ann Dornfeld’s series reporting on abuse in Seattle Public Schools; KUOW’s partnership with Jenna Hanchard and Lola’s Ink focused on Black liberation; and our reporting on the first cases of Covid-19 in Washington.
2021 Gracie
Awards

For Angela King’s interview with a salon owner who said closing her doors was the right thing to do to stop the spread of Covid-19.
2022 Key
Awards

From The Washington Coalition for Open Government recognizing Isolde Raftery and Ashley Hiruko for extensive use of public records and interviews in their reporting on the evacuation of the SPD’s East Precinct.
See all awards
In our last fiscal year, 92% of KUOW’s funding came from individual donors and local business supporters. We are proud to report that 71% of our revenue went directly back into our news programming. Below, you’ll find an overview of KUOW’s finances in Fiscal Year 2021 (July 2020–June 2021). You can see more details on our revenue sources and spending here.

Revenue growth

Revenue sources

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