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 director of community engagement

KUOW’s work would not be possible without community. For 70 years, your support and the participation and feedback from our neighbors across the Puget Sound region has fundamentally shaped KUOW stories and programming. KUOW’s focus on local perspectives is a vital way to share information and help you understand how national and worldwide news affects our region.

A favorite comment I often hear is, “I heard this story on KUOW the other day.” Stories by and for community help connect and inform us — and an informed public makes us stronger. KUOW’s local reporting is essential to building a better future for our region and our world. It holds power to account, protects our democracy, and ensures that everyone is empowered with the information they need to make the best decisions possible.

I hope you’ll take a moment to read some of our most impactful work from the last few months. It is thanks to you that we are able to share these stories today — thank you for your support and partnership and here’s to the next 70 years of local storytelling and community-building.

I would love to connect with you and listen to any feedback you may have. Feel free to email me at zhamid@kuow.org.

Photo of Caryn G. Mathes
Zaki Hamid (he/him)
Director of Community Engagement

Listen up for stories with impact.

Our mission is to create and serve a more informed public. Here’s a look at some of KUOW’s recent local reporting and the impact it has had on our community.  
Olena Bidovanets protests in Seattle in solidarity with her home country, Ukraine.

Highlighting the local impacts of the war on Ukraine 

On February 24, 2022, our region awoke to news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. KUOW's Natalie Newcomb connected with local protestors against the war, including one Ukrainian exchange student at the University of Washington who returned home to help provide humanitarian aid. The Soundside team weighed potential outcomes of the war and their local effects, including the possibilities of nuclear radiation and a nuclear arms race.
 

Photo Credit: Olena Bidovanets
Fans of Deep Sea Diver cheer as the band performs on Friday, November 12, 2021, at Showbox in Seattle.

Navigating the new norms of life with Covid-19

KUOW reporters continue to bring you the information you need to understand pandemic shifts and how to best keep our community safe. We also searched for silver linings, including the return of live, in-person arts events from KUOW visual journalist Megan farmer, and a series encapsulating pandemic memories we don’t want to forget — all to help us feel more connected as we face ongoing unknowns.


KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer
A drug user displays two blue fentanyl pills she is smoking in downtown Seattle, October 22, 2021.

Understanding the effects of fentanyl on our region’s drug crisis

KUOW's Anna Boiko-Weyrauch reported on the influx of fentanyl in our region and how the easy-to-traffic and easy-to-find blue pills account for a record-breaking number of deaths in King County. Anna also connected with a local teen who was addicted to the drug and is now on a road to recovery.


KUOW Photo/Anna Boiko-Weyrauch 
Beth Robinette, left, owner of the Lazy R Ranch, and LaRae Wiley, executive director of the Salish School of Spokane.

Documenting steps towards land sovereignty 

From a historic land purchase by the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe of thousands of acres of ancestral forest to $3 million in funding for tribes to study salmon introduction to a local rancher on stolen land who is working towards reconciliation, KUOW reporters Diana Opong, Courtney Flatt and contributor Ashley Ahearn highlighted important stories of people working to support local tribes.

Photo Credit: Ashley Ahearn
Washington State Capitol Building

Breaking down politics and policy in Olympia

After an eventful state legislative session including a staff sick-out after a unionization bill initially failed to pass, KUOW's Olympia correspondent Austin Jenkins helped you understand which bills went through, which bills didn’t and what is likely to happen on the campaign trail with quite a few seats on the ballot later this year. Austin also reported on representation in our local government and why several lawmakers of color will not be seeking reelection.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia
The exterior of the Seattle police department's East Precinct building is shown on Saturday, June 13, 2020, in Seattle.

Amplifying the voices of victims of sexual assault

KUOW investigative reporter Ashley Hiruko brought you the stories of Pearl and Nabila, two of the five women who are suing Seattle rapper Raz Simone for abuse and sex trafficking. We also reported that Seattle rape cases have been moved to the backburner for the Seattle Police Department due, in part, to the number of officers available to investigate sex crimes.


Photo Credit: Pearl

Listen here for community-driven programs.

Our work is community-driven. That means we are powered and shaped by people and stories across the Puget Sound region. As a nonprofit public media organization, we work to be out in community and to bring community into all that we do. Here are a few ways KUOW is bringing the community in and sharing the work we do with new and longtime supporters. 
Soundside Team
The Soundside team right before their first show on-air. Pictured (L to R): Noel Gasca, Sarah Leibovitz, Alec Cowan and Brandi Fullwood. Photo by Brandi Fullwood.
Going beyond Seattle
 
In January we launched our new midday show, Soundside. Hosted by Libby Denkmann, the show is working to get outside of Seattle city limits to highlight the many distinct communities of the Puget Sound region. So far we’ve met an alphorn player in Leavenworth, a community scientist obsessed with sea slugs, and one of the women behind a groundbreaking, local Spanish-language radio station.
 
» Tune in to Soundside
RadioActive producer in the new studio
Pictured: A RadioActive Youth Producer tests out the recording equipment in the new RadioActive studio. Photo courtesy of RadioActive.
Helping youth tell their stories
 
In February we welcomed a group of RadioActive participants back to the station and to a brand-new studio space! Youth voices must be heard and KUOW is excited to share these professional tools with young producers to help them tell their stories. This new, state of the art recording studio was made possible through the support of KUOW members like you and will further our mission to train the next generation of journalists.
 
» Listen to RadioActive stories
KUOW’s Ruby de Luna and chef and bestselling author J. Kenji López-Alt in conversation with host of The Splendid Table, Francis Lam.
Pictured (L to R): Chef and author J. Kenji López-Alt, KUOW’s Ruby de Luna and host of The Splendid Table, Francis Lam. Photo by Juan Pable Chiquiza.
KUOW live and in-person 

As pandemic restrictions shift, KUOW has transitioned back to more in-person events. In March we partnered with BBC's The Arts Hour to bring you perspectives from leading voices in music, film and gaming about what makes Seattle's arts scene so distinctive.

In April, we partnered with The Splendid Table to bring you a special live-taping and discussion about our region’s vibrant food scene and what local organizations are doing to build food security and sustainability for our communities.

» Join us at a KUOW Live event
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