You put the “public" in KUNR Public Radio
As attacks on public media increased this year, we’ve counted on listeners and readers like you to be more than supporters but defenders of our critical public service mission.
Local support matters more now than ever, and we’re as strong as our community of supporters will allow us to be.
Declare your support for KUNR and public media today: If you’ve considered making a donation to the station, now is the time to act.
If you’re an existing donor, consider increasing your monthly donation to the station: Your ongoing support will help keep KUNR strong and independent for years to come. Call KUNR at 775-327-5867 to get started.
What do my donated dollars go toward at KUNR Public Radio?
KUNR Public Radio is an FCC-licensed nonprofit organization that’s owned by the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents and is dedicated to continuously providing community news and information, celebrating local music and culture, and providing public safety services. The station was founded in October 1963 on the UNR campus, where we continue to operate to this day.
KUNR provides 24/7 programming on the air and online to more than 722,000 people in Northern Nevada and the Eastern Sierra for free. Our station includes KNCJ Nevada Classical & Jazz, the only classical and jazz music station in Reno- Sparks, as well as KNCC Elko, which provides all of KUNR’s programming plus locally produced, original broadcast journalism to Northeastern Nevada.
Today, KUNR operates on a $2,400,000 annual budget, which provides listeners like you with the news, entertainment, and community connection you’ve come to know and love.
This budget is divided between four major areas of the station: Newsroom; Broadcast; Management and Admin; and Operations. Here’s a closer look at how these funds are appropriated annually:
Broadcast and engineering: $125,000
- KUNR’s translators cover more than a dozen communities throughout a wide region in northern and eastern Nevada and northeastern California. Each translator, typically located at a mountain or high point near the community it serves, takes our main signal at 88.7 and “translates” it to a different assigned frequency, so people in other areas can listen.
- These translators need to be maintained, whether through technical engineering of frequencies or physical parts.
- Programming: $380,000
- Each of the shows you hear on KUNR FM, KNCJ FM, and KNCC FM are licensed to the stations annually. Through negotiations with our vendors, we’ve been able to reduce these costs, but it makes up a significant portion of our annual budget.
- KUNR also produces local programs that provide news about our community, promote dialogue among civic leaders, and highlight artists and performances in our area. That includes daily newscasts that air during the morning and afternoon rush hours, shows like Purple Politics Nevada with Lucia Starbuck, Al Aire con KUNR and the Biggest Little Concert Series.
- In addition, programming extends to the station’s public safety mission. KUNR uses infrastructure to serve the community and state with emergency alerting services, including alerts for major weather events, such as thunderstorms or blizzards, as well as wildfires.
- All editorial decisions about programming for our audience are made at the station by us — people who know and live in our community.
- Staff at KUNR: $1.8 million
- People make public media possible. Our team across KUNR, KNCJ, and KNCC is made up of 15 full-time staff — which includes journalists, on-air hosts and business support staff — as well as 12 part-time staff and interns. KUNR is deeply rooted in our community and committed to our public service mission, and prides itself on being a living laboratory for training the next generation of journalists.
- All editorial decisions about programming for our audience are made at the station by us — people who know and live in our community.
Grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting previously amounted to roughly $350,000 or 15% of our annual budget. With federal funding eliminated, there’s a challenging path ahead; if we’re unable to fill this funding gap, we’ll be forced to scale back the work we do that matters most.
While federal funding played an important role in KUNR’s budget, the most important piece of our financial future has always been — and always will be — the direct financial support we get from our listeners and community organizations.
Your recurring donation to the station will help prevent detrimental interruptions to our service and public mission right here in Northern Nevada and the Eastern Sierra:
We believe local support is by far the biggest reason we’re here today. It’s why we have a thriving news team and hosts to keep you informed about our state and community. It’s why we offer the region’s only classical music and jazz station with KNCJ. It’s why we’ve been serving Northern Nevada and the Eastern Sierra since 1963 from the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno.
I can’t make a donation at this time. Are there other ways I can support KUNR?
Your voice and advocacy matter. Here are some of the ways you can help support KUNR Public Radio today:
- Call our testimonial line at 775-682-6039 to share how KUNR has affected your life. You might hear your voice on air or digital!
- Share what KUNR means to you with family, friends, and neighbors: Whether it’s a personal sentiment, a link to a locally-produced story, or a tag on a social media post, you can help expand the reach of the station — which makes all the difference.
Join our newsletter community, which peels back the curtain on station operations, highlights community happenings, and recaps the latest stories produced by KUNR and regional partners.
- Follow us on social media to stay in the loop of local news coverage and the latest happenings at the station:
Stay tuned for additional content from KUNR staff throughout the month of October, such as behind-the-scenes interviews, further insight on station offerings, and more!