KUNR Public Radio is proud to announce the launch of Al Aire (On Air), the station's first Spanish-language news segment that will air every Friday during Morning Edition and All Things Considered, beginning March 1, 2024.
The brief newscast will be hosted by KUNR reporter Maria Palma. Each week, Palma will deliver a Spanish-language recap of the region's most important news stories. The newscast will also be delivered via KUNR’s Spanish-language WhatsApp newsletter, Tu Voz, and on KUNR’s Facebook page
"As a bilingual reporter, my commitment has always been to deliver information in both languages,” Palma said. “I am happy to be able to bring this project to fruition. I believe it is essential to provide the Spanish-speaking community with information they can trust, especially since Latinos represent almost 30% of Nevada's population."
Al Aire was developed by managing editor Vicki Adame as a project for a fellowship through the Poynter Institute for journalism.
“Al Aire is the product of months of planning. Having covered the Latino and Spanish speaking communities throughout my career, I know the importance of making sure everyone knows what is happening in the community they live in. Al Aire will help us accomplish just that,” Adame said. “The weekly segment is just the beginning and as it grows, we plan to add exclusive content for our Spanish-speaking and Latino audience.”
Al Aire is one of KUNR's continued efforts to provide bilingual journalism to the community.
In 2017, KUNR started offering bilingual reporting in partnership with the Reynolds School of Journalism’s Noticiero Móvil, a faculty-run, bilingual student newsroom at the University of Nevada, Reno.
In 2018 and 2021, KUNR and Noticiero Móvil won National Edward R. Murrow Awards for bilingual programming and COVID-19 pandemic coverage.
“As a public radio station, our mission is to serve our entire community,” KUNR General Manager Brian Duggan said. “With our first-ever Spanish-language newscast, we intend to expand access to quality and credible journalism for anyone who calls Northern Nevada and the Eastern Sierra home.”
Listen to Al Aire every Friday at 8:44 a.m. and 5:44 p.m. and on Sunday at 4:30 p.m.