Oregon Public Broadcasting
December 16, 2022
Amount Requested$10,000.00
7140 S Macadam Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97219
Michelle McCoy
Senior Philanthropy Advisor
Email hidden; Javascript is required.
- Species Conservation
- Carbon Reduction/Clean Energy
- Engender Dignity, Respect and Equality
- Broaden Perspectives Through Art, Culture, Literature or Extracurricular Experiences
Program Support
Oregon Public Broadcasting: giving voice to the community, connecting Oregon and its neighbors, illuminating a wider world.
$10,000.00
$511,992.00
$40,723,930.00
Yes
OPB’s science and environment coverage is the product of journalists working across our newsroom to highlight the most pressing issues, key scientific advances, and important innovations happening in our region.
Our coverage is driven by two collaborative teams. Beat reporters deliver daily coverage on climate change, wildfires, environmental justice, energy, natural resources, and more, while a team of multimedia producers creates in-depth, feature productions, such as Oregon Field Guide, All Science. No Fiction., and the award-winning Timber Wars podcast series.
Our science and environment reporters tell stories focused on ranching, farming, and forestry, as a well as the challenges facing residents of our region’s metropolitan centers. With transmitters in places like Enterprise, Burns, La Grande, and Lakeview, we reach a loyal rural audience and help generate conversations about everything from public lands policies to our energy future.
Beyond breaking and developing news stories, the Science and Environment team is excited to launch the second season of a brand-new science video series. Hosted by OPB’s first-ever Science reporter, Jes Burns, “All Science. No Fiction.” uses whimsy, curiosity, and fun to highlight the amazing work of Pacific Northwest scientists. The stories are about new marvels of technology, cutting edge solutions, inventions, and grand ideas that pass the “that’s cool!” test. Upcoming episode topics include:
• Healing Legos: What if tiny Lego-like building blocks could help people rebuild bone?
• Axial Seamount: What if there’s a way to predict volcano eruptions?
• Soil Microbes: What if soil microbes can help us eat fresh vegetables in space?
• Endometriosis: What if we could treat a painful condition by cooking the cause?
The guiding principle of OPB’s reporting on science, the environment, innovation, and discovery is simple: inspire wonder. We aim to carry on the legacy of public media as a leader in coverage of science and environment – while bringing a fresh approach for the digital age.
No specific population
Primarily OR and WA, in addition to nationwide audiences through online channels, NPR, and PBS.
1. Deliver expansive, deep, and diverse regional reporting on science, and the environment.
2. Equip journalists to report stories about science and the environment that connect with audiences on multiple platforms: online, social media, radio, and television.
3. Produce comprehensive enterprise reporting projects that explore one or more specific and timely science and environment issues from multiple angles.
OPB has been successful at accomplishing these objectives by developing a high-performing reporting team of journalists. Our journalists spend considerable time on the ground throughout the region, embedding themselves in communities to better understand the issues at hand. OPB’s team members have diverse backgrounds in audio production, videography, beat reporting, investigative and data journalism. By leveraging team members’ strengths and talents, we are able to deliver the very best in radio, television, and digital reporting. OPB’s Science and Environment reporters are able to contribute stories and provide analysis for audiences of Morning Edition, Think Out Loud, All Things Considered, Oregon Field Guide, and OPB.org.
OPB employs a number of tools to measure reach, engagement and impact. These include digital metrics tools such as Google Analytics, which measures page views and time spent on page for each of article. In addition, radio and television ratings services capture audience size for times of day when our stories air as well as for specific programs. OPB also tracks social media engagement such as likes, follows, shares, and views for our output on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
The diverse array of national and regional journalism prizes awarded to our journalists for their work is another, more qualitative measure of our impact. Science and Environment journalists and their content have been honored as among the best nationally and regionally when competing for radio/audio awards (the regional RTNDA/Edward R. Murrow awards), television/video (regional Emmy awards), print/text (the regional Society of Professional Journalists), topical reporting (the Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism and AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards), and digital (the Online News Association Online Journalism Awards).
07/01/2022
06/30/2023
Science and Environment investigative reporter Tony Schick began a successful partnership with ProPublica in 2019 that resulted in a series of high-impact, award winning reports on the timber industry. The collaboration with both ProPublica and the Oregonian leveraged Tony’s expertise and expanded the reach of his insightful reporting.
The series revealed the deep influence of the out-of-state timber corporations on small rural communities and their economies, environmental and tax policies, and state and local governance. This reporting revealed that the Oregon Forest Resources Institute was lobbying in violation of its charter and brought on an audit called for by Governor Kate Brown.
This year, Tony completed the final year of his partnership with ProPublica, with recent stories on salmon, tribal rights, and river health and contamination. Tony’s reporting revealed that, despite more than $2 billion in federal funds, plans to save salmon populations are falling behind. He later explored how the Bonneville Power Administration is contributing to the decline of salmon in the Northwest and offered a personal perspective on the racism and resilience that surrounds the salmon crisis.
Earlier this week, following OPB’s reporting, state and federal lawmakers called for environmental policy changes and increased funding to address toxic contamination in salmon. Although tribal members and researchers have been raising concerns about contamination for decades, federal and state governments have failed to consistently monitor the waters of the Columbia River Basin. Independent testing conducted by ProPublica and Oregon Public Broadcasting revealed levels of contaminants that, when consumed at average tribal rates, would be high enough to cause adverse health impacts. Senator Ron Wyden and Senator Jeff Merkeley said in released statements that they intend to support funding and other changes to restore the waters to healthy conditions.
OPB’s Science and Environment reporting is an ongoing effort.
Unapproved