In this time of uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Blue Ridge Public Radio is expanding its efforts to connect, inform and engage with members of our diverse community. With a growing Spanish-speaking population throughout Western North Carolina, BPR sees an immediate need to provide reliable, fact-based reporting in the Spanish language.
The station is launching an online page with local news in Spanish. It can be found on the station’s website at BPR.org/Espanol, and also with the station’s free mobile app. BPR’s Morning Edition host Cass Herrington along with a Spanish language copy editor will report the latest local news, with a particular focus on public health and safety. “Journalism, at its best, is a mirror that reflects the surrounding community. This is just one step forward in that effort,” Herrington says.
“As a news department and a station, we have taken great steps over the past year to increase the diversity of not just those we feature, but also those we reach with our work,” says BPR news director Matt Bush. “Given current events, that has taken on a new urgency. This Spanish language service is a critical addition for the region we call home.” Community members are invited to connect and submit questions and story ideas to noticias@bpr.org.
Blue Ridge Public Radio is the NPR-affiliate station serving 17 counties in Western North Carolina and North Georgia. Western North Carolina Public Radio, Inc. (WNCPRI) operates Blue Ridge Public Radio and its two stations – BPR News and BPR Classic – as a community-based public radio network, committed to enhancing the quality of life in Western North Carolina by:
- Expanding listeners' horizons through new perspectives and listening experiences.
- Promoting the free and independent interchange of ideas and information.
- Enriching and reflecting the cultural climate, heritage and traditions of our region through classical and other music, and the arts.