WBHM to bring Birmingham’s voices to national NPR audiences through ‘1A Remaking America’

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WBHM is happy to announce that it will bring more stories from the Heart of Alabama to the national audience of the daily weekday newsmagazine program 1A through 1A Remaking America. A two-year collaborative effort, 1A Remaking America will examine the local causes and effects of a nationally growing distrust in institutions. This project will build off the trailblazing work of 1A Across America and continue the deep local reporting that WBHM began in 2018.

The 1A Remaking America collaborative project is supported by a $750,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and will be spearheaded by WAMU 88.5, Washington’s NPR station and the station that produces 1A. Over the course of two years, WBHM and six other public media stations will be an editorial partner to WAMU – the WBHM news team will work closely with 1A’s production team to source stories, conduct live broadcasts and events, produce collaborative content and elevate local journalism.

“We have enjoyed working with 1A in the past, so we jumped at the chance to do it again,” said Andrew Yeager, WBHM’s managing editor. “I’m glad WBHM can help elevate voices from Birmingham to be a part of a national conversation.”

WAMU selected the several partner public media stations, including WBHM, because of their deep community ties. Additionally, each participating station’s community continues to grapple with the pandemic and polarized politics. 1A Remaking America will provide a platform for nuanced, diverse issues and concerns from the Birmingham area to be brought to 1A’s 4.5 million weekly listeners on more than 440 NPR stations.

“We’re thrilled for this support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as we work to explore what’s transpiring in local communities and impacting our democracy in partnership with our public media colleagues,” said Erika Pulley-Hayes, general manager of WAMU/DCist. “As a pillar of public media, CPB support recognizes the merit of this work and the value of dialogue between local communities and national content creators. We look forward to deepening our relationship with them and our partnering stations over the next two years.”

1A Remaking America can be heard live on-air weekdays from 9 to 10 a.m., on-demand via 1A’s podcast and found on the1A.org.

Q&A

What is 1A Remaking America?

1A Remaking America is a two-year reporting collaboration funded through a grant from The Corporation for Public Broadcasting. WBHM has partnered with WAMU 88.5, Washington’s NPR station and the station that creates and distributes 1A, to produce collaborative content and elevate local journalism examining the lasting impacts of the pandemic and the growing political divides within the country.

What other public media stations are participating in 1A Remaking America?

Participating stations include:

• KVPR – NPR for Central California (Fresno)
• WBHM 90.3 – NPR News for the Heart of Alabama (Birmingham)  
• KUNC – NPR for Northern Colorado (Greeley) 
• KMUW Wichita (Kansas)
• Louisville Public Media (LPM) (Kentucky)
• KUT News – Austin’s NPR member station (Texas)]

How can I engage with 1A Remaking America?

Tune into 1A on weekdays from 9 to 10 a.m. to hear the latest 1A Remaking America segments. You can also follow 1A on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and through the 1A Text Club by texting “1A” to 1-844-777-7050. Certain 1A segments are also available in podcast form each week. You can find the 1A podcast on NPR.org or your favorite podcast streaming platform. 

When will the events start and can I attend one?

The events supporting 1A Remaking America are still in development. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to change, all 1A Remaking America events will be held online and will be a space for local communities to gather and discuss the issues that matter most to them. When the pandemic allows for in-person gatherings again, 1A Remaking America will transition to live, in-person events held across the country. More details about this will be available in the coming months.