Building Stronger Communities

NHPR’s 40th Anniversary Recap: Celebrating Four Decades of Service

On June 22, NHPR capped off its 40th Anniversary celebrations with a combination in-person/Zoom event. NHPR personalities, producers, reporters, board members and supporters from throughout our four decades came together to honor our origins, celebrate our current news and podcast offerings and look at where we’re heading.

Susan Zankel, Board Chair, welcomed attendees and Jim Schachter, President and Chief Executive Officer, recalled NHPR's beginnings as WEVO and the pioneering work made possible by founder Lou Dumont. Schachter thanked current and former board members for their decades of service and introduced a message from board member Graham “Gray” Chynoweth, whose father was another founder. 

Emcees Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice, hosts of NHPR’s award-winning podcast, Civics 101, led a panel discussion with Sam Fleming, former reporter and the first NHPR host of Morning Edition, Margaret Landsman, former on-air reporter/producer, and Kate McNally, a 27-year NHPR veteran and current host of The Folk Show. The three recalled the excitement of being part of something new, along with the challenges of growing and maintaining the integrity of such a small station. Michael Brindley, former NHPR Program Director, and Rebecca Lavoie, NHPR Director of On-Demand Audio, spoke of evolving trends in our audience and public media.

As he closed the event, Schachter noted, “This is how we’ll fulfill our vision: through trustworthy journalism, NHPR will enrich lives and help build stronger communities in New Hampshire and beyond.” You can watch the entire event here.

Exploring NH - Give Back New Hampshire, the Weekender, Radio Field Trips

In 2022 NHPR launched three new products to serve our listeners and strengthen communities. Give Back New Hampshire, a bi-weekly segment that spotlights nonprofit organizations across the state. We know every nonprofit has a unique story to tell. Give Back New Hampshire brings attention to the mission, needs and challenges of meaningful work happening throughout NH.

We saw tremendous interest in the new Weekender, NHPR's free e-newsletter on what's happening each weekend in the Granite State and the accompanying radio segment. The Weekender is hosted and edited by NHPR's community engagement producer Zoey Knox with an eye on all kinds of intriguing and diverse happenings.

After a pandemic hiatus, NHPR brought back Morning Edition Radio Field Trips. In this series, host Rick Ganley gets out of the studio to explore and find joy and adventure across NH. We started with the untraditional activity of winter surfing at Hampton Beach and ended up hiking with bunnies, rescuing bears and foraging for wild mushrooms.

Building Civic Strength: ​​Community Conversations with Laura Knoy

What’s at the heart of civic strength? What can we do to best prepare ourselves and our youth to take on the responsibilities of participation in a democratic society? What does active citizenship look like today? Questions such as these were topics of discussion at the Building Civic Strength community forums hosted around the state. The program invited the public to join a conversation with panels of speakers. In partnership with NH Civics, the series fostered discussions on how democracy works, how to find the facts, and how to be good and active citizens. 

The events were all produced as special hour-long broadcasts that aired on NHPR. Listen to the sessions from around the state to hear Granite Staters’ thoughts on how people and communities can act now to build back our civic strength. 

March 15 at the Franklin Opera House, Franklin

April 5 at Franklin Pierce University, Rindge

April 19 at the Nashua Public Library, Nashua

May 3 at the Rochester Opera House, Rochester 

May 17 at Berlin City Hall, Berlin

Banner Photo: A candlelight vigil for the victims of the Texas elementary school shooting was held at Prescott Park in Portsmouth, N.H. Photo by Gaby Lozada.