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Northern New York�Poverty Beat Reporter

Providing in-depth coverage on the issue of poverty within the communities North Country Public Radio serves

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The Facts:

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People in the North Country �are living on the edge.

In the rural Adirondack-North Country region, almost one out of every five families lives �below the federal poverty level. ��Another 20-25% of households live one emergency or missed paycheck away from financial ruin.*

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* United Way’s ALICE households

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The Impact:

In addition to people living in poverty, the issue impacts service providers �in areas from health, education, housing, transportation and �social services.

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The Solution:

It’s high time the �North Country’s news organization of record �has a full-time reporter dedicated to untangling the web of poverty in the region.

Our region, and this “on the edge” �beat on poverty deserves better -- �a sustained commitment to build contacts and tell deeper stories.

Our reporter will be embedded in the communities we serve and use community engagement tools such as GroundSource to find the topics that need to be covered and tell the stories that need to be told.

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The Need:

North Country Public Radio is seeking to �fully fund this poverty beat for at least 3 years.

  • $50,000 per year for a total of $150,000�
  • Additional funding raised will make this position sustainable.

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The Results:

NCPR’s �poverty reporting will impact the communities and people we serve.

  • People living in poverty will have increased access to resources.�
  • Poverty will be on the regional public policy agenda.�
  • Better community awareness of the issue.�
  • Enhanced opportunities for collaboration with other regional media outlets and organization to greater influence robust coverage.

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The Proof:

Our news team took a solutions-based journalism approach to “flip the script” �on the lack of resources in our region in 2019.  �The result was our award-winning Piecing it Together series. 

Through the texting-based platform, GroundSource, NCPR was able to engage�the community in a conversation about how people use ingenuity and creativity to survive despite their economic obstacles.

The series received broad regional recognition, including from the Adirondack Foundation and the North Country Healthy Heart Network.

It won a regional Edward R. Murrow award and best series award from the Public Media Journalists Association (formerly PRNDI).

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NCPR has a proven track record of service to the North Country.

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How we’ll measure success:

  • Reach and visibility. NCPR’s stories will be broadcast to our huge geographic region and reach even further through our digital platforms.
  • Measurable increases in engagement. We aim for greater listener numbers, page views and story click-throughs and shares.
  • Increased user-generated content, thanks to more people enrolled in our texting club and participation in surveys to shape stories.
  • Seeing change at a policy-making level.

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NCPR will quantify the impact of our efforts by...