There’s been no shortage of national headlines and conversations surrounding public media, and NPR in particular. As southeast Wisconsin’s local public radio news station, we are deeply connected to our community and also proudly affiliated with NPR and other public media organizations, and we think it’s important to share more about what that affiliation means to our mission and public service.
Long before NPR hit the national airwaves, public radio got its start right here in Wisconsin; our state is widely recognized as the birthplace of public broadcasting in the United States.
In 1917, University of Wisconsin professors began experimenting with radio as a tool for public education and a means to extend the Wisconsin Idea. The belief that broadcasting could serve the public good became the foundation for the entire public media system.
We’re incredibly proud of that legacy. In 1970, as a young station inspired by the public radio movement that began in our state, WUWM became a charter affiliate member, founding the National Public Radio Network.
The goal was simple but powerful: local stations would remain independent, but by pooling resources — and with support from the newly created Corporation for Public Broadcasting — we could deliver deeper, more thoughtful national and international journalism than any single station could create alone, and that it would be freely accessible for all Americans.
With your support, we pay annual programming fees to broadcast shows like Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Fresh Air, and many others provided by NPR. Through our partnership, we are also able to reach audiences through the NPR Network and the ability to publish and market our content through their digital and podcasting platforms.
We also partner with other public media distributors like American Public Media, PRX and WNYC to provide 24-hour access to some of the best national and international journalism and cultural programming available anywhere, with no paywall.
As we have always been, WUWM is locally owned and operated as a broadcast service of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. Our content team operates with our own set of journalistic ethics and editorial standards, and NPR and our other broadcasting partners have theirs. These are informed by the spirit of public service and commonly shared journalistic principles.
Over the decades, we have grown together to become a vital source of news, culture and context. And because of this partnership and model of public broadcasting, stations like ours share and contribute to the work of our national broadcast partners. This is why you frequently hear WUWM reporters like Maayan Silver and Chuck Quirmbach on NPR newscasts and shows, bringing a little bit of our award-winning, local content team and our Milwaukee region to a national audience.
Together, public media offers something different. In a highly fragmented media landscape, with many outlets driven by the demand for shareholder profit, public broadcasting is owned and powered by you to provide a source for fact-based reporting, civil discourse, and smart conversation that prioritizes understanding over noise.
What makes us unique is that the NPR Network and other public broadcasting partnerships allow us to connect, engage, and inspire our listeners by drawing from more than 1000 local outlets to share stories about how news of the day impacts individuals across the country, helping us all understand and navigate a complex world with clarity and care.
Interested in learning how you can support the station and this incredible partnership?
- Join Protect My Public Media coalition to stay up to date for opportunities to take action.
- Engage with us. Listen on-air, online or on our app. Share your thoughts by emailing us at wuwm@uwm.edu. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get any news you might have missed and follow us on social media at @wuwmradio for updates throughout the week.
- Become a member. Community support from listeners and local businesses make up over 80% of our funding, ensuring that we can continue to serve the community, however, only 10% of our listeners donate. If you haven’t already, now is the time.
