News Release

North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC
secures site for new Greensboro bureau

CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC, a service of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, today announced plans to develop a Greensboro news bureau.

The station has agreed to partner with Triad Stage, the award-winning regional theater company in Greensboro’s downtown cultural district, to build a production studio and office on the top floor of the theater company’s building at 232 S. Elm St.        

“Greensboro and the Triad as a whole are experiencing significant growth, raising important issues that affect other parts of our state,” said Joan Siefert Rose, general manager of North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC. “Our audience in the Triad is 41,000 listeners, second only to the audience we serve in the Triangle. Establishing a news bureau in Greensboro will allow us to better serve this important audience by enhancing the depth and breadth of our coverage of this region, and incorporating that coverage into our flagship news and interview programs.”

The Greensboro news bureau will be staffed initially by one full-time reporter. It will enable the station to provide in-depth reporting on the Triad’s changing economy, health care, education, environment and culture. The station will integrate these issues into overall coverage of North Carolina – both on news broadcasts and on station-produced shows such as “The State of Things” and “The Story with Dick Gordon.”

The station already has demonstrated its commitment to enhance its service to the Triad listening community through partnerships with two programs at Guilford College. The station is a media sponsor for the college’s Bryan Lecture Series and for its annual Eastern Music Festival, broadcasting folk and bluegrass concerts to North Carolina Public Radio’s entire listening audience on “Back Porch Music.”

The target date for renovations to begin on the currently unfinished space is late 2007. The station’s space will include state-of-the-art production facilities, including a high-tech link to file reports with North Carolina Public Radio’s studios in Chapel Hill and Durham and with NPR programs nationally. The studio will be adjacent to a busy pedestrian walkway, giving passersby an opportunity to watch radio being made.

The start of construction is tied to the success of fundraising efforts by the station for the new studio. Triad Stage also will seek funds for additional performance and rehearsal space that will share the floor. Establishing a Greensboro news bureau is one of the priorities for The Capital Campaign for North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC, a 3 ½-year, $3.25 million fundraising effort. The station aims to raise $125,000 to build and staff the Greensboro news bureau; $65,000 has been raised to date.

“In our discussions with Triad community leaders, many encouraged us to partner with a like-minded organization,” Rose said. “Triad Stage is a dynamic theater company that also has a strong commitment to serve the regional community. We are excited about the potential for collaborations such as jointly sponsored performances that can be broadcast on “Back Porch Music” or on our other shows, and about contributing to efforts to develop Greensboro’s downtown cultural district.”

Since opening in 2002, the not-for-profit Triad Stage has produced and performed professional live theater in downtown Greensboro and has received local, state, and national recognition for its work. Launched by Yale drama school graduates Richard Whittington and Preston Lane, Triad Stage has produced 36 shows, including eight world premieres, and has served as both a significant catalyst and anchor for downtown Greensboro’s continuing revitalization. 

“We are thrilled that North Carolina Public Radio has chosen to partner with Triad Stage on their Greensboro satellite studio,” said Whittington, Triad Stage’s managing director. “The space will become an integral part of the continued development of our facility and the partnership will enable us to further showcase Triad Stage and our productions throughout North Carolina.”

North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC is a broadcast service of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It operates a five-station radio network serving listeners in communities from Greensboro to the Outer Banks and producing programs including “The State of Things,” “The Story with Dick Gordon,” “The People’s Pharmacy” and “Back Porch Music.” North Carolina Public Radio’s news and information format broadcasts at 91.5 FM in the Triangle and Triad, at 90.9 FM in Rocky Mount/Wilson, and at 88.9 FM along the Outer Banks.

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North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC contact: Joan Siefert Rose, (919) 445-9150, jsrose@wunc.org