KDNK Doubles News Staff

January 21st, 2010 at 03:30pm Post Staff 43

Source: KDNK

KDNK hires second full time journalist

KDNK Community Radio in Carbondale has hired multimedia journalist Mathew Katz. Katz is KDNK’s third full-time employee, joining Station Manager Steve Skinner and News and Public Affairs Director Conrad Wilson.

“We held some think tanks and did some pondering with community members. What emerged is that it is more important than ever for the community to have a voice and a source of in-depth local news on the radio,” said Skinner.

“Mat’s job is to cover crucial local issues in-depth. His multimedia experience will help us project and preserve the stories online in a very dynamic way,” he added.

Katz is from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He spent the past year and a half living in Manhattan, completing a Masters at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, working at the BBC, reporting for NPR's Planet Money, and freelancing for a variety of publications. Katz has had work published in the Toronto Star, Torontoist, the Village Voice, Streetsblog, and the Huffington Post. His radio stories have appeared on NPR and the BBC's World Service.

Katz has traveled to Northern Ireland to report on religious unity in the wake of IRA shootings, roamed the halls of the United Nations to ask Nobel-winning economists why third-world debt is such a tricky issue, and been forced to freestyle while reporting at an underground hip-hop concert in the Bronx. He's thrilled to bring his quirky brand of in-depth reporting to KDNK.

During February, Katz will debut a month-long series of reports on the history of the area from the Ute Indians, to the silver miners to the immigrants to the transportation designers and more. The reports will air Monday through Friday from 7:50-8:00 a.m. and will be posted online at kdnk.org.

"I'm excited to be able to tell the stories of the valley, and I'm grateful to KDNK for allowing me to put in the time that each story deserves," said Katz.

KDNK’s commitment to local news coverage has grown over the past year. In his first year as News and Public Affairs Director, Conrad Wilson filed daily reports, orchestrated coverage of the Colorado legislature, partnered with the Sopris Sun to create the “Weekly News Brief” and partnered with High Country News and others in the region. Local news is part of the broader broadcast offering which includes NPR’s Morning Edition and “All Things Considered” and Pacifica Radio’s “Democracy Now!”.

“Mat gives us an opportunity to cover the kind of stories that are going to resonate with residents of the Roaring Fork Valley. Mat’s experience with national and international news organizations will elevate our coverage and help us serve more listeners,” said Wilson.

KDNK is on the air in the Roaring Fork Valley and the Colorado River corridor at 88.1, 88.3 and 88.5 FM. KDNK’s mission is to provide public access radio that connects community members to one another and the world.

Entry Filed under: Carbondale, Colorado, Radio