New Hampshire Public Radio will partner with NPR and public radio stations across the country in StateImpact, a local-national journalism initiative to report on the impact of state government on citizens and communities. NHPR’s investigation into the impact on business and the economy began in July 2011 and will result in expanded coverage on air and on line. The StateImpact NH blog http://stateimpact.npr.org/new-hampshire/ has grown to receive more than 90,000 unique page views in its first six months.
StateImpact NH explores the impact of federal, state and local legislation on the economic health of our state. NHPR is collaborating with the NH Center for Public Policy Studies and the Southern New Hampshire University School of Business to collect and analyze data, conduct research and reach out to local businesses. SNHU also provided a grant to help launch the initiative.
The initiative was launched with a grant from Southern New Hampshire University. “The SNHU School of Business is excited to partner with NHPR for the StateImpact project focused on New Hampshire business and the economy. The State Impact project is intended to provide in-depth news review and analysis specifically directed towards business in the state,” said SNHU School of Business Dean William Gillett. “The faculty and students at the SNHU School of Business are both quite knowledgeable and very interested in enterprise in New Hampshire, creating a natural partnership in which we benefit from a news-centered analysis with the resources and knowledge to go beyond the headlines to give New Hampshire’s citizens an opportunity to better understand the dynamics and forces that are shaping business in the economy of the state.”
In summer 2011, NHPR hired Amanda Loder to serve as correspondent for StateImpact NH. Loder, an investigative journalist , worked previously with Spokane Public Radio in Washington State. Her work on StateImpact NH is featured primarily on an extensive website offering original reporting, curated content, live blogging and a place for conversation. The StateImpact NH site is linked to a national hub at www.stateimpact.npr.org http://stateimpact.npr.org/new-hampshire/maps/home-health-pay-and-overtime-policies-by-state/ . Additional StateImpact NH stories are currently provided by NHPR's Concord-based news tema including Rachel Gotbaum and Dan Gorenstein.
The news team is assisted by NHPR Online Editor Courtney Cania and by NHPR’s VP for News and Digital Media, John Forcucci. StateImpact NH is supported by the national StateImpact desk, with editorial coordinators Ken Rudin, senior NPR Washington political editor, and Elise Hu, who came to NPR from the Texas Tribune. NPR serves as a central editorial and technical resource, enabling NHPR and public radio stations in every state to work collaboratively with one another to develop stories and share content on common issues, and identify national trends. Essentially StateImpact takes the extensive resources of a national news organization and applies them to the local level.
“New Hampshire residents are uniquely engaged in the governance of our local communities, state and nation, and are deeply concerned about access to information about state and local government decision-making,” notes Betsy Gardella, NHPR’s President and CEO. “From our large state legislature, to the highly participatory town meeting model to the effects of state and federal budget cuts, expanded coverage of the impact of government on business and the economy is an important resource for NHPR listeners and the entire state. NHPR’s participation in the StateImpact initiative continues our commitment to increase local reporting and unique service to New Hampshire
In addition to New Hampshire, other StateImpact pilot projects are occurring in Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas. NHPR and the other partners are participating in a two-year pilot phase. NPR will invite applications from additional public radio stations and states to join the project this fall, with the goal of eventually providing editorial resources and reporters in all 50 states.
Several foundations, corporations and individual donors made philanthropic contributions to NPR and partner stations in support of StateImpact: including the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Ethics & Excellence in Journalism Foundation, the Florida College Access Network, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Melville Charitable Trust, the Open Society Foundations, the William and Salomé Scanlan Foundation of Austin and San Antonio, and The Wallace Foundation. These grants fund the planning and launch phases. NHPR is actively working with NPR to seek additional funding for the overall initiative, and identify local and regional matching funds. NHPR’s local funders include the SNHU School of Business and anonymous individual donors.
About NHPR
Since 1981, NHPR has shaped the media landscape in the Granite State and beyond. Our mission is to help create a more informed public, one challenged and enriched by a deeper understanding and appreciation of state, national, and world events, ideas, and culture. NHPR is broadcast from twelve different sites, making it by far New Hampshire’s largest (and only) statewide radio news service. Every week NHPR is the choice of more than 172,000 listeners as a primary source of in-depth and intelligent news coverage. Each day New Hampshire Public Radio delivers several hours of local news reported by NHPR’s award-winning News Department, as well as national and world news from NPR and the BBC. NHPR is the exclusive outlet for NPR News in New Hampshire.
