| The Environment Report was established to meet the need for more and better coverage of the environment for public radio stations. In 1993, a diverse group of public radio outlets began planning for an environmental news service to help redefine environmental reporting in the Great Lakes region. National Public Radio’s Living on Earth, Michigan Public Radio, and the Superior Radio Network partnered together to develop the structure for this weekly news service. The goal was to establish a news feed of high-quality environmental features that could be inserted into the local news programming of public radio stations. In September of 1995, The Environment Report's predecessor, the Great Lakes Radio Consortium (GLRC), produced its first environmental news feed for public radio stations. At that time the news service was based at the studios of Michigan Public Radio in East Lansing, MI and was carried by 23 stations.
In April, 1996, the news service moved to the studios of Michigan Radio in Ann Arbor. Over the next couple of years, the GLRC began to grow and to earn industry respect. By the end of 1996, 50 stations were carrying the service. In 1997, the GLRC began to be noticed around the country by winning 8 national awards. These awards led to greater station carriage as well as a bigger crop of station-based producers.
In the summer of 2006, the GLRC became known as The Environment Report. The name change reflected the organization's expanding list of participating stations as well as its expanded coverage of environmental issues.
Today, the news service has won more than 90 state, national, and international awards for journalistic excellence. The service is carried by more than 160 stations in 18 states and reaches millions of listeners across the country.
The Environment Report is co-managed by Senior Editor, Lester Graham, and Senior Producer, Mark Brush. Rebecca Williams and Julie Grant serve as the program’s main producers.
The success of The Environment Report would not have been possible without generous financial
support from several key organizations. The Joyce Foundation,
the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation,
and the George Gund Foundation were all on board at the start.
This service would not have been possible without their exceptional vision and leadership.
Additional support from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation and the
United States Department of Agriculture
Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service has continued to be a cornerstone of our growth. We look forward to continued success in providing high quality environmental news to public radio stations around the nation.
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Mission & History
Awards
