"At New Hampshire Public Radio we understand that local news is important to all New Hampshire citizens, as is a shared sense of community. Our listeners deserve the highest quality of journalism that reflects the highest editorial standards. News is a public service, not a profit center, and because it is, we have built a first-rate news operation where independence, credibility, and respect are our core values. This campaign represents more than bricks and mortar; it is about creating a place where NHPR can grow and thrive. Where important stories can be recorded and reported. We are building for the future."
William L. Chapman
Chair
The Campaign For
New Hampshire Public Radio |
Today NHPR has 35 full-time employees, 21 of whom are devoted to covering the news across the state. Currently, producers, reporters, editors, announcers and engineers work in cramped cubicles. Finding an available studio is always a challenge. An office was recently converted into a much-needed makeshift studio, but recording must stop whenever a car goes up the drive or a delivery truck idles outside the studio windows. Because there is simply not enough production space to meet current demands, the development of new programming and the hiring of additional news and production staff are on hold.
Further, NHPR broadcasts from small, aging studios designed 14 years ago in the era of LP albums, cassette tapes and analog audio. Computers are the mainstay of NHPR's operations. Computer-based production and programming require significantly different kinds of space and building infrastructure than those designed in 1991. Electrical and audio wiring, air-conditioning systems, and space for equipment, storage, and archiving are at or beyond capacity. The two rooms that house critical broadcast equipment are cooled in part by large window fans placed on the floor because the air-conditioning systems cannot handle the heat loads. Extension cords trail across floors and around rooms to reach open, available circuits.
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