Carbondale community access radio station KDNK will play host to award-winning broadcast journalist Kirk Siegler, National Public Radio’s (NPR) national correspondent for the West, at the Crystal Theatre on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 6:30pm. Longtime Roaring Fork Valley journalist Amy Hadden Marsh will moderate a discussion with Siegler, after which there will be a question-and-answer period with the audience. Money raised will benefit the KDNK news department.
Siegler is no stranger to Colorado, having come to the Valley two decades ago to work at KAJX in Aspen, followed by a stint at KUNC in Greely. In 2012, he joined NPR at its facility in Culver City, California, becoming a roving reporter for the West. In 2019, he helped establish the network’s first Idaho news bureau in Boise, where he has lived since.
In a recent conversation with The Sopris Sun, Siegler mentioned how much of his work is “breaking news” reporting, rushing from disaster to disaster (e.g. wildfires, hurricanes). He disparagingly called it “parachute journalism,” lamenting that “it’s difficult to get the really full story.” He has appreciated that NPR has given him the opportunity to do much more in-depth coverage.
A notable example was his reporting in the aftermath of 2018’s Camp Fire in northern California that destroyed several towns, including Paradise. Siegler spent several months following up with the former residents, “keep[ing] Paradise in the news,” and pursuing questions like whether the town should be rebuilt in the same location, given the odds of another major fire in the area. Citing what he called “survivor’s guilt” (reporters like him who come in, do their stories and then leave for their safe homes), he said that he wanted to “let the [NPR] audience know that we understand and empathize” with the victims.
Siegler grew up in Missoula, Montana and is a University of Colorado Boulder graduate. He has a great affinity for the outdoors, which is reflected in his numerous stories on climate change and the natural environment. In 2022, he was awarded a United Nations fellowship to report how deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest was affecting climate change. Many of his stories this year have been focused on issues related to the Trump administration’s approach to managing Western public lands.
KDNK Station Manager Megan Passmore told The Sun, “This is our first fundraiser for the news department. I’m super excited that he’s making the trip to hang out in Carbondale!”
KDNK News Director Marilyn Gleason echoed Passmore’s enthusiasm, noting that the fundraiser is “an especially good idea after losing federal support.” She also cited Marsh’s efforts to make the event happen and to secure Siegler’s participation.
As has been widely reported, the spending bill passed by Congress this summer eliminated previously allocated revenue for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). This forced it to shut down and meant that no federal funding for public broadcasting was forthcoming. KDNK was scheduled to receive $174,000 — 27% of its operating budget.
Gleason said that while KDNK is managing financially right now (it just completed a successful membership campaign), “Long term, we will have to make up [the revenue loss] with more contributions from major donors … or shrink a bit.” The latter would be unfortunate, she lamented, having seen the station grow over the last 25 years she’s been associated with it.
Both Gleason and Siegler weighed in on the loss of federal funding. Siegler noted, “Smaller NPR stations are in a real bind,” especially local newsrooms “that are being hollowed out.” Private donations help in the short term, he said, “But what happens if there is an economic downturn? Will donations go away?”
Gleason noted that there are a dozen small stations in Colorado’s Third Congressional District, represented by Republican Jeff Hurd, “that are really impacted by shutting down the CPB.” By voting for the spending bill, “Hurd hurt the communities the radio stations serve,” she said.
Finally, when Siegler was asked if he has felt any pressure because of the current political climate, the answer was an emphatic, “No. I have not felt pressure of any significance.” He did note, however, that people have been somewhat more reluctant to talk with him, apparently fearing possible backlash. He immediately countered that, though, describing visiting the site of Charlie Kirk’s shooting in Utah the day after the attack. He encountered a man who had been “in the line of fire” and was visibly shaken and traumatized but who opened up to Siegler and said, “This can’t keep happening.”
Tickets for the event (with discounts for KDNK members) on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 6:30pm at the Crystal Theatre can be found at www.tinyurl.com/SieglerKDNK