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Thursday, March 20, 2025

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'Woefully insufficient': Federal judge accuses Justice Department of evading 'obligations' to comply with deportation flights request; WA caregivers rally against Medicaid cuts; NM's state methane regulations expected to thwart federal rollbacks; Governor, critics call out 'boilerplate' bills from WY 2025 session.

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Trump faces legal battles over education cuts, immigration actions, and moves by DOGE. Farmers struggle with USDA freezing funds. A Georgetown scholar fights deportation, and Virginia debates voter roll purges ahead of elections.

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Cuts to Medicaid and frozen funding for broadband are both likely to have a negative impact on rural healthcare, which is already struggling. Plus, lawsuits over the mass firing of federal workers have huge implications for public lands.

Who are we?

Public News Service is an independent, member-supported news organization and Certified B Corporation committed to increasing awareness of and engagement with critical public interest issues by reporting and delivering credible journalism and media packages through a network of independent state newswires. Our journalists report on a broad spectrum of public interest topics in order to amplify stories on a local level and promote an informed citizenry to support vibrant, equitable, and participatory communities – ultimately leading to a healthier democracy. We work with a range of organizations – nonprofits, foundations, social enterprises – and individuals that help "Fund-A-Beat," to report on critical issues that receive too little coverage, lift up voices that often go unheard in the media, and make greater journalistic breadth available to broadcasters and publishers on any platform. Our unique, solutions-oriented, and locally-focused reporting and collaborative approach to distribution brings public interest news to audiences across geographic and political divides.

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More than 85% of listeners consider radio to be a creditable source of news, more than any other source.

 

So how does PNS harness the power of radio?

 

How We Work

Public News Service is a national newswire with a local focus. Through a network of state-based bureaus, PNS reports state-level, public interest news and seeks to help the everyday American answer the question, "how does this news impact me today?" Public News Service stories are used across a spectrum of local media: on the radio, on TV news, in your favorite blog, or in the newspaper – helping PNS stories reach audiences who might not otherwise have access to public interest news.

As an independent news organization, we know how hard it is to inform Americans about critical policy issues. More Americans trust local news than mainstream sources – but that’s where high-quality reporting is often in short supply. That's where we come in.

Every day, Public News Service distributes free stories across the country, with a reach that spans the largest newsrooms to the smallest local outlets. We distribute our reporting to more than 10,000 media outlets each day to use on their own platforms. Each of our stories includes a print/web version with photos and graphics, audio files from our producers, a broadcast script for media personnel to read on air, and source information/contacts for local reporters to pursue interviews on their own. PNS reporting is consumed on thousands of radio, print, and TV outlets every year. Below is an example of the types of outlets that pickup our content:

How does our Fund-A-Beat model work?

Any organization can pledge support for Public News Service reporting with the understanding that they are helping to fund independent journalism committed to the public interest. Support can be earmarked for reporting on specific issue categories, and foundations, nonprofits, and other organizations can support our reporting through membership, grants, or charitable donations.

It's not about reaching your core audience; it's about expanding to new ones.

You're the experts; let a PNS expert journalist amplify your work and increase your media placement capabilities. The Fund-A-Beat model works as a cooperative model to develop local news: our supporters’ passion and expertise drives the issues that need coverage, and our journalists develop original independent journalism to broaden public awareness. On a day-to-day basis, our journalists link with hundreds of NGOs who share our goal of creating compelling news that fosters social awareness and change. Click here to learn more about how you can be part of our mission, or email outreach@publicnewsservice.org for more information.

"You talk about issues that affect real communities, and you just don't get that in the news. The fact that it is not sensationalist is what makes it so important because you focus on real issues."

- Rove Anastasio-Bourke, former Annie E. Casey Program Officer


"Public News Service rocks!!! Their staff are consummate professionals, objective and nuanced. We think it is worth supporting PNS with our annual membership, and we have never been disappointed."

- David Elliot, Communication Director, Coalition for Human Needs


Collaborations

As media bubbles continue to solidify, reaching large diverse audiences with public interest news is increasingly challenging. As local outlets are forced to shut their doors, valuable local reporting is lost, and communities are vulnerable to dis-information. Nonprofit news outlets try to fill the void but often struggle to engage new and broad audiences. Instead, outlets end up “preaching to the choir” by reaching smaller, already-engaged audiences. As a result, nonprofit outlets’ reporting flies under the radar for many Americans. To bring nonprofit reporting to more people, we partner with nonprofit investigative outlets to repackage and “audio-ize” their digital stories into multiple formats to distribute to the thousands of media outlets connected to the PNS newswire. Our journalists work with partner outlets’ original reporters to transform their investigative work into multi-format, multi-element stories (broadcast scripts, different length soundbites, graphics, and print/online pieces), and each story element is distributed across PNS’ state newswires so other media outlets can use the story–bringing the content to millions of listeners and readers, many of whom are passive news listeners who wouldn’t seek out this content on their own.

Public News Service was founded in Idaho in 1996 by Lark Corbeil, a long-time journalist who came from Reuters. After noticing the severe shortages in the scope and depth of local news, PNS pioneered the "Fund-A-Beat" model and launched the first ever radio-serving state newswire. Over the last nearly 30 years, PNS has grown one state at a time, recruiting experienced journalists to establish a national network for state-level public interest news.

Public News Service is made up of a close-knit team of committed journalists and long-time nonprofit staffers. On a day-to-day basis, our team connects with hundreds of grassroots organizations who keep us informed on a cross-cutting range of social justice, environmental, and economic issues. Our journalists are broadcast veterans whose credits include the New York Times, NPR, and major networks and dailies across the country.

All original Public News Service stories can be used for free, if you credit and link to us. All rights remain with PNS, and our material may not be resold. Photos may be used only with the PNS story they accompany, with proper credit. Any article on the PNS site originally published by a different outlet must credit and link back to that original outlet. Click here to sign up to republish stories, or reach us at outreach@publicnewsservice.org for more information.

Contact Us

PO Box 40143
St. Paul, MN 55104
Phone: 303.448.9105
Toll free: 888.891.9416
Fax: 208.247.1830

Complete Staff List

Joshua Wise
Managing Director
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Mary Schuermann Kuhlman
Managing Editor
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Chris Thomas
News Director
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Kathryn Pardo
Director of Operations
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Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021