Dear friend of WKAR,
This month, our country celebrates 250 years of independence. It's a milestone that invites reflection — not just on how far we've come, but on the ideas that got us here.
Among those ideas: that a free press is essential to a free people. That an informed citizenry is the foundation of self-government. And that access to knowledge shouldn't depend on your zip code or your ability to pay.
These weren't afterthoughts for the founding generation. Freedom of the press was enshrined in the First Amendment. Thomas Jefferson, writing just years after the Constitution was ratified, argued that democracy itself depended on public access to information — that an educated public was the only safeguard against tyranny. That conviction shaped early public investments in libraries, land-grant universities like Michigan State University, and eventually, public broadcasting.
Public media stations like WKAR were built on that same premise: that some things — trustworthy local journalism, educational programming, emergency information — are too important to be available only to some.
This July also marks one year since Congress voted to eliminate federal funding for public broadcasting. It's a decision that has forced stations across the country — including WKAR — to rethink how we sustain the work we do. That work hasn't changed: we are committed to local news coverage that no one else provides, to educational content for children and lifelong learners, and to being a trusted space in an increasingly fractured media landscape. What has changed is who makes it all possible and sustains it over time.
Increasingly, the answer is you — and we don't take that lightly. Federal funding is gone, and we’re not holding our breath waiting for it to come back. We’re focused on a future where WKAR is sustained by our community, for our community. That means we’re going to work to earn every contribution to WKAR. Whether it’s a one-time five-dollar donation, a monthly gift, an endowment, or a commitment to include WKAR in your estate planning, it all matters. Preserving that 250-year-old idea — that the public deserves access to information and education, freely and independently delivered — depends on us.
The past few months serve as a great example of our commitment to this principle. The team at WKAR commemorated America's 250th anniversary with a wide-ranging slate of programming across TV, streaming, radio, and news. Highlights include Sally: A Solo Play, an original drama giving voice to Sally Hemings, which aired nationally on PBS stations and streamed in recognition of Juneteenth; A Light On The Lakes, exploring Michigan Masonic history; Before America, a documentary on Michigan's Indigenous histories; andOur Michigan Family History, a community event held with the Michigan History Center. Classical listeners enjoyed Rhythm and Refuge, spotlighting immigrant musicians; while Facebook and YouTube audiences are following Sounds and Stripes Forever, presenting video biographies of American composers spanning the Revolutionary War to today.
WKAR's news team has also dug into regional history— covering the Bath School Disaster, foundational U.S. documents on display in Michigan museums, local baseball history and more. Coming in August, Beyond 250 will close out the commemoration with a look at the future of citizenship and democracy. Altogether, it's a sustained, multi-platform effort to bring America's semiquincentennial to life for mid-Michigan audiences.
As I write this, we are seven days away from another step forward in the journey that is democracy in the United States. The Michigan primary elections take place Tuesday, August 4. Early in-person voting is underway now.
To help you make informed choices in the August primaries and the general election in November, the WKAR news team has launched your Election 2026 destination at wkar.org. There, WKAR's politics team follows the candidates and connects statewide decisions to your schools, roads, utility bills, data centers and local government. It’s all made possible by community support.
Thank you for standing with public media at a moment when it needs you more than ever. Two hundred fifty years in, the idea endures — because people like you keep it alive.
With gratitude,
P.S. Just ahead, look for The Signal+, our latest newsletter. This mid-week complement to The Signal (sent each Sunday) highlights the latest from our politics team. Watch for an invite to subscribe coming soon.
