2023 Annual Report

2023 Annual Report

Award-Winning Journalism

July 2022 - June 2023

From the CEO

CEO Tina Pamintuan
CEO Tina Pamintuan

As an essential local journalism institution, St. Louis Public Radio prides itself on the trust and support we’ve earned from our audience. We are here for the residents of St. Louis and for the champions of our city and region. Over the last several decades, that audience — whether on-air or online — has shown up for us.

This year was no exception. As we made plans to update and reassess how we fulfill our mission, we felt the guiding care of our community. Our supporters expect us to continue as a beacon of truth and a local forum for civil discourse. In this final phase of our strategic plan, we received vital feedback from our staff, board, and larger community. We know we are not alone in taking on the many daunting transitions facing journalism today: a changing audience, digital transformation, and a future where AI, in all of its complexities, is a certainty.

The local events and issues STLPR covered this past year were often heartrending and complicated human dramas showcasing the realities of our world as we live and as we shape it. The tragic shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School and Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience. Missouri’s bans on abortion and on gender-affirming care. The historic flooding. St. Louis and our surrounding regions saw their share of difficult news cycles amid the backdrop of national and international news.

We report on these narratives with the highest attention to detail and journalistic integrity. As always, our editors are careful to place people and their lives at the center of the story. That steady professionalism has led to unprecedented successes in the past 12 months.

This past year saw the largest number of annual downloads for our flagship public affairs program, St. Louis on the Air. The Gateway podcast marked its 1,000th episode. And, our local newsroom won the most awards it has ever garnered in a single year, 27 honors.

In this next year and beyond, let’s set our sights on how STLPR can reinvent its role as a community institution, how it can help guide the city and region itself, to a more vibrant St. Louis and a more vibrant Midwest.

signed, Tina Pamintuan

Tina Pamintuan, CEO

Dynamic media, when and where it matters

239,000

Monthly radio listeners

312,000

Monthly stlpr.org visitors

529,000 monthly page views

120,000

Monthly podcast downloads

Podcasts include The Gateway, St. Louis on the Air, and Politically Speaking

71,000

Monthly streaming listeners

350,000 monthly listening hours

50,200

Newsletter subscribers

Free subscriptions include The Gateway, Off Mic, and eUpdates

Elaine Cha in the St. Louis on the Air studios
St. Louis On The Air host Elaine Cha on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022, at St. Louis Public Radio’s headquarters in Grand Center.
St. Louis on the Air team
Executive Producer Alex Heuer, Elaine, and Producer Maya Norfleet.
St. Louis on the Air team
Danny, Aaron, Alex, Elaine, Miya and Emily go hands in before the show.
St. Louis on the Air team in a circle with their hands in the center
Sound Engineer Aaron Doerr, Producer Danny Wicentowski, Alex Heuer, Elaine Cha, Miya Norfleet and Senior Producer Emily Woodbury.
The Next Gen Radio team in front of STLPR.
The 2022 NPR Next Generation Radio Project's cohort and mentors. Back row: Meena Vishwanathan, Elizabeth Gabriel, Walter Thomas-Patterson (on laptop), Phillip A. Clark, Zachary Smith, WBEZ's Ariel Van Cleve, Kathleen Lees, founder Doug Mitchell. Second row: WUNC's Eli Chen, Jaz'min Franks, Britny Cordera, and illustrator Yunyi Dai.

Award-Winning Journalism

St. Louis Public Radio delivers local stories that encourage a deeper understanding of our region. Our local journalists bring clarity, context, and humanity to the news. The following reporters and stories were recognized with awards for excellence and service to the community during fiscal 2023, July 2022 through June 2023.

Where it Hurts Chapter 5 - Poppyseed Bread, Orange Glaze and Chemo

AACR June L. Biedler Prize for Cancer Journalism, Auditory Journalism

“No Mercy”: With Rural Hospital Gone, Cancer Care Means a Daylong Trek, Where it Hurts

Greg Munteanu

An illustration of a patient in his doctor’s office. The implementation of Medicaid expansion could shift more low-income workers away from emergency rooms and into primary care physician’s offices.

Society of Professional Journalists Diamond Award, Ongoing Coverage Print/Online
Society of Professional Journalists Diamond Award, Ongoing Coverage Radio/Audio

Medicaid Expansion Coverage

Jason Rosenbaum

Read More
A healthcare worker swabs a patient for a COVID-19 test.

Society of Professional Journalists Diamond Award, Pandemic Coverage

Coronavirus Coverage

Sarah Fentem

Read More
Students at African School #4 posing for a class photo outside of the one-room schoolhouse in 1931.

Society of Professional Journalists Diamond Award, Features — Radio/Audio

Missouri’s oldest one-room African American schoolhouse gets a new chance at life

Marissanne Lewis-Thompson

Connor Stanley, a clarinet player with the O’Fallon Township Marching Panther Band, rehearses a portion of their show “Rewriting Reality” on Friday, Oct. 22, 2021, before competing at the Bands of America Super Regional Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.

Public Media Journalists Association, Photojournalism, Second Place
Society of Professional Journalists Diamond Award, Photo Spread/Essay

Thousands of high schoolers put music in motion this weekend at the Dome

Brian Munoz

Juan Mena, 63, of Fairmont City, and Frank Gavlick, 62, of Collinsville, carry out chorizo links to a smoker on Dec. 23 in Fairmont City.

Society of Professional Journalists Diamond Award, Sports — Radio/Audio & TV/Video

In a New Year’s Day battle of soccer and sausage, it’s St. Louis vs. Metro East in the Chorizo Bowl

Brian Munoz

Vivian Gibson, the author of “The Last Children of Mill Creek,” stands in for a portrait on Monday, Oct. 18, 2021, at her home in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Mill Creek Valley was 454 acres in the heart of downtown St. Louis that comprised the nation’s largest urban-renewal project beginning in 1959. The predominately Black neighborhood was designated as “blighted” by city officials was torn down to make way for new developments.

Society of Professional Journalists Diamond Award, Explanatory Reporting

Ending the racial wealth gap through reparations: Local policies or federal payments?

Chad Davis

Rubble and overgrown brush line the former site of the now-shuttered Litton Systems

Missouri Broadcasters Association, Convergent Media, First Place
Regional Edward R. Murrow Award, Investigative Reporting
Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc., Finalist

Missouri knew of contamination in Springfield’s groundwater decades before anyone told residents

Eric Schmid, Steve Vockrodt

Lara Hamdan, Engagement Editor walks down a city street as workers cut down diseased trees.

Missouri Broadcasters Association, Video for Radio, First Place

Why there’s an uptick in tree removals in St. Louis

Lara Hamdam

Watch on YouTube
The town of Houston, Missouri has only 2,500 residents and is far off the beaten path, yet it still doesn’t qualify as

Missouri Broadcasters Association, Documentary/Public Affairs, First Place

What makes a town ‘rural’? The answer can mean the difference of billions in federal aid

Jonathan Ahl

Some of the older Afghan children play soccer at STL Futbol Club on a recent Saturday. The weekly program will extend through the end of April.

Missouri Broadcasters Association, Feature Reporting, First Place

Amid chaos, young Afghan refugees find something familiar in St. Louis — soccer

Jeremy D. Goodwin

The homepage of stlpr.org

Missouri Broadcasters Association Award, Local Website, First Place

stlpr.org

St. Louis Public Radio

Visit the website
Emily Woodbury, producer for St. Louis on the Air stands in an insect lab at the Missouri Botanical Garden in Chesterfield.

Missouri Broadcasters Association, Video for Radio, Certificate of Merit

How 101 illegally transported tarantulas ended up at Missouri Botanical Garden’s Butterfly House

Emily Woodbury, Lara Hamdan

Watch on YouTube
Harmony Jones, 6, of north St. Louis, looks towards her coach on March 9 during a North City Blues practice at the Enterprise Center. The North City Blues is the St. Louis Blues’ newest youth hockey initiative launched to offer s free after-school program to students ages 4-10 enrolled in KIPP Schools and/or Friendly Temple Christian Academy.

Missouri Broadcasters Association, Sports, Certificate of Merit

The Blues hope a new after-school program helps hockey reach more diverse communities

Wayne Pratt

Members of the St. Louis Islamic Center serve themselves food

Regional Edward R. Murrow Award, Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Missouri Broadcasters Association, Feature Reporting, Certificate of Merit

Muslim families in Mehlville celebrate as the district makes Eid al-Fitr a school holiday

Kate Grumke

Politics Reporter Jason Rosenbaum stands in the center of a boxing ring at the South Broadway Athletic Club

Missouri Broadcasters Association, Social Media Star, Certificate of Merit

St. Louis’ connection with professional wrestling is quite deep

Jason Rosenbaum

Watch on Instagram
Fulton farmer Lorenzo Powell stands in front of his cattle as he prepares to move them to a new grazing pasture.

Public Media Journalists Association, News Feature, First Place

Black Missouri farmer: ‘We are a rapidly dying species’

Paola Rodriguez for St. Louis on the Air

Maria and Miguel Cisneros hold the deed for their house in Golden Valley which contains a racial covenant. Maria found that despite being illegal, the covenant could not be removed. Instead the county attached a piece of paper to the deed disavowing the offensive language.

NABJ Salute to Excellence

Racial covenants, a relic of the past, are still on the books across the country

Cheryl W. Thompson, Cristina Kim, Natalie Moore, Roxana Popescu, Corinne Ruff

Financials

Financial graphs illustrate the unaudited operating revenue and expenses for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. Audited results are available online at stlpr.org/publicdocuments.

Revenue FY2023 Community Support 90.9% Corporation for Public Broadcasting Grant 6.9% Other Grants 2.2% Expenses FY2023 Program Services 64.6% Fundraising & Corporate Support 25.1% Administrative 8.4% Depreciation 2.1% Lease Amortization 1.5%

Cash and Investments at Year-End

($ in thousands) 20 21 22 23 $1,656 $2,116 $2,794 $3,051 $3,034 $2,656 $2,382 $4,144 Endowment Operating

Supporters

Behind the Scenes

St. Louis Public Radio is a listener-supported service of the University of Missouri–St. Louis.
Illustration of a blue bird with headphones by Reika

STLPR creates bird safe-space

Thanks to St. Louis Public Radio listeners, birds traveling the flight path around our headquarters at UMSL at Grand Center will have a much safer journey.

All of the station’s Give STL Day contributions in May, 2022 were dedicated to making the building a more bird-safe space with the installation of stickers on key window exteriors. The decals break up the reflection of sky and trees that so often confuse migratory birds.

For this bird-friendly improvement, we and our avian friends say, “Thank you!”