Jazz has been a part of WHRO programming for a long time, and our very own host Jae Sinnett performs and teaches jazz to students locally. WHRO Public Media has always been a huge supporter of local arts in our community. In fact, Jae Sinnett recently won Album of the Year for Jae Sinnett's Zero to 60 Quartet/Symphonicity, "Live at the Sandler Center" at the 2023 Veer Awards. Congrats, Jae! Another longtime jazz program that WHRV broadcasts on Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. is The Vocal Sound of Jazz, hosted and produced by Jack Frieden. This long-standing program spotlights both jazz and vocal music post 1950s and has been on air since 1980.
As much as we appreciate this warm spring weather, climate change is a global problem, and the varied impacts are felt locally. This month, our friends at NOVA PBS >will lead a national initiative called Climate Across America spotlighting how climate change is affecting communities across the country and the innovative solutions being implemented to address the climate crisis. Ten public media stations have been selected to participate in the Climate Across America Initiative, WHRO being one of them. In addition, WHRO is one of only two stations participating in the NOVA Science Studio project where local students are invited to participate in NOVA's film production program to make videos about climate change solutions in their local communities. To follow the Climate Across America and NOVA Science Studio timeline and video premieres this month, visit whro.org/climateacrossamerica
WHRO's newsroom invites you to join us on Thursday, April 13 at Reaver Beach Brewing Co. in Norfolk for a WHRO News Pub event presented by our very own journalists. Grab a beer, hang out with your friends, and learn about news coverage in Hampton Roads. The wellbeing of a community is influenced by the content and quality of local journalism. At this casual gathering, you'll meet and hear from local journalists, and we would love for you to share with us the most important issues you are seeing in your community—what do you want to read about?
WHRO Public Media's Emerging Leaders Board has once again partnered with Independent Lens to create opportunities for community dialogues around crucial topics. Throughout the year, the Emerging Leaders Board has been working with Independent Lens to provide Indie Lens Pop-Up Screenings, "a neighborhood series that brings people together for film screenings and community driven conversations." This year's season of screening events features stories of people facing adversity and overcoming incredible odds. Join us for the final event in the Indie Lens Pop-Up screening series where we will be showing Free Chol Soo Lee on Thursday, April 20 at 6:30 p.m. The film documents the life of Korean immigrant, Chol Soo Lee, who was sentenced to life for a 1973 San Francisco murder, and was set free after a pan-Asian solidarity movement, which included Korean, Japanese, and Chinese Americans, helped to overturn his conviction. After 10 years of fighting for his life inside California state prisons, Lee found himself in a new fight to rise to the expectations of the people who believed in him. For further event details, visit whro.org/events
Lastly, I want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who donated during our most recent radio and television membership drives. Without your generous contributions, none of the work we do would be possible. Thank you for your generosity!
Bert Schmidt President & Chief Executive Officer