A new report documents 'the surprising breadth of student reporting in public media'

How much overlap and collaboration is there between public media and higher education?

That’s the question a new report from the Center for Community News at the University of Vermont set out to answer. The report, released Tuesday, combined FCC data, original research, and outreach to stations to map overlap between colleges and public media outlets “in mission, skills, and physical infrastructure.”

Turns out there’s quite a bit of overlap. Meg Little Reilly, managing director of the Center for Community News, called the report “a first-of-a-kind study on the ways both institutions have been quietly sharing resources and talent to better serve their communities.” The report, authored by CCN public media advisor Scott Finn in collaboration with other CCN staff, argues that “as both academia and public media come under attack, these news-academic partnerships make even more sense than before.”

A few highlights:

Almost nine in 10 public media organizations provide coverage opportunities to college students. (To be precise: 88%, or 282 out of 319 NPR and/or PBS affiliates.) The report notes that internships are the most common opportunity provided by local stations. Despite this, only 13% of stations “regularly air or publish class-produced student journalism,” which the report identifies as an area for growth.

Almost six in 10 public media orgs “provide intensive, regular, and ongoing opportunities for college students.” (59%, or 188 of 319 stations.) Per the report, news-academic partnerships are on the rise: CCN identified 227 programs in 2025, a 27% increase from last year.

Half of all public media organizations are licensed to a college or university. (161 of 319 stations.)

A little over one in 10 public media organizations are “teaching hospitals” for journalism — making teaching students their core mission. (13%, or 41 of 319 stations.) Among these: Local NPR affiliate KBIA, which partners with Mizzou students.

Read the full report (including snapshots of several public media-university partnerships) here.