FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Sarah Gustavus,
Executive Producer of National Programs
505-999-2444 - sgustavus@koahnic.org
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Reporting Fellows spotlight Native communities in 2014 elections
Albuquerque, New Mexico - Koahnic Broadcast Corporation (KBC) is pleased to
announce that four radio reporters are taking part in election coverage focusing on tribes
and issues facing tribal communities through the 2014 National Native News (NNN)
Election Fellowship. Stories will air on NNN now through November. Reporters are
examining key tribal, local, state and national elections and concerns of voters in Native
communities.
The four reporters, Charles Michael Ray, Lucia Duncan, Melissa Townsend and Emily
Schwing, were chosen from different regions of the country. They will receive training to
expand their skills while reporting on Native American and Alaska Native communities
and elections.
The fellows are working with National Native News Anchor Antonia Gonzales and
Executive Producer Sarah Gustavus.
“We’re excited to offer this fellowship to this talented group of reporters. Their coverage
will bring fresh insights into the elections process around the country to our audience of
Native and non-Native listeners," says Gustavus
The election project aligns with KBC’s mission to bring Native voices to Alaska and the
nation.
“The NNN Election Fellowship program is a great opportunity for KBC to provide training
for journalists so they can cover the many facets of election issues that affect Native
Americans,” said Jaclyn Sallee, Koahnic Broadcast Corporation President &CEO.
The election stories will be included in the weekly five-minute headlines news service,
National Native News, which is currently carried on more than 330 tribal and public radio
stations and translators across the U.S. and Canada.
The fellowship was made possible with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New
York and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
###
2014 Election Fellows:
Lucia Duncan
Lucia Duncan directs ZUMIX Radio, a youth and community radio station in East Boston, and is a freelance
radio producer-reporter and filmmaker. Her radio stories have aired on NPR stations, KUT and KPCC; Free
Speech Radio News; and National Native News. Her films have screened at festivals worldwide and have
received awards from the Angelus Student Film Festival, International Documentary Association, CINE, and
the International Labor Communications Association. She is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and has
worked in Mexico and Brazil. As a Fulbright Fellow in northeast Brazil, Lucia taught video production to
indigenous youth for Video in the Villages. She has a BA in Development Studies and Portuguese/Brazilian
Studies from Brown University and an MFA in Film Production from the University of Texas at Austin.
Charles Michael Ray
Charles Michael Ray grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota on the banks of Box Elder Creek
downstream from the town of Nemo. He began working for SDPB Radio as a reporter in 1992 at the age of
19 and filed his first story for NNN shortly after that. He worked his way through college at the South Dakota
School of Mines and Technology and received a degree in Geology in 1997. Over the years his work has
been recognized with numerous awards and fellowships. He has won two national Edward R. Murrow
awards and a National Scripps Howard News Service award. In 2006 Ray was a finalist in the Livingston
Awards for Young Journalists. He has won 25 regional Murrow Awards since 2004 and over 40 awards from
the Associated Press since 1993. Ray and his wife Andrea live in Rapid City. He still enjoys spending time at
the family home in the Black Hills. He's an avid whitewater kayaker and also enjoys ice hockey, mountain
unicycling, backpacking, and several other outdoor activities.
Emily Schwing
Emily Schwing is a News Reporter and Public Radio Producer. She is known for her coverage of the Yukon
Quest International Sled Dog Race and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, which have both garnered national
level recognition. She has covered both races for KUAC in Fairbanks and the Alaska Public Radio Network
(APRN). She also covers Arctic science research, natural resources, wildlife issues and local government.
Emily also produces work for National Public Radio, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Al Jazeera
America, American Public Media, Monitor Radio, and Deutsche Welle. Prior to working at KUAC, she was
the Morning Edition Host and Reporter at Boise State Public Radio in Boise, Idaho. She has also worked
with APRN member stations KCAW in Sitka, KFSK in Petersburg and KBBI in Homer. Her work has been
heard in the past on KDNK in Carbondale, Colorado; KUER in Salt Lake City, Utah; and KRLX in Northfield,
Minnesota. Emily plans to defend her Master’s Thesis in Natural Resources Management at the University
of Alaska, Fairbanks in January, 2015. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology and Environmental
Studies from Carleton College in Northfield, MN.
Melissa Townsend
Melissa Townsend is an audio and multi-media producer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She currently
reports and produces Minnesota Native News – a weekly broadcast on community radio stations across the
state of Minnesota. Townsend has produced work for Minnesota Public Radio and the nationally distributed
show, Marketplace. Townsend began her journalism career in Chicago with Third Coast Festival, a nonprofit focused on audio documentaries. She went on to work as a reporter in the newsroom at
WBEZ/Chicago Public Media. She was a producer on the station’s award-winning series Chicago Matters.
She's worked with Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies to hone her audio production skills.
Townsend has a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education and a Masters in Urban Planning. Before
embarking on her radio career, Townsend was a junior high school science and language arts teacher and a
community organizer. In her free time, she loves being outdoors with her two young daughters and her
husband Lars.
Program Background:
National Native News is a five-minute headline news service, which started production in Anchorage, Alaska
in January 1987 to provide listeners regular, timely and balanced news on Indigenous issues. The stringerbased program has more than 50 contributors nationwide. The program also receives ongoing reports from
Canada and has aired stories from Mexico, Brazil and Australia. National Native News is produced at the
Annenberg National Native Voice Studios in Albuquerque, New Mexico and is distributed by Native Voice
One (NV1). www.nativenews.net, Facebook, @NNNnativenews
Koahnic Broadcast Corporation (KBC) is a nonprofit, Alaska Native governed and operated media center
located in Anchorage, Alaska. The mission of Koahnic Broadcast Corporation is to be the leader in bringing
Native voices to Alaska and the nation. KBC operates KNBA 90.3 FM in Anchorage, the first urban Native
radio station. KBC's national programming includes National Native News, Native America Calling and
Earthsongs, distributed nationally by Native Voice One (NV1). www.knba.org