FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACTS
Michael Raia
617-300-5333
michael_raia@wgbh.org
Regina Daley
617-300-5318
regina_daley@wgbh.org
WGBH News Room Adds Higher Education Desk
Kirk Carapezza to join WGBH’s award-winning local news team; Focus on
economic, cultural facets of higher ed in Boston and beyond
BOSTON, Mass. (June 4, 2013) – With more than 50 colleges and universities, as many as
350,000 students from across the world, and a workforce of more than 70,000, higher
education is one of Greater Boston’s leading economic and cultural drivers. WGBH News
recognizes the important influence higher ed has on this region and has created Boston’s first
dedicated broadcast Higher Ed Desk. WGBH Radio General Manager Phil Redo announced
that Kirk Carapezza will join the WGBH News team later this month as the Managing Editor
and lead correspondent of the Higher Ed Desk, which is supported through a grant from the
Lumina Foundation.
“There is no denying Boston is a college town. Education drives our entire region, and it is a
big part of our economic and cultural identity,” Redo said. “With the creation of the WGBH
Higher Ed Desk, our audience will experience the deeper stories that shine a light on the
many intersections impacting the future of higher ed in our region and beyond.”
The Higher Ed Desk will contribute to WGBH’s award-winning local coverage across all
platforms – on radio (89.7 WGBH, Boston Public Radio), television (WGBH 2) and online
(wgbhnews.org) – and will connect the dots between post-secondary education and a diverse
range of topics, including the economy, national security, national and global
competitiveness, as well as state and local politics. The newly created desk builds on the
strength of WGBH News’s growing commitment to local voices and local content.
Carapezza – an award-winning reporter and producer – joins WGBH from Vermont Public
Radio where he oversaw the daily management and news content for VPR.net. Prior to his
work in Vermont, Carapezza was the Lee Ester News Fellow at Wisconsin Public Radio. He
also reported for WBUR in Boston.
WGBH News provides audiences with comprehensive, informative coverage of timely, local
stories and local industry. The Higher Ed Desk will complement and add to the conversations
already happening on WGBH News programs, including Greater Boston with Emily Rooney,
Boston Public Radio and Innovation Hub with Kara Miller, which is taping a live show this
evening (June 4 at 7pm) at Suffolk University’s Modern Theater on College 2.0, the future of
higher education.
Carapezza will also produce in-depth features for WGBH’s Morning Edition and All Things
Considered. He will join the WGBH News team on June 17 and begin reporting later this
summer.
About WGBH
WGBH Boston is America’s preeminent public broadcaster and the largest producer of PBS
content for TV and the Web, including Masterpiece, Antiques Roadshow, Frontline, Nova,
American Experience, Arthur, Curious George, and more than a dozen other prime-time,
lifestyle, and children’s series. WGBH’s television channels include WGBH 2, WGBH 44, and
the digital channels World and Create. WGBH TV productions focusing on the region’s
diverse community include Greater Boston, Basic Black, High School Quiz Show, and
Neighborhood Kitchens. WGBH Radio serves listeners across New England with 89.7
WGBH, Boston Public Radio; Classical New England; and WCAI, the Cape and Islands
NPR® Station. WGBH also is a major source of programs for public radio (among them,
PRI’s The World®), a leader in educational multimedia (including PBS LearningMedia™,
providing the nation’s educators with free, curriculum-based digital content), and a pioneer in
technologies and services that make media accessible to deaf, hard of hearing, blind, and
visually impaired audiences. WGBH has been recognized with hundreds of honors: Emmys,
Peabodys, duPont-Columbia Awards and Oscars. Find more information at wgbh.org.
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