Southern California Public Media Stations Collaborate to Provide Trusted, Life-Saving Information about Wildfires

As the devastating wildfires raging across Southern California have killed dozens, destroyed tens of thousands of buildings, and forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people, California public media stations are banding together to provide life-saving news, information, and essential resources to their audiences.

“The first two days, I left my radio on 24/7” to public radio station LAist 89.3, said Marilynn Fong, a retired educator who lives in the Silver Lake neighborhood in Los Angeles, equidistant between the Eaton and Palisades fires. Fong has relied on the phone alerts and constantly updated news, fact checks, practical advice and daily emails from LAist, as well as the resources provided by PBS SoCal. Unlike some of the social media platforms where she can’t be sure the content is authenticated, public media content is vetted, and it has a more thoughtful approach, Fong said. “I feel their delivery is calmer; I have a sense of trust in what they’re telling me,” she said.

Public media plays a unique role in communities across our nation. Stations are locally owned and operated, providing them the freedom and flexibility to cover a crisis while it is ongoing and over the long recovery afterward. Decades of developing strong relationships with community partners makes local public media a natural go-to for trusted information, including ways to volunteer and/or donate resources.

Public media stations LAist/Southern California Public Radio, KCRW, PBS SoCal, and CalMatters, a statewide nonprofit news organization, have partnered to provide daily email newsletters with the latest news, forecasts, fact-checks, resources, and ways for neighbors to help. The free newsletters expand the reach of each organization’s trusted news and resources. LAist had more than 10,000 new sign-ups for its daily newsletter since the fires started on January 7. PBS SoCal reports that it has sent more than 3.5 million emails, with an average open rate of more than 50%.

LAist, an independent newsroom and NPR news station, broadcasts live updates enhanced by a new local news partnership with CBS Los Angeles, while the podcast Imperfect Paradise offered a look at the first five days of the fires with longtime public affairs host Larry Mantle. Online, LAist offers comprehensive coverage of the fires and an array of resources, including maps, recovery guides, and an ongoing list of FAQs answered by LAist staff. Coverage ranges from the practical, such as how to find lost pets and what you can do to minimize your health risks due to poor air quality, to a feature on the multicultural roots and culture of Altadena, which was consumed by the Eaton fire. LAist’s daily online readership increased 20 times above normal when the wildfires first broke out and has remained 400% above average.

PBS SoCal developed a comprehensive online resource hub (in English and Spanish), which it promoted early in the emergency through a QR code onscreen on KCET, KOCE, and KLCS. The channels continue to air 15-second interstitials between shows highlighting the hub, as well as updates and resources offered by local organizations. PBS SoCal is also soliciting stories of resilience and kindness, of ordinary people who are helpers, coming together to do extraordinary things for their neighbors and community, for possible coverage in the future.

A leader in early childhood education, PBS SoCal produced an online article How to Talk to Kids About Wildfires with advice from community experts and resources from Sesame Street and Fred Rogers Productions, as well as Community Resources for Families Impacted by Wildfires, which is updated regularly.  To date, PBS SoCal has assembled 300 care kits for children and families that are distributed by two YMCAs.

The PBS SoCal Early Childhood Education team assembled 300 care kits with plush toys, water bottles, toothbrushes, backpacks, and more to provide relief and a sense of normalcy for children and their parents.

KCRW, an NPR station focused on news, music and culture, offers broadcast and online news, features and resources, such as ways for finding and offering help, and programs such as Press Play with Madeleine Brand focused on the wildfires. Brand also hosted a virtual Wildfire Public Health Information Panel, which KCRW held on January 15 in partnership with the R&S Kayne Foundation Los Angeles, drawing nearly 3,000 people and 689 questions. A second panel on Wildfire Cleanup will be held January 27. 

KQED in San Francisco, which leads the California Newsroom journalism collaboration, serves as a central planning hub and clearinghouse for all fire coverage across the state’s NPR partners. Through the California Report and the California Newsroom collaborative, KQED is helping coordinate statewide coverage emphasizing solutions and practical information. As the public media personnel in Los Angeles are facing great personal and professional challenges, numerous KQED reporters and photographers have travelled south to help their colleagues cover the crisis and support the community’s response efforts.

When stations are facing natural disasters, CPB staff reach out immediately to station leaders to see how they can help. Depending on the specific needs, CPB can make emergency grants to help repair damaged equipment, add reporting capacity, or address other issues.

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