GREENSBORO, N.C. - North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC (91.5 FM) has reached an agreement on the site that will be home to the station's new Greensboro News Bureau. North Carolina Public Radio has agreed to partner with Triad Stage, the award-winning regional theatre company in Greensboro's downtown cultural district, to build a production studio and office on the top floor of the theatre company's building at 232 South Elm Street.

"Greensboro and the Triad as a whole are experiencing significant growth, raising important issues that affect other parts of our state," said Joan Siefert Rose, general manager of North Carolina Public Radio. "Our audience in the Triad is 41,000 listeners, second only to the audience we serve in the Triangle. Establishing a news bureau in Greensboro will allow us to better serve this important audience by enhancing the depth and breadth of our coverage of this region, and incorporating that coverage into our flagship news and interview programs."

The Greensboro News Bureau will be staffed initially by one full-time reporter. It will enable the station to provide more in-depth reporting on the Triad's changing economy, health care, education, environment, and arts and culture, integrating these issues into overall coverage of North Carolina - both on news broadcasts and North Carolina Public Radio-produced shows like The State of Things and The Story with Dick Gordon.

North Carolina Public Radio has already demonstrated its commitment to enhance its service to the Triad listening community through partnerships with two prominent programs at Guilford College. The station is a media sponsor for the prestigious Bryan Lecture Series and for the College's annual Eastern Music Festival, broadcasting folk and bluegrass concerts to North Carolina Public Radio's entire listening audience on Back Porch Music.

The target date for renovations to begin on the currently unfinished space is late 2007. The station's space will include state-of-the-art production facilities, including a high-tech link to file reports with North Carolina Public Radio's studios in Chapel Hill and Durham and with NPR programs nationally. The studio will be adjacent to a busy pedestrian walkway, giving passersby an opportunity to watch radio being made.

The start of construction is tied to the success of fundraising efforts by the station for the new studio, and by Triad Stage for additional performance and rehearsal space that will share the floor. Establishing a Greensboro News Bureau is one of the priorities for The Capital Campaign for North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC, a three-and-a-half-year, $3.25 million fundraising effort. The station seeks to raise $125,000 to build and staff the Greensboro News Bureau; $65,000 has been raised to date.

"In our discussions with Triad community leaders, many encouraged us to partner with a like-minded organization," Rose said. "Triad Stage is a dynamic theatre company that also has a strong commitment to serve the regional community. We are excited about the potential for collaborations such as jointly sponsored performances that can be broadcast on Back Porch Music or on our other shows, and about contributing to efforts to develop Greensboro's downtown cultural district."

Since opening in 2002, the not-for-profit Triad Stage has produced and performed professional live theatre in downtown Greensboro and has received local, state, and national recognition for its work. In the five years since its creation by Yale Drama School graduates Richard Whittington and Preston Lane, Triad Stage has produced 36 shows, including eight world premieres, and has served as both a significant catalyst and anchor for downtown Greensboro's continuing revitalization. 

"We are thrilled that North Carolina Public Radio has chosen to partner with Triad Stage on their Greensboro satellite studio," said Managing Director Richard Whittington. "The space will become an integral part of the continued development of our facility and the partnership will enable us to further showcase Triad Stage and our productions throughout North Carolina."

North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC is a service of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, broadcasting at 91.5 FM in the Triangle and Triad, at 90.9 FM in Rocky Mount/Wilson, and at 88.9 FM on the Outer Banks.

For more information about the Greensboro News Bureau, please contact General Manager Joan Siefert Rose at 919-445-9150 or jsrose@wunc.org.

For information about Triad Stage, please contact Managing Director Richard Whittington at 336-274-0067 ext. 213 or richard@triadstage.org.

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