Thank you so much for joining us to celebrate and support Raven Radio’s news team on Southeast Celebrates News Day this year! Listen below to conversations with one very familiar voice and two newer ones. News Director Katherine Rose interviewed former News Director Rob Woolsey, Reporter Hope McKenney interviewed KUCB News Director Maggie Nelson, and Sarah Evangeline Hughes News Resident Ryan Cotter interviewed KYUK Reporter Samantha Watson.

Hear them below, and join in on our end-of-year news drive here.

Sitka Tribe of Alaska is raising money to purchase food and grocery gift cards for furloughed federal employees and those who rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. To donate or learn more visit: http://bit.ly/4oEYiD2

Sitka Tribe of Alaska on Saturday, November 1, will host a “Fill the Buses Food Drive” from 10am-5pm. Buses will be parked in front of every grocery store in Sitka to accept food donations.

Sitka Food Co-op would like to extend a discount on Tuesday’s (10-28-25) delivery and retail shopping for government employees that have been personally affected by the government shutdown.  If you are interested in receiving this discount, please respond to our email at sitkafoodcoop@gmail.com so that we can make changes accordingly.

Sitkans are collecting and updating information about resources for furloughed workers on the Sitka Supports our Federal Workers facebook group.

See a resource missing from this list? Email news@kcaw.org and we’ll add it!

I’m writing this from the kitchen table at the Cable House, with rare and treasured autumn sunlight pouring across the room. I can hear News Resident Ryan Cotter on the phone, wrapping up an interview that you’re sure to hear on Raven news tonight at 5:18pm. Alaska Public Media’s Line One Health Connection is on the radio, and Judy just arrived and is getting ready to bring you the best in folk music on Fiddlesticks.

It all feels and sounds very much like business as usual. But today, October 1, 2025, marks the first official day without federal funding for public media – including KCAW. When Congress rescinded federal funding, Raven Radio lost $178,595 this year and next. But you stepped up. Even before the rescission passed, donations began to pour in. New members joined, sustainers upped their gifts, and listeners rejoined or made extra emergency gifts – and the momentum is not stopping.

Every day, your contributions, your calls, and your support in so many ways tells us you want us not to just hold on, but to thrive. You want the excellence, joy, and connection that you count on from Raven Radio to continue.

Your pledge is a promise to us that you will keep standing with Raven Radio. Our promise in return is that when you turn on Raven Radio, you’ll get our best. No matter the time of day or night, we will be here – a voice in the dark, a guide in the storm, a friend when you need one.

We are here for you. And when I say “we,” I really do mean all of us. Not just our dedicated, talented staff – though they are incredible.

Raven Radio is a project of our entire community. It takes volunteers – those whose voices, stories, and songs you hear on air and those working behind the scenes to keep our community calendar, retail store, generators, water heater and so much more running.

It takes a Board of Directors who give generously of their time and wisdom to keep us focused on our mission. It takes local businesses, who support our programming because they value the ways it connects us all.

And it takes you.

As Rich McClear told me when I started: your program starts when the listener tunes in, and stops when they tune out. Every time you turn on Raven Radio, you are a part of it.

The radio you need is not guaranteed. But with you standing alongside us, we’ll be here.

Warmly,

Mariana Robertson

KCAW General Manager

On Friday, Raven Radio lost our federal funding. The rescission request clawing back the funds appropriated for FY26 and FY27 for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, including the $178,595 that Raven Radio anticipated receiving, was approved by Congress and signed into law. This means that we are now facing a 24% budget cut. 

Thank you for your efforts to prevent this outcome. Tens of thousands of Alaskans reached out to congressional representatives in Washington. We made our voices heard – though not everyone chose to listen.

As you’re already aware, the passage of this bill will have a profound effect on our budget. Raven Radio now faces some very challenging choices. We’re moving into an uncharted future, but our commitment to you will never waver. 

KCAW is a special place. It’s the spot on the dial where you can hear our powerful, essential local news – reported by journalists who live in our community and care deeply about sharing your stories. It’s the place you can turn to hear a friendly voice and hear your new favorite song for the first time. And it’s a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week source of emergency alerts and information, resilient when we lose power, or internet. 

Thank you for being here for us, and for giving as generously as you can. Your support for KCAW is not just for you, but for everyone who benefits from a trusted resource, a reliable companion, a public safety beacon, and a civic cornerstone.

UPDATE: On Friday, July 18th, Congress passed the rescission bill cutting all federal funding to public media for the next two years.

This isn’t the outcome we hoped for, and it’s an outcome that many of you helped us to advocate against.

It’s a tough day, but I am always looking for the silver lining. The silver lining – and one so big it nearly eclipses the dark grey cloud – is you. To everyone who called and wrote our representatives, who left messages with your donations and on our community quilt, who stopped us on the street to let us know you care about Raven Radio and want us around – thank you.

The next steps will not be easy ones. But if there’s anything we know how to do in this mountainous place, it’s put one foot in front of the other and climb that next hill. We will do it as we’ve done everything in our 43 years as your station: with you, and for you.

So, here’s to continuing forward – together.

The most impactful thing you can do today is become a KCAW member.

Here’s why that matters…

Funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is 24% of KCAW’s budget this year. That’s $178,595. This funding is essential to our mission of community service. Funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting supports every aspect of our work: from our emergency alert system and broadcast equipment, to local journalism through salaries and equipment for our three-person newsroom.

We raise nearly $300,000 annual from our listeners (thank you!) which is our largest source of annual revenue, at 40%. CPB funding is our next-largest source of revenue. As a rural station, we receive more funding from CPB than stations in larger communities. This is a recognition of the importance of public media in rural communities like Sitka and Southeast Alaska. It also means that the impact of a loss of federal funding will be more damaging in rural communities like ours across the country.

The loss of these funds would have a devastating impact on KCAW’s ability to deliver public services to Sitka and all of Alaska.

What can I do now?

We are encouraging our community to call and write to our federal representatives and express your desire to protect public media in your community. You can contact them directly at the links below or go to Protect My Public Media for templates.

• Contact Representative Nick Begich
• Contact Senator Dan Sullivan
• Contact Senator Lisa Murkowski 

This is a critical moment for our democracy. Local information, storytelling, and fact-based news are the foundation of a strong community. 

You can also support the station by making a donation today to help protect these essential services.

So how does the rescission process work?

It allows the President to propose canceling previously approved federal funds, but Congress must approve it within 45 days. If Congress takes no action, the funds remain available. For public media, this means that while the Administration has proposed cutting CPB’s funding, it cannot do so unilaterally—Congress must agree. 

What happens if KCAW loses CPB support?

You will hear and experience cuts to our service. We cannot provide the same level of service, emergency preparedness, and community responsiveness with 24% less funding. KCAW would work diligently to increase funding from other sources, but it would be very difficult to raise an additional $178,000+ a year locally.

What is CPB’s role in public broadcasting?

KCAW is part of a larger public media network that includes over 1,500 locally and independently managed radio and television stations, all funded in part by the CPB. Through the network of independent stations, CPB funding provides support for free and accessible programs and community service across the entire country regardless of population density, income, or geographic challenges.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a private, nonprofit corporation authorized by Congress in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. CPB’s mission is to ensure access to non-commercial, high quality content, and telecommunications services.

The CPB is distinct from NPR and PBS. CPB does not produce programming or manage stations. As the steward for the federal appropriation for public media, CPB invests taxpayer dollars in a strong public media system, allocating more than 70% of its annual funds directly to locally operated public media stations like KCAW. The CPB retains less than 5% of the annual federal allocation to sustain its own operations.

How much does this cost me?

Federal funding of public broadcasting costs each American taxpayer about $1.60 annually.

Why is the CPB important in Alaska and elsewhere? 

The CPB plays a critical role in sustaining Alaskan stations where local fundraising can be limited by population density and/or geographic challenges.

Public stations are also the backbone of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) through which the President of the United States can alert people to national emergencies. Many public stations, like KCAW, serve as a local primary EAS hub for severe weather and AMBER alerts. In Alaska, we’re prone to disasters like landslides, earthquakes, and flooding, making this a critical component of the federal government’s investment.

What else does the CPB do? 

CPB’s investment directly supports local, independent, non-profit stations like KCAW across the country and enables them to provide essential programs and services. As we know in Alaska, public media stations are sometimes the only source of local news and information available.

The CPB also negotiates music licensing for all public stations — including KCAW — saving them millions in costs — and offers administrative support that enables stations to collaborate efficiently by sharing information, research and services in a cost-effective manner.

The CPB also supports the public media interconnection system which connects stations, program distributors, and provides a backbone to the EAS system in the United States. No matter where you live, interconnection ensures that local public media stations can provide programming and lifesaving emergency communications. It’s the only system that reaches nearly 99 percent of our nation for free – virtually every American household.

We had a wonderful time on Southeast Celebrates News Day this year, with much to celebrate. While raising money for our local news, we heard from beloved folks near and far. Sarah Evangeline Hughes’ brother, sister, and friend and colleague told us about Sarah and why they wanted to start the Sarah Evangeline Hughes News Residency Fund at KCAW. Continuing our tradition of interviews with former Raven Radio fellows, we interviewed Ari Snider and Emily Russell too.

Hear them below, and join in on our end-of-year news drive here.

Raven Radio’s new general manager, Mariana Robertson, assumed her role at the station today (7-1-24). Outgoing General Manager Rich McClear (who came out of retirement last year to co-manage the station with Suzi McClear) interviewed Mariana on the Good Day Radio Show to introduce listeners to a voice that’s sure to become familiar in the coming years. Listen to their conversation here:

The Raven Radio Board of Directors is announcing that Mariana Robertson will be joining KCAW as the General Manager starting July 1. 

She has so much talent and energy to bring to KCAW and Sitka, and we are really grateful to welcome her here. 

When asked about her favorite, small delight about community radio, she says:

“I know it sounds strange, but the thing I love most about community radio are the silences – knowing that I’m hearing someone live figuring out what to say or play next. It’s such a feeling of connection to be in a moment of pause like that with someone whose voice I’ve come to know and appreciate. I also think those moments represent all the unheard work that goes into a station, which I’m really excited to be a part of. I can’t wait to be part of the amazing Raven Radio team in moments of joyful sound and in the silences too!”

Mariana will be joining KCAW Raven Radio as the General Manager. In her most recent role, she served as a Program Manager at Impact Justice, managing a portfolio of projects that aimed to reduce the harm caused by the criminal legal system and open pathways to alternative approaches, as well as projects focused on Impact Justice’s organizational culture. Prior to joining Impact Justice, she worked at Payomet, a nonprofit performing arts center, where she curated a series of humanities conversations and helped to reinvent the organization’s community programming during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is also a proud service industry alum and has built her career on the foundations of hard work and grace under pressure gained in many years of restaurant experience. Mariana graduated from Barnard College cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in English and spent time studying abroad in Dakar, Senegal. Outside of work, she enjoys taking on overambitious craft projects, hiking, and not being able to put down a good book. 

We as the KCAW Board want to take a moment to say our sincerest thanks to Rich and Suzi McClear for their leadership of the station over this past year. The skillset and wisdom that they have built in the world of community radio has been a gift to KCAW. Thank you for saying ‘yes’ to this work, investing whole-heartedly in the station, and always bringing the art and fun of radio to the forefront of our work. All you have brought to KCAW has the deepest appreciation from us as a Board, and from our entire Sitka community. 

Warmly,

The KCAW Board

KCAW News and the Sitka Sentinel have proved again that small-market newsrooms can hold their own in Alaska’s media industry. Raven News and the Sentinel combined to take eleven awards at the annual meeting of the Alaska Press Club, April 18-20, 2024, in Anchorage. KCAW’s sister stations across the CoastAlaska Network pulled in another 20 honors.

Awards won by KCAW News:

All Media

First Place, Best Headline Writing: Robert Woolsey 

Third Place, Best Multimedia Presentation: Berett Wilber and Robert Woolsey “Portrait of a fishery: Sitka trollers gear up for an unexpected season”

Radio

First Place, Best Profile: Katherine Rose “Not with cars, but with cubes, Sitka teen satisfies the need for speed”

Third Place, Best Arts Reporting: Meredith Redick “Alaska-raised musician makes melodies from the sounds of nature”Third Place,

Third Place, Best Sports Reporting: Katherine Rose “Sitka Rocket Wolves soar to new heights, nabbing first ESports title with rocket-powered cars”

Awards won by the Daily Sitka Sentinel:

Print-Small

First Place, Best Short Feature: Garland Kennedy and James Poulson, “Family Dog Stella Comes in from the Cold”

Second Place, Best Profile: Garland Kennedy “Skipper Recalls Life on Fishing Grounds”

All Media

First Place, Best Scenic Photo: James Poulson “Northern Light Show”

Second Place, Best Outdoor Feature: Garland Kennedy “Lessons Learned: Close Encounters of the Bear Kind”

Second Place, Best Feature Photo: James Poulson “Goosing Swan”

Third Place, Best News Photo: James Poulson “High Wind Victim”

December is the time to look to the returning light (more than just the sun in the clouds of the rainforest). One of the highlights in Sitka is the local news produced in the KCAW newsroom.  We’re raising money to keep the lights on in that quarter.  In the process of putting together the kick-off day for the NewsMatch fundraiser, we’ve conducted interviews with a number of voices from the past.  You want to hear them here. 

Join in on our end-of-year news drive here.

There are many matches involved for us, and it may help your tax situation, all before the end of the calendar year.