Community Representation Statement

(*The Communications Act requires the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to support diverse non-commercial educational content for unserved and underserved audiences and to make public media’s content available for free to rural and urban audiences throughout the United States. Locally owned and operated public media stations are uniquely connected to America’s communities and positioned to reflect and serve the diverse and varying populations of their communities.

CPB encourages stations to continue to reflect and include their communities in station employment, membership on boards primarily responsible for station governance, community advisory boards (if required) and to provide educational, informational, and cultural content that meets the need of the community populations they serve. Station activities and practices in support of these objectives must be consistent with the Equal Employment Opportunity provisions in the General Provisions and with other applicable federal and state laws.

To affirm this ongoing commitment, stations are required to adopt a “Community Representation Statement” that documents their support of these goals and how they plan to achieve them. The Community Representation Statement must be posted on the station’s website or made available at its central office. Stations must biennially review their Community Representation Statements with their governing body and modify them as necessary to reflect significant changes in their communities’ populations served and their strategies to serve them.)

As a media organization, KUT and KUTX have a responsibility to reflect the issues, cultures and lives of residents of Central Texas and the state. KUT, as a member of a free and independent press, provides nonpartisan news coverage for the entire community, including historically underserved communities. KUTX, as a key voice in the Austin and Texas music scene, broadens cultural understanding, exposing listeners to new cultures and communities through music.

KUT & KUTX is an equal opportunity employer, and includes a staff with a wide range of backgrounds. We are members of NPR’s Public Media Village recruitment measures. KUT & KUTX also offer internships geared toward developing a pipeline of talent for public media, and the station participates in job fairs and other outreach.

KUT and KUTX work with a community advisory board that is reflective of many attributes of diversity, including racial and ethnic, gender, age, geographic and diversity of subject matter expertise. This board provides advice and direction on community issues and the station’s public service strategy.

In 2022 and 2023, KUT and KUTX continued efforts to expand and broaden our audience. The station launched the podcast Black Austin Matters and the arts segment Austin Cultura and continued the Tacos of Texas podcast and In Black America weekly show. KUT also airs Arts Eclectic, a regular arts segment that often focuses on artists from underserved communities.

KUT and Texas Standard, the station’s daily news magazine, regularly publish content in Spanish for underserved audiences. In September 2023 Texas Standard aired a special, The State of Disability in Texas, focused on issues affecting people with disabilities.

KUTX explores music of all genres, and regularly features a wide range of artists in its Artist of the Month series. KUTX airs the popular hip hop show The Breaks every week, as well as providing it in a podcast format. It offers specialty shows such as Sheroes, Horizontes, and Global Grooves aimed at amplifying music from underserved communities.

* Corporation for Public Broadcasting 2024 Radio Community Service Grants General Provisions and Eligibility Criteria, page 13, Section 8.