Being one of the oldest staff members here at WHQR, I’ve been known to comment to anyone that will listen that when I started my broadcasting career, back before computers made life so much easier, before social media, on demand content and web sites, each station had one channel and there was no easy way to record anything, so if you missed what was on, you missed it. We were reminded from afar this week that we really do have it better now. Kelly Kenoyer received an email from a woman in Oregon who wrote, “I am the daughter of WsASP corps member, or Women Airforce Service Pilots, who was stationed at Camp Davisa, of which you wrote in your 'Daughters of the Skies' article dated January 31, 2025. Growing up,, Mom did not talk about her experience in the WASP corp before passing away in 2001, leaving us with her WASP records, photographs, and old letters she wrote home to her family. I am trying to put together some type of account of her experience in the WASP from the items mentioned. Your article has given me a lot more information to fill in the gaps,, and I thank you for that.” It’s nice to know that our work is no longer bound by either time or distance.
We also got a very nice note from local listener Rex Fountain, who wrote “I have listened to WHQR since its debut with the baby crying. Now more than ever, this
community needs your voice. It's a cliche to say "keep up the good work, ' but I sincerely mean it. All the best from a daily listener.”
These notes of encouragement came to the station the same week I was in Washington D.C., where I, and some other North Carolina NPR station managers, had the opportunity to meet with our senator's young staff members to make our case for continued federal funding of public media. The meetings were very cordial and friendly, but it remains to be seen how productive they were.
In the meantime, all of us at WHQR are warmed by the encouraging messages we’ve been getting from our listeners in reaction to the threat to federal funding. “It is important to support public radio because unbiased news and educational shows should be accessible to all people.” “Public media is essential to unbiased media reporting. Americans deserve to know what’s happening in their country.” “Public radio has been my source of news since I was young. It supports and informs communities and is important to us all. Thank you!” And “Public radio stands up for everyone. We need the rigorous reporting that comes out of each npr station.” Those are just some of the many messages we’ve received, and we appreciate each one. If you want to learn more about the threat to federal funding for public media and learn what you can do, please visit whqr.org/funding.
We love to get your questions, comments and criticisms. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky. You can email us at feedback@whqr.org. Thanks for your feedback, and we look forward to hearing from you.