Our History
North Country Public Radio is a 50 year story that begins with a three year failure and ends with success beyond anyone’s original dreams.
John B. Johnson donated a radio transmitter to St. Lawrence University in the mid-‘60s, but the first sign-on attempt in 1965 didn’t work because of television interference. Finally up and running in 1968, we have never stopped moving forward.
From that first 3,500 watt transmitter which reached part of St. Lawrence County, who would have imagined we’d grow into a 34-transmitter network that reaches a third of New York State, much of northwestern Vermont, and a nice slice of southeastern Ontario? That our signal would reach a geographic area comparable in size to the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island combined?
Fifty years ago, who would have imagined that we’d also operate a digital service, including a website that attracts about 2 million unique visits annually, with much of the traffic–almost 5 million page visits–going to our regional news?
Who would have imagined that our news team would garner statewide and national awards year after year, punching far above what anyone expects from a small operation like ours?
Who would have imagined this level of success?
You did. We did, together.
Now, we’re asking you to help imagine–and support–North Country Public Radio’s future.
You have helped make us the most important communications organization serving the Adirondack North Country–in fact, we’re the only media entity providing daily regional news coverage to the Adirondack North Country.
You have helped make us the service that pulls together communities from the St. Lawrence Valley to Glens Falls, from the Champlain Valley to the Tug Hill. We serve people, organizations and businesses by giving voice to their stories and sharing those stories across the region and the nation. We tell the stories through news, documentary, music, the arts. We tell the story of life here, and around the nation and the world.
You built this station and made North Country Public Radio an essential institution.
On these pages, we give you a variety of ways to keep NCPR growing and strong–successful–in the coming ten or fifty years. Thank you for supporting our work and for believing in our capacity to succeed, now and in the future.