National Public Radio President to Speak at UNCA January 11

ASHEVILLE -- UNC Asheville and WCQS Public Radio will co-host a talk by National Public Radio president and award-winning journalist Kevin Klose at noon Tuesday, Jan. 11, at UNCA's Owen Conference Center. Klose, who has been NPR president and CEO since 1998, will discuss "Public Radio in the 21st Century: Will It Survive in the Digital Age?". A light lunch will be served at noon; remarks follow at 12:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Reservations, needed due to limited seating, may be made by calling Beth Trigg at WCQS, 253-6875 or 1-800-768-6698, by noon Monday, Jan. 10.

Klose was an editor and reporter at the Washington Post for 25 years, serving in positions that included city editor (1974-76); Moscow Bureau chief (1977-81); Midwest correspondent (1983-87); and deputy national editor (1987-1990). After leaving the Post, Klose served as president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and director of U.S. International Broadcasting, where he oversaw the U.S. government's global radio and television news services. He is also founder of the Intermedia Survey Institute of Washington, a non-profit research firm specializing in media and opinion survey in Eurasia.

A Harvard graduate and former Woodrow Wilson National Fellow, Klose serves on the board of the Eurasia Foundation in Washington. He is the author of "Russia and the Russians: Inside the Closed Society," winner of the Overseas Press Club's Cornelius Ryan Award.

During Klose's two-day visit to Asheville he will be the guest of honor at a WCQS special event that will unveil the vision for the station's future.

Media Contacts:

• Ed Subkis, WCQS Public Radio, 254-6835 or 800-768-6698
• UNCA Public Information, 828/251-6526