About

Our mission: To create and serve a more informed public.

Our vision: Broaden conversations. Deepen understanding.

A better future begins with an informed public.

KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio is Seattle’s NPR news station. We are an independent, nonprofit news organization that produces award-winning journalism, innovative podcasts, engaging community events, and more.

Our work is about truth. We were founded with the idea that everyone should have free access to honest, fact-checked information – as well as stories that broaden conversations and deepen understanding of the world around us. We work every day in service of our mission to create and serve a more informed public, because we believe an informed public is essential to a thriving community, a vibrant democracy, and a better future.

We are one of the nation's founding NPR member stations, broadcasting from the Puget Sound region continually since 1952. KUOW acknowledges that we occupy the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands of the Coast Salish people. 

Our Journalism

KUOW aspires to create and share factual and insightful journalism that is relevant to a wide range of constituencies (especially audiences public media has not historically prioritized). Our newsroom’s coverage priorities include how Western Washington is rethinking police accountability, housing, and homelessness; how we are adapting to climate change; how work and life continue to evolve during a global pandemic; and local threats to democracy. Learn more about our journalism practices >

Our Commitment to Racial Equity

Racial equity work is critical to achieving our mission of creating and serving a more informed public. As a public institution, we must serve our entire community – not just a subset – and that requires challenging the way KUOW and public media have operated. Learn more about diversity, equity and inclusion at KUOW > 

Our Funding

KUOW is a self-sustaining service of the University of Washington. More than 90% of our funding comes from individual contributors and local business supporters who share our belief that an informed public makes our community stronger. Learn more about our funding and the impact of community supporters in our latest Impact Report.