Arizona Public Media (AZPM) has been nominated for four Public Media Awards, including recognition for its 2024-2025 Annual Report to the Community.
AZPM’s four recognitions represent a broad range of the organization’s work. The annual report nomination is particularly meaningful as it tells the story of a landmark year for AZPM defined by significant audience growth, national and industry recognition, and the opening of the long awaited, donor-funded, state-of-the-art Paul & Alice Baker Center for Public Media.
The complete list of nominated projects includes:
Marketing/Communications
Annual Report
2024-2025 Annual Report to the Community
The 2024-2025 Annual Report to the Community chronicles a significant year for AZPM, highlighting audience growth, award recognition, and the opening of the Paul and Alice Baker Center for Public Media while demonstrating the organization’s continued service to Southern Arizona.
By: AC Swedbergh, Jessica Stephens, Ahmaad Lomax, Anne Simmons
Content
Education
Backyard Bounty
Mesa, AZ resident Angela Judd’s life has never been the same since she took a master gardening class from the University of Arizona’s Cooperative Extension program. By learning about soils, best watering practices, the right time to plant, and other recommendations, she has transformed her backyard and her life.
By: Tony Paniagua, Nate Huffman, Robert Lindberg
Visual Arts
Rani Olson - Getting Free
For Rani Olson, “Rocks are poems, memories, mirrors. They are very much alive—and listening.” A process-oriented artist, Rani sees art as a sacred mechanism for alchemizing human experience—transforming the invisible into form, emotion into expression, memory into matter. In her current body of work, she asks a profound question: “What does the world look like from the vantage point of rocks?”
By: Özlem Ayşe Özgür, Robert Lindberg, Emmanuel Joubeaud, Jim Blackwood
Radio
Environmental News
The Future of Southern Arizona’s Water: What Colorado River Cuts Could Mean for Tucson’s Water Supply
An in-depth examination of how potential Colorado River reductions could affect the local water supply.
By: Katya Mendoza
The National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) proudly announces the annual Public Media Awards to recognize exceptional achievements by member stations in community engagement, content, education, and marketing and communications. The awards celebrate the creative and diverse work of public media stations and their collective power to educate, inform, inspire, and connect.
With the exception of overall excellence categories, stations compete within divisions based on station size. Awards are judged by expert panelists from within the public media system, as well as industry professionals working outside of public media.
The 2026 winners will be announced on Sunday, September 13, during the 58th Annual Public Media Awards during the 2026 NETA Conference in New Orleans.