KUER is thrilled to announce that assistant news director Caroline Ballard has been named a Rising Star by Current, a non-profit news organization that covers public media in the United States. Ballard was chosen from a pool of 171 applicants as one of 35 Rising Stars, which recognizes public media’s up-and-coming talents.
“For creating content, being genuinely curious about the world is the first step,” said Ballard. “Paying attention to my community is the second step. Getting into what people are talking about in real life is key.”
Ballard joined KUER as a local host for All Things Considered and moved into the role of assistant news director in 2022. As executive producer for the politics podcast “State Street,” she has turned it into a flagship show at KUER. She was also selected as a 2023-2024 fellow for the Poynter Institute’s Editorial Integrity and Leadership Initiative and moderated Utah’s 2024 gubernatorial primary debate.
“In the nearly five years I have worked with Caroline, she has been ambitious and dedicated — not for the sake of self-aggrandizement but to elevate her peers and, more importantly, to serve the public,” said KUER news director Elaine Clark. “She has always brought journalistic integrity, a deep sense of newsworthiness and genuine curiosity and vibrancy to her work.”
