About us

Alaska Public Media (AKPM) is a nonprofit, publicly supported media organization serving communities across Alaska through radio, television, and digital platforms. With a mission to inform, educate, and connect Alaskans, AKPM strengthens civic life by providing trusted, unbiased news, educational content, and stories that reflect Alaska’s cultures and communities—helping make our state more informed, connected, and engaged.

Based in Southcentral Alaska, Alaska Public Media operates KSKA radio (91.1 FM Anchorage, 91.9 FM Girdwood) and KAKM-TV, delivering PBS, PBS KIDS, and Create TV programming on-air, online, and across streaming platforms and apps. Through the Statewide News network and shared television services with KTOO in Juneau and KYUK in Bethel, its content reaches approximately 97% of Alaska’s population.

PROGRAMMING THAT INFORMS AND CONNECTS

AKPM offers trusted, award winning national programs such as Morning Edition, NOVA, Masterpiece, and Frontline, alongside original Alaska-focused podcast and radio shows including Alaska News Nightly, Talk of Alaska, Line One: Your Health Connection, Outdoor Explorer, Alaska Economic Report, Hometown, Alaska, and State of Art. The organization also produces award winning local TV and digital series such as Alaska Insight, Indie Alaska, and Every Little Bit.

COMMITTED TO COMMUNITY

At the heart of Alaska Public Media is a dedicated team working in partnership with communities across the state. AKPM collaborates with local, regional, and statewide organizations—including the Alaska Community Foundation, United Way Anchorage, Anchorage Public Library, Anchorage Museum, Anchorage Community Land Trust, and Anchorage School District—to help expand access to information and strengthen community connections.

In a state defined by distance and diversity, public media plays a unique role. Alaska Public Media is committed to listening deeply, amplifying underrepresented voices, and creating space for thoughtful conversation.

HOW WE’RE CONNECTED TO PBS AND NPR

Alaska Public Media is part of a nationwide public media system—but we are a locally owned and operated organization.

We work with national organizations like PBS and NPR to bring trusted programming to Alaska. These organizations provide content and services, but they do not control our newsroom or decide what we cover locally.

Here’s how it works:

• Alaska Public Media (AKPM) is your local station. We produce local news and programs, and we make our own editorial decisions based on what matters to Alaskans.
• PBS provides national television programming (like NOVA and Masterpiece) to member stations across the country.
• NPR produces and distributes national radio programming (like Morning Edition and All Things Considered).

AKPM pays membership dues and fees to PBS and NPR to access this programming, while maintaining full editorial independence over our local content.

For many years, local public media stations also received support through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)—an independent nonprofit created by Congress in 1967 to distribute federal funding to stations. CPB did not produce programs or control content.

In 2025, federal funding for CPB was defunded and eliminated and the organization closed. While that funding helped support local journalism and services, Alaska Public Media continues to operate independently with support from our community.

This system is designed to ensure that public media remains locally controlled, editorially independent, and focused on serving the public—not profit.

OUR HISTORY

Founded in 1975 as KAKM-TV, Alaska Public Media traces its roots to Alaska’s earliest efforts to build a statewide public broadcasting system. KAKM marked its 50th anniversary in 2025, celebrating five decades of public television service to Alaska.

In 1994, KAKM merged with KSKA public radio—originally launched in 1978—forming Alaska Public Telecommunications, Inc. and bringing public television and radio together under one organization. In 2004, the organization expanded its statewide journalism and programming through a merger with the Alaska Public Radio Network (APRN).

As technology and audiences evolved, Alaska Public Media launched alaskapublic.org in 2011 and, the following year, entered into a shared television services agreement with KTOO in Juneau and KYUK in Bethel to strengthen public broadcasting across the state.

In the years that followed, Alaska Public Media continued expanding access to public media services. The organization began managing the Alaska Rural Communications Service (ARCS) in 2021, supporting television service in rural communities, and extended its broadcast footprint through projects such as the launch of a television translator in Sitka.

In 2024, Alaska Public Media broadened access to free, over-the-air television in Anchorage by expanding its broadcast capacity to include Channel 11, in addition to its longtime Channel 7 lineup. The expansion allows more households to receive Alaska Public Media’s television services—including PBS, Create TV, PBS KIDS, and additional programming—using an antenna.

Today, Alaska Public Media continues to adapt and innovate in service of communities across Alaska.

SUPPORT

Members make public media possible. Learn more about ways to support Alaska Public Media. Now in our first full year of being 100% community funded, your support matters more than ever. Learn how we’re working to sustain Alaska’s public media and help Fund the Gap.