Forced Out: Welfare Reform on the Rez

Flagstaff, AZ, 1998

Northern Arizona Public Radio (KNAU-FM) presented an in-depth series of reports titled Forced Out: Welfare Reform on the Rez. The 10-part series included more than 90 minutes of feature reporting. Each report was broadcast four times on KNAU's five stations from October 5-15, 1998. Additionally, five parts of the series were broadcast nationally on more than 400 public radio stations on NPR's Morning Edition during the week of September 7 and on Weekend Edition Saturday on October 17, 1998. The five reports that aired on NPR totaled nearly 60 minutes. KNAU estimates that as many as 18 million listeners heard one or more of the Forced Out reports.

The Forced Out series examined the heritage of the welfare state on the "Rez"--the lack of economic opportunity, the state of hopelessness, and the related health problems it has engendered. In the series, Navajos talked about reservation jobs--how difficult they are to get and even more difficult to keep. For an increasing number of Navajos, the pressure to get a job means saying good-bye to their homeland and families. Who's left on the Rez? In some places there are no young people to carry on the traditional ways or even care for elders.

KNAU had two community partners in this project--Flagstaff's Daily Sun newspaper and Northern Arizona University's Institute for Native Americans. The Institute helped producers determine specific topic areas and possible contacts. It also identified and recommended Cruz Begay for the position of assistant producer for the project. KNAU and the Daily Sun cross-promoted each other's coverage during the week of October 11, 1998. The Daily Sun ran coverage on the front page for six days and also published a special re-print of its series.

Contact Information

KNAU-FM
Erik Nycklemoe, Program Director
Tel: 520-523-5628

Daily Sun
Tel:520-774-4545

Awards:

KNAU Round One

First Place, Series — Arizona Associated Press
Second Place, Use of Sound — Arizona Associated Press