Across Colorado, public media stations hang on

DENVER — In the season finale of HBO's "Last Week Tonight," host John Oliver dedicated his main segment to public media in the United States.Obviously, this was of interest to public media stations across Colorado — including us here at Rocky Mountain PBS — who are navigating a future without financial support from the federal government.We were particularly interested in the episode, though, because Oliver referenced our journalism in his segment!Using a clip from reporter Chelsea Casabona's piece on KRZA in Alamosa, Oliver described volunteer KRZA DJ Marty Jones as a man who "looks like Santa Claus if he got just the right amount into The Grateful Dead."Oliver also advocated for Jones to be public radio's new mascot, "given he has the quintessential public radio voice, beard and general vibe."Jokes aside, Oliver also highlighted the important community benefit that people like Jones provide, which is why for the last several months — ever since President Donald Trump signed the rescission bill that defunded public media — the Rocky Mountain PBS journalism team has profiled local public radio stations across the state.We've compiled our coverage into the interactive map below (which works best in desktop view).Is there a station you think we should profile? Send us an email at journalism@rmpbs.org.