Civic logo with first birthday candle

One year ago the San Francisco Public Press launched “Civic,” its flagship radio program and podcast, on its low-power radio station KSFP at 102.5 FM.

Since then “Civic” has delivered in depth election reporting, interviewed community leaders, and explored the homelessness crisis, the housing shortage and inequality. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic “Civic” has spoken with essential workers and looked at the impact of the disease on the city’s most vulnerable residents. The program has also spoken with artists, writers and creators about their contributions to the life of the city and the greater Bay Area.  

This is a moment where strong, local journalism is more important than ever, said host Laura Wenus. “I just see this incredible confluence of so many different areas of news happening right now,” she said. “The coronavirus pandemic, this state is on fire, schools are back in session, we have an election coming up, the Postal Service situation. There’s so much that we could talk about and so much that people are wondering about.”

Wenus said that the show has continued to evolve since the first broadcast. “I felt this shift in the way that we work that has made it less about the coolness of being on the terrestrial airwaves, and more about holistically looking at the audio products that we’re putting out and talking to our listeners,” she said. “We’re still learning and I don’t feel any shame in saying that, because we’ve just been doing this for a year.”

“Civic” producer and contributor Mel Baker said that hearing from listeners is important. “I’d like people to give us some feedback about where they’re hearing the program, whether they’re hearing it on our terrestrial signal or whether they’re hearing it in podcasts,” he said. “All that feedback will help us grow this audience and I also hope to continue to network with other underserved communities here in the Bay Area, whose words and voices aren’t getting out there, so that we can continue to build this community that we’ve started here with this little audio project of the San Francisco Public Press.”

A segment from our radio show and podcast, “Civic.” Listen at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 102.5 FM in San Francisco, or online at ksfp.fm, and subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify or Stitcher. 

I host and report for “Civic,” a San Francisco public affairs radio show and podcast from the Public Press. I've been a multimedia reporter and producer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I've reported on housing, health, immigration and homelessness for local news site Mission Local and produced conversations about local, regional and national current affairs for “Your Call,” a live call-in program on KALW-FM public radio.

Mel Baker is the producer and a contributor to The San Francisco Public Press radio program/podcast Civic. He has worked as a national network and Bay Area broadcaster for many decades. From early training in National Public Radio’s newscast unit, to stints in the newsrooms of KGO radio and KTVU-TV, and as a news anchor and reporter at KALW and other Bay Area stations, he has embraced the responsibility of broadcast media to “enlighten and inform” the community.

Lila LaHood is Executive Director of the San Francisco Public Press. She is a member of San Francisco’s Sunshine Ordinance Task Force and a member of the board of directors of the Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. She has worked as a nonprofit consultant and freelance editor. She was previously a business writer at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where she covered retail and real estate. Lila has an M.S. from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and a B.A. in international relations from Stanford University.