Who We Are
KUT and KUTX represent the best of Austin — that is, just like this city we love, we are always a work in progress, trying to get better every day to better serve you. KUT works to keep you more informed with reporting that you can trust and that is also enlightening. Where else will you find stories explaining the heartfelt history of a year-round Christmas bar side-by-side with accountability coverage of city hall? And KUTX strives to elevate the local music scene, supporting the live shows and budding new artists that make Austin, Austin.
If any of this speaks to you, or if you have ever listened to KUT and KUTX and fallen in love, we hope you’ll consider sharing your hard-earned dollars to help us grow and make the news and music you love even better.
What We're Fundraising For
Across the globe, the media landscape is often seen as a shrinking relic. But that’s not us. At KUT and KUTX, we’ve embraced a true growth mindset. Because our work is never enough, because Austin will never and should never settle for “enough.” And we need to do better, write more stories, host more live music, and tell the stories of musicians who might otherwise be overlooked.
We are always looking for ways to add more reporters, like our expansion into Hays and Williamson counties, or like the recent investigative reporter and editor we hired who will our accountability work to the next level.
KUTX has hosted now-famous musicians in our studio including Lizzo, Maggie Rogers and Phoebe Bridgers. All of them were still in the budding moments of their careers, but we were ahead of the curve, and we brought our listeners with us.
To be frank, all of this costs money. Just running KUT and KUTX for the forty hours of Forty for 40 costs more than $60,000. That might seem like a daunting number, but our budget used to be a whole lot less. Why is it so expensive now? Because we invested the time and effort to grow, to be better.
Now we need your support to keep growing, to keep getting better. Your donation, no matter the size, makes a huge impact. Your support tells the story about why KUT and KUTX matter, why even more people should support us. All it takes is your donation to jumpstart the growth we’ve been striving to sustain for six decades.
Your Impact
Your donation to KUT and KUTX will help us support local news and music in Austin. Below are just a few examples of the major impact past gifts have had on our work.
At KUT:
- ATXplained gives our community answers to questions all year-round, such as Juan Garcia’s story on what happened to a university meant to revolutionize higher education for immigrants, Marisa Charpentier’s look into why Lala’s Little Nugget is Christmas themed year-round and Matt Largey’s investigation into what happened to a UT student who disappeared 50 years ago.
- Investigative reporter and editor Lauren McGaughy, within her first two weeks at KUT, helped break stories about, AG Ken Paxton buying several properties worth millions but failing to public disclose them, the Texas State Auditor’s Office looking into Ken Paxton’s impeachment and DPS investigation finding no evidence of wrongdoing by troopers accused of mistreating migrants.
- Most of all, our coverage goes beyond just one story: Our “Garbage Week” deep dive looked at how Austin is failing to meet its zero waste goals, and what people can do to reduce waste and keep trash off the streets And the “Driven Out” project from Nathan Bernier looked at the homes and businesses facing the wrecking ball as the I-35 expansion project moves forward.
- Hit podcasts like "Growth Machine" take seemingly well-known stories, like Austin’s unending housing crisis, and break them down, humanize the people affected and look for solutions that actually seem plausible. And we are plotting ideas for new podcasts all the time, as online streaming overtook radio for the first time ever last year.
At KUTX:
- Every month, we spotlight up and coming artists — Jane Leo, Die Spitz, Jedi 512 and Never, among them — through our Artist of the Month program, helping elevate their stature with programming for an entire month, from discussions on air and online to live, in-person shows.
- John E. Dee’s Old School Dance Party, an on-air mainstay, expanded from the radio waves and took over South Austin’s High Ball bar for a celebration of the 500th episode of the show and to honor John L. Hanson, the dance party’s showrunner and host of In Black America, a podcast from KUT & KUTX Studios.
- If we haven’t proved our obsession with live music, we even have a podcast about it. Pause/Play, by hosts Miles Bloxson and Elizabeth McQueen, first explored the impact of the pandemic on The Live Music Capital of the World. Now they’re taking a deep dive into the other issues facing the Austin music scene and talking to the people who are helping the scene survive and thrive.
We also hear from thousands of listeners every year about how important KUT and KUTX are in their lives. Your support doesn’t just help us. It helps us help people just like you.
“In 2010, I was going through a very difficult time in my life, and I just couldn’t listen to music anymore. It was too much for my nervous system. Then, I was flipping through the stations in my car one day and came across KUT. Right away, I thought … ‘Ahh, this is soothing to my soul. I can listen to these people talk.’
"This radio station has completely changed my life. I’ve become much more involved in my community. I’m more educated. And, in the last year have gotten to volunteer at the station as well. I’m thrilled to get to know some of the amazing people who make KUT the best station in the world.
"I’m so proud to be a member of this family. I have absolutely become a better human because of KUT.”
—Lisa Wainer, KUT monthly member since 2014
We hope we’ve demonstrated the importance of donating to KUT and KUTX. We are part of the fabric of Austin, just like Zilker Park, the Red River Cultural District and, yes, the University of Texas. Donate today to protect and grow an Austin institution.
Thank you so much for your support!
