Chris Bolt
General ManagerChris Bolt, Ed.D. has proudly been covering the Central New York community and mentoring students for more than 30 years. His career in public media started as a student volunteer, then as a reporter/producer. He has been the news director for WAER since 1995. Dedicated to keeping local news coverage alive, Chris also has a passion for education, having trained, mentored and provided a platform for growth to more than a thousand students. Career highlights include having work appear on NPR, CBS, ABC and other news networks, winning numerous local and state journalism awards. Recent reporting has focused on health and medicine, environment, elderly, substance abuse and culture reporting.
Chris has a doctor of education in executive leadership from St. John Fisher College and a master’s in broadcast journalism from the Newhouse School.
In addition to coverage of our community, equally satisfying has been the success of so many WAER alumni, students who have won and succeeded in jobs in news, sports and elsewhere in media, many of whom won awards at local, state and national levels as students. He has also taught classes at Newhouse and at OCC. Chris also enjoys connecting WAER with the community through moderating debates, facilitating and hosting public meetings, giving media training workshops and other events.
Chris and his wife Anne live in downtown Syracuse. They have two grown sons, Carter and Donovan, who both remain in the area. Their family enjoys all things Upstate New York, including myriad outdoor activities in the Adirondacks, Finger Lakes, music and other cultural events, and just about anything on a trail or on the water.
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The Finger Lakes Climate Fund takes carbon offset donations to help low- and moderate-income households afford energy upgrades for long-lasting carbon emissions reductions, run by Sustainable Finger Lakes. -
Attorney General Letitia James has a hotline starting Saturday, June 14th for voters to resolve disputes, report pushback, or other questions for the primary election. Early voting starts June 14th and primary election day is June 24th. -
An agreement between Micron and the White House removes uncertainty over whether the microchip manufacturer would receive billions in aid to build a facility in Central New York. -
More people are driving and buying electric vehicles, EVs. But threats to federal support for EV manufacturers and their batteries could keep the US behind other countries such as China in the market.
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Public relations activities can inspire community action. Syracuse University student Clair Ceccoli discusses creating and publicizing an event to benefit a group that makes beds for disadvantaged youth. -
Food producers at the Central New York Regional Market share reactions on climate change effects to their crops & products. We hear from a maple producer, produce & flowers farmers, and a beekeeper.
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Superintendent says $104 million dollar budget proposal is needed to guarantee programs and maintain current staffing levels. -
The latest Art for Art’s Sake exhibit, titled “Light and Shadow,” will feature local artists’ work in various mediums this Sunday at the Atrium on Washington Street. -
Congresswoman Claudia Tenney says Trump is delivering on key priorities; a national poll shows mixed public opinion on his performance. -
The Effects of Gravity is a performance mixing physics and astronomy with poetry and music. Presenters hope it causes people to look at the earth and universe in new ways.
