Bob Beck
Retired News DirectorBob Beck retired from Wyoming Public Media after serving as News Director of Wyoming Public Radio for 34 years. During his time as News Director WPR has won over 100 national, regional and state news awards.
In addition to duties as News Director, Bob was the co-creator, host and producer of the news magazine Open Spaces, which has won 11 national Public Media Journalist Association awards. Bob has personally won four PMJA awards for reporting and five regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. He has also won numerous Associated Press and Wyoming Association of Broadcasters awards in his career.
Bob was given the WEA School Bell Award for education reporting and was honored by the Governor’s Council on Impaired Driving for his reporting. On the television side, Bob has been part of two Emmy Award-winning PBS telecasts.
In his career, Bob covered the legislature longer than any Wyoming broadcaster. Additional coverage as a reporter includes events such as the Mark Hopkinson execution, the Jessica Dubroff plane crash, the Matthew Shepard murder and a drunk driving crash that killed eight University of Wyoming Athletes.
Professionally, he served on the PMJA Board and has been state coordinator for the Radio Television Digital News Association and Project Vote Smart.
Bob taught broadcast news at the University of Wyoming for 20 years and twice was honored with a Top Prof award by the UW Mortar Board.
Around Laramie, Bob was active in community events. He co-chaired the 2009 Albany County United Way Campaign, served as President of the United Way Board, and has been involved with other non-profit organizations as a board member and volunteer.
Prior to coming to WPR, Bob worked as a News and Sportscaster at stations in Wyoming and Illinois. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Radio-Television from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and is a native of Wheaton, Illinois in suburban Chicago.
Email: btwo@uwyo.edu
Phone: 307-766-6626
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Today, we’re looking back at our stories from 2022. The newsroom picked a couple of our favorites. We’ll hear about how two hospitals in the state cut pregnancy services this year. A team at the University of Wyoming is trying to help return cultural artifacts in museums to their rightful owners. And we look into how rising temperatures can affect the livestock industry. Those stories and more. -
Bob Budd has held a lot of jobs in Wyoming. He’s a former director of the Wyoming Stockgrowers Association, he was the manager of the Red Canyon Ranch, and the Director of Land Management for the Nature Conservancy. He’s currently the Director of the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust where he works to improve wildlife habitat. He’s also very funny and a great writer. He’s written a book about Wyoming, its people, and its habitat called “Otters Dance: A Rancher's Journey to Enlightenment and Stewardship”. It’s available on October 4th through Amazon and all the usual places. He joins Bob Beck.
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Next week, the "Expect the Unexpected" season kicks off on Thursday night at the Buchanan Center concert hall. Opening night will feature Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony which features a second half few know about. Dr. Michael Griffith is the Director of the University of Wyoming Symphony Orchestra. He speaks with Wyoming Public Radio’s Bob Beck.
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Wyoming GOP secretary of state nominee Chuck Gray is unopposed in November. After his nomination, some Republicans are aiming to remove the secretary of state's ability to oversee elections.
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Last week out of the blue, the Legislature's Joint Corporations and Elections committee approved a motion to look into moving the elections division out of the Secretary of State's office. The motion is a reaction to comments by Casper Rep. Chuck Gray who's likely going to be the next Secretary of State. He won the primary and is running uncontested in the general election.
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Wyoming Cowboys kicker John Hoyland had an odd season last year. After being named a freshman All-American and 2nd Team All-Conference Performer in 2020, Hoyland's 2021 season was average. He made ten out of just 14 field goal attempts, a low number for most teams. But heading into his third season, the Broomfield, Colorado native is looking for a big year.
