Christopher Blank
News DirectorTrading his hometown newsroom of the St. Petersburg Times (alligators, beach bars and Florida Men) for the Memphis Commercial Appeal (Elvis, civil rights and barbecue) more than two decades ago, Christopher continues his quest for culturally rich human interest stories as News Director at WKNO.
He is a regular contributor to NPR and moderates conversations about Memphis' arts and culture community through the station's Culture Desk Facebook page. His numerous awards for both print and radio reporting include 2017 and 2020 Green Eyeshade Awards for Public Service Journalism.
He also serves as Senior Producer for the University of Memphis' Institute for Public Service Reporting. WKNO's collaboration with professional and student journalists has resulted in a number of award-winning radio features, including a special report “The Waiting Decade: Rape Victims Still Seek Justice”, which won First Place prizes in Investigative Reporting and Short Documentary from the Public Media Journalists Association in 2020.
Recent extracurricular projects include helping to produce the first full-length recording of the Orpheum Theatre's historic Wurlitzer organ.
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Proposals to allow teachers to bring guns to class and to cut the number of judges in Shelby County are just another week in the Tennessee General Assembly.
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States like Florida, Mississippi and Arkansas have seen voters push back against their elected officials with ballot initiatives. Why can't that happen here?
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This week on WKNO/Channel 10’s Behind the Headlines University of Memphis President Bill Hardgrave joins host Eric Barnes and Daily Memphian reporter Bill Dries.
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A year after the Covenant School shooting, Tennessee's Republican lawmakers still see no use for gun regulations. If conservative moms have no pull, who does?
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A right-wing speaker promising to expose the "lies" of the Black Lives Matter movement received a less-than-warm welcome at the University of Memphis.
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State lawmakers ensure that Memphis cops can pull people over small infractions, but won't sign off on crime lab or new jail to put serious criminals away.
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This week lawmakers debated bills on school vouchers and whether a city government can have any say on how their local police force conducts itself with residents.
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Republicans propose several measures to further make supermajority rule unanswerable to critics, communities and constitution.
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Shelby County's crime problem could be addressed with an intensive, multi-agency effort. But it'll take money and political will.
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State Sen. Brent Taylor proposes a new judicial district for the Memphis suburbs.