Maria Palma, KUNR's Underserved Communities Reporter

Edmund J. Cain Hall at the University of Nevada, Reno is home to KUNR Public Radio.
Since its first broadcast in 1963, the nonprofit radio station has brought news and entertainment to the communities of Northern Nevada and nearby regions.
As the communities become increasingly diverse, Underserved Communities Reporter Maria Palma hopes to uplift more voices - and catch more ears.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in journalism in Chile in 2018, Palma received her master’s degree in journalism from UNR in 2022 and started as a staff reporter at KUNR Public Radio the same year.
Working at KUNR, Palma said she enjoys being able to give underrepresented communities “a voice.” A story she’s proud of was raising the alarm on the crumbling Owyhee Combined School at the Duck Valley Indian Reservation.
Palma drove almost to the Idaho-Nevada border to hear of the school’s dangerous conditions, including a bat-infested roof.
“The feeling of, like, telling that story that nobody really wants to tell, or nobody wants to make the effort to go there and visit… It was really special,” she explained.
Bilingual in English and Spanish, Palma is able to reach people and information other reporters couldn’t.
She’s happy to be “a channel” for communities that go unheard or don’t feel represented, such as Latinos or Native Americans.
To highlight underrepresented communities, KUNR has been including more bilingual programming and initiatives. Earlier this month, it launched its first Spanish-language newscast Al Aire with Palma as the host. Airing every Friday, Al Aire is a Spanish language recap of the region’s top stories.
“They (Spanish speakers) deserve to get informed. If they wanna vote, if they wanna participate in the community, they need to have information available,” Palma said, “And it’s great, you know, to have this initiative.
Reporting and video by Cole Payne.