A former forester and freelance writer, Sandy Benson believes trusted journalism and rural access make public media essential.
Sandy Benson spent her life balancing two passions: natural resources and writing. “Somehow I’ve managed to do both,” she said. Along the way, she became a devoted public media fan.
Her connection began with her grandmother. “We often watched the PBS News Hour together,” Sandy recalled. “She listened to classical music on the radio and watched news programming in the early 1970s. She got me hooked on it. I’ve watched and listened ever since.”
Sandy values public media for balanced news coverage and strong storytelling. Her television favorites range from Crane Song and Washington Week with The Atlantic to documentaries by Ken Burns, as well as NOVA, NATURE, This Old House and Antiques Roadshow.
On radio, she listens to Morning Edition, All Things Considered, The World, On Point, The Moth Radio Hour and Radiolab.
Sandy worked across the western U.S. before settling in the Nebraska Sandhills in 1990. “I actively supported public media when I lived in Arizona, then slacked off for too many years,” she admitted.
“We supported Nebraska Public Media off and on, and I finally decided we need to remember you in our estate plan, especially in light of current events.”
Through the years, Sandy wrote for magazines and newspapers, worked for state and federal natural resources agencies, and retired as a forester with the Nebraska Forest Service.
She met her husband, Barry, during Old West Days in Valentine in 2001. They married the next year and moved to Riverview along the Niobrara River. After retirement, Sandy and Barry relocated to the mountains of western North Carolina.
Sandy believes public media plays a crucial role in states like Nebraska, where rural expanses limit access to local programming. “When we lived in Nebraska, we relied on Nebraska Public Media daily to keep us informed,” she said.
Sandy stays connected to Nebraska through freelance natural resources work, as a board member for Friends of the Niobrara and by streaming Nebraska Public Media’s coverage of the Nebraska Legislature.
“Supporting public media has always been a good idea, but it’s currently facing huge funding challenges,” Sandy said. “It’s up to us to help out.”