New reporting from Omaha adds depth, local insight and stronger statewide connections through public media journalism.
Senior reporter Jessica Wade is helping audiences see Omaha from new perspectives, including the story of a young man living in a tent on a sliver of land between two busy streets.
Her recent story on homelessness in the city is just one example of the kinds of in-depth reporting Wade brings to the network. She plans to tell more stories about housing, and issues such as Omaha’s streetcar initiative and how city planning decisions shape daily life.
“I am focusing on in-depth, enterprise reporting – under reported stories that greatly impact communities of people who aren’t always at the table,” said Wade. Public media offers her the space to tell these stories with care.
Wade grew up watching PBS KIDS on an acreage in Yutan, a small community west of the city. She attended the University of Nebraska Omaha on scholarship, later landing an internship and her first full-time job at the Omaha World Herald. For the past two years, she reported for The Post and Courier in South Carolina. Along the way, she became an NPR listener.
“I am diversifying my skill set and diving into public radio,” she said. “It’s been a great couple of months working in a newsroom full of young, talented people who are helpful and hopeful.”
Wade spends her days reporting in the field and in the network’s Omaha news office at the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center on the UNO campus.
“Jessica’s reporting in Omaha further expands our coverage of the state’s largest city, not only for digital audiences through The Reader, but also for our radio listeners across Nebraska,” said Nebraska Public Media Chief Content Officer Nancy Finken. “We look forward to building outreach events to connect community members with our journalists.”
By expanding coverage in Omaha, the network continues its mission to reflect life in every corner of the state – bridging urban and rural perspectives through trusted local reporting.