By Bryce Dix, Nash Jones, KUNM
KUNM is bidding farewell to All Things Considered Host Nash Jones. Nash started at the station as a volunteer, hosting Weekend Edition Sunday and Spoken Word Hour. They joined the news team in 2018 as the local host of Morning Edition and have kept our listeners company in the evenings for more than three years now. Nash has also filed countless stories for KUNM from the field, taking home state, regional and national awards for their reporting. KUNM Morning Edition Host Bryce Dix sat down with Nash to discuss their time at the station and their move to New Mexico PBS, where they’re set to take the anchor chair on New Mexico in Focus.
This story is republished from KUNM as a part of our commitment to bringing you the best in independent news coverage that matters to New Mexico.
NASH JONES: I started with KUNM when I moved back to Albuquerque, which is my hometown. And it was a huge part of how I got reacquainted with the community, really. Like, I got to meet New Mexicans organizing for change, and making important decisions, and working to support each other. It’s just meant so much to be able to help tell stories about a place I care about so much. And, as a host, I’ve gotten to connect with the community directly. You know, being someone they could rely on to help kind of wade through the noise of the news and feel connected to KUNM, it’s been such a privilege to get to play that role in listeners lives.
BRYCE DIX: Yeah and, speaking of building relationships and connections through this work, we also have a really tight-knit team here at the station.
JONES: Totally. I mean, the relationships I built with my colleagues, I mean, they feel almost familial. This could be a tough gig, and the coverage can be heavy and emotional, and the work is super fast-paced. It can be stressful. The outcome of what we do can be high stakes, and not just for us, but especially for the people who are trusting us with their stories. So, it’s a recipe for creating strong bonds with the people you’re doing this with, you know? I think too about losing our News Director Hannah Colton in 2020. You know, her death was such an intensely heartbreaking, sudden, traumatic loss, and of someone who was leading us through such a huge year of reporting with the pandemic and the racial justice uprisings that summer, and doing a fantastic job of it. I carry Hannah’s memory in how I approach my work every single day and the lessons that I learned from her as a mentor in this work. I mean, she took me out on my very first reporting trip. And I will also carry the bonds that we formed as a team, supporting each other through that just dreadful time.
DIX: Looking back, is there a particular story or maybe piece of work you’re most proud of?
JONES: You know, I don’t know. It’s probably, though, like hosting during the pandemic, speaking of the pandemic. You know, being that kind of calm, reliable voice for people in those early days. I mean, everything felt so surreal and unclear. People were dying, and we didn’t know how it was spreading, or how to protect each other. A lot of people also lost the stability that they had in their day-to-days — their careers, their routines. I was hosting Morning Edition at the time, and I just felt this great sense of responsibility to bring people the latest updates each morning and the facts as we knew them coming in, and to help people stay alive and stay afloat and stay connected, all while helping people preserve some kind of routine when they tuned in to KUNM.
DIX: You’re sadly moving on from KUNM. You’re not going very far, and our listeners may still hear or maybe even see you. That’s exciting. What’s next?
JONES: Nice foreshadowing! That’s right. Yeah, it is a little bit bittersweet, but I am excited to announce that I have accepted a job with New Mexico PBS as the next host of New Mexico in Focus. And, for those of you not familiar with the show, it’s PBS’s weekly local news show. It includes interviews and original reporting and panel discussions about key stories that are impacting New Mexicans. And since it’s a weekly show, it’s also able to kind of take a beat and tell stories in a way that we aren’t always able to in daily news productions. You know, digging in a bit deeper, bringing additional criticism and context. The show and the station, PBS, are very much in line with my public media values. I’m excited to be staying in public media in New Mexico. And I think it also aligns with the values that KUNM has helped instill in me in a lot of ways.
DIX: We all want to know, when can we expect to see you on air?
JONES: “See” me on air! Oh my gosh. Yeah, I think the seeing part is going to be a big change for me. I think a lot of listeners who’ve gotten to know me over the last several years here on KUNM still don’t even know what I look like. So, that’s going to be a trip for all of us, me included. But I’m excited to, you know, get reacquainted with KUNM listeners who join me over there in that way, and also get to know and build the trust of PBS viewers who don’t know me yet. I’m going to start over there in a few weeks and will probably get in front of the camera a little after that — you know, once I get the lay of the land a bit.
DIX: Well, we’re super excited for you, and I just wanted to say, I’m sure I speak for everyone, including our listeners, when I say we are happy and very, very sad to see you go. You’ve really been a KUNM staple for a long time, I look up to you myself, and I’m just so grateful to share workspace with such a wonderful and talented human being. Thank you so much for taking the time to say goodbye, Nash.
JONES: Oh Bryce, of course.
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
