Arts and Humanities Reporter Joins Staff

Elizabeth Kramer, former managing and arts/special projects editor of the Louisville Eccentric Observer, has been chosen to lead Public Radio Partnership’s new initiative for Arts and Humanities Reporting.Recently, while at LEO, Kramer received two fellowships from the National Endowment to study classical music and opera and dance criticism through the agency’s Arts Journalism Institutes.Donovan Reynolds, PRP’s Executive Director, says Kramer was hired to bolster public radio’s coverage of artists and arts organizations throughout Kentucky.   “The arts play a critical role in the economy and quality of life in this region,” says Reynolds, “and Elizabeth’s strong journalistic skills and extensive background in the arts make her the ideal person to head up this important project.”Before returning to Louisville, Kramer worked at WMUB in Oxford, Ohio, and had her pieces air on NPR and on OPR stations throughout the state. While living in New York City, she regularly contributed reports to WFUV. In 2002, she earned her graduate degree in journalism from Columbia University, where she also received the John Patterson award, the school’s highest prize for radio reporting.Kramer has managed to satisfy her interests in the arts and international affairs during a career that has included working in journalism and humanitarian relief. She began working in public relations at several arts organizations in Louisville before moving to East Africa, where she served as a Peace Corps volunteer and later worked for UNICEF.Kramer also has worked in several countries in and out of East Africa, including the Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros, Kenya, Burundi, Sudan, Bhutan and Mongolia.“Throughout my career, I’ve committed myself to journalism and excellent story telling. I’ve especially always loved the extraordinary ability that radio has to communicate concepts that can be very foreign to a listener, whether the subject be about art or another country — or both.”“It’s thrilling to now be working in the field and medium I love so much, and in the city and at Public Radio Partnership, both which have nurtured my love of journalism and the arts.”