Christopher Blank
News DirectorTrading his hometown newsroom of the St. Petersburg Times (alligators, beach bars and Florida Men) for the Memphis Commercial Appeal (Elvis, civil rights and barbecue) more than two decades ago, Christopher continues his quest for culturally rich human interest stories as News Director at WKNO.
He is a regular contributor to NPR and moderates conversations about Memphis' arts and culture community through the station's Culture Desk Facebook page. His numerous awards for both print and radio reporting include 2017 and 2020 Green Eyeshade Awards for Public Service Journalism.
He also serves as Senior Producer for the University of Memphis' Institute for Public Service Reporting. WKNO's collaboration with professional and student journalists has resulted in a number of award-winning radio features, including a special report “The Waiting Decade: Rape Victims Still Seek Justice”, which won First Place prizes in Investigative Reporting and Short Documentary from the Public Media Journalists Association in 2020.
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The funeral of Tyre Nichols brought a renewed call to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. -
Journalist Marc Perrusquia explored the history of MPD's "Scorpion" unit, responsible for the death of Tyre Nichols
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Political analyst Otis Sanford says the Tyre Nichols beating video was bad, but City leaders didn't make it worse by sugarcoating it.
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Updates from the investigation of Tyre Nichols' death.
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On Monday, the family of Tyre Nichols was shown "appalling" video footage of the traffic stop that led to a beating by Memphis police officers. The family agreed to postpone releasing the video for up to two weeks as a potential criminal investigation continues.
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The Memphis Police Department and the City of Memphis have been hinting that the release of video footage from a recent confrontation could have serious consequences.
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The good news is crime was down in 2022. The bad news is the courts are facing a major backlog of cases.
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The General Assembly convenes next week, but State Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) has already introduced bills to address Memphis' rampant violent crime. Which bills, if any, would Republicans consider for a vote?
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Another arctic blast crippled Memphis' power and water supply just ahead of the holidays. Otis Sanford says the public needs to keep pressure on officials to find long term solutions.
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A 20-year TVA contract falls through. The "3Gs" School Plan Divides Leaders.
