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.
Recent extracurricular projects include helping to produce the first full-length recording of the Orpheum Theatre's historic Wurlitzer organ.
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In a deposition taken in the lawsuit over her ouster, former Superintendent Marie Feagins answered questions about how she sourced claims that Memphis-Shelby County school board members illegally met in private to plot her termination. -
State leaders announced Monday that Elon Musk’s Boring Company plans to dig an 8-mile tunnel under Nashville, connecting downtown to the city’s airport.
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Bill Morris, a former Shelby County Mayor and Sheriff who is commemorated on a local parkway, died last Friday. He was 92.
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The County Commission wants an all new board, elected all at once. Could this restore trust in the school system? -
County commissioners voted Wednesday to advance a resolution to the full body that would move the election of all nine Memphis-Shelby County school board seats to the 2026 ballot.
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This week on WKNO/Channel 10’s Behind the Headlines, Memphis-Shelby County Board of Education Members, Natalie McKinney and Michelle McKissack, join host Eric Barnes and Daily Memphian reporter Laura Testino. -
A Shelby County judge will soon decide whether former Memphis-Shelby County Schools superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins will return to her post.
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The Shelby County Commission will begin a discussion today that could drastically change Memphis-Shelby County School Board elections.
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Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford, Jr. will go to trial on federal charges related to bribery, kickbacks, and tax evasion on January 20 of next year.
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185 foreign students at The University of Memphis will be forced to leave campus by August 9.
