Mike Lamp

Mike Lamp is the morning host on CPR News, delivering newscasts and weather updates from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. He also produces interviews heard on "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered."

Education:
Bachelor's degree in telecommunications, Northern Arizona University.

Professional background:
Mike came to Colorado Public Radio in May 2000. He is the morning host of CPR's news service, delivering newscasts and weather updates from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. He also produces interviews heard on "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered." Before joining Colorado Public Radio, Mike spent three and a half years as "Morning Edition" host and reporter at public radio station KNAU in Flagstaff, Arizona. He has also been a news anchor and producer for other radio and television organizations in Arizona, and has produced segments for CBS's "This Morning."

Awards:
Mike received a 1999 Science Journalism award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has also received awards from Public Radio News Directors Incorporated and the Public Radio Program Directors Association.

Q & A

Why I became a journalist:
I always liked working with words, and on my high school newspaper I came to love being in the know about what was going on, and the peculiar jargon of newspaper people, and getting out of class to work on stories. I took up print journalism in college, and at the time we understood that for most of us, our first job would be writing newspaper obituaries. I soon switched to broadcasting.

Why I got into radio:
My small state university happened to have a very strong radio and TV program and a student radio station that let just about anyone on the air. I think what really drove home to me the power of radio and the way a single human voice can really grab you and put you at the scene was the clip they played in every first-year broadcasting class – Herb Morrison describing the landing and - "Oh, the humanity!" - the destruction of the Hindenburg. My first paying job was spinning Kenny Rogers and Crystal Gayle at an all-night country station, and from there to television, back to radio, and other things in between.

How I ended up at CPR:
I got into public radio first as a listener, when a friend from college was working at the public radio station in Phoenix. He moved back to what has become a very respected NPR affiliate at our old university in Flagstaff, and I began working there too, in 1996. Two weeks after I started, I was covering President Clinton speaking on the rim of the Grand Canyon. There weren't many places I was interested in moving to, but when I saw an ad for an opening in Denver, I had to send off my stuff. I was glad to start the decade and the new century at Colorado Public Radio in the spring of 2000. Now the century and I are both a bit older.