Reginald Hardwick

News & Public Affairs Director

About Reginald

Reginald Hardwick is the News & Public Affairs Director at Illinois Public Media. He oversees daily newscasts and online stories. He also manages The 21st Show, a live, weekday talk show that airs on 7 NPR stations throughout Illinois. He is the executive producer of IPM’s annual environmental TV special “State of Change.” And he is the co-creator of Illinois Soul, IPM’s Black-focused audio service that launched in February 2024.

Before arriving at IPM in 2019, he served as News Director at WKAR in East Lansing and spent 17 years as a TV news producer and manager at KXAS, the NBC-owned station in Dallas/Fort Worth. Reginald is the recipient of three Edward R. Murrow regional awards, seven regional Emmy awards, and multiple honors from the National Association of Black Journalists. Born in Vietnam, Reginald grew up in Colorado and is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado.

Email: rh14@illinois.edu | Twitter: @RNewsWILL

Investigation underway after Champaign house explodes and catches fire

August 2, 2026 No Comments

Neighbors and Champaign Fire Department say no one was home at the time of the explosion.

Themes of race and class take center stage in upcoming local production of ‘Ragtime: The Musical’

July 28, 2026 No Comments

The production follows three Black, white, and immigrant Jewish families at the beginning of the 20th century.

Champaign first responders complete joint school shooting response training

July 15, 2026 No Comments

Police and firefighters trained on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at St. Thomas More High School in Northwest Champaign.

Police need public’s help to identify human remains found in Lake Mattoon

June 29, 2026 No Comments

On Sunday, boaters observed part of a human arm in Lake Mattoon.

Meteorologist Ed Kieser returns to Illinois Public Media to team up with Andrew Pritchard on weather and severe storm coverage

June 29, 2026 No Comments

Illinois Public Media Meteorologists Ed Kieser and Andrew Pritchard are working to provide forecasts and breaking weather.

Natl. Weather Service: At least two tornadoes caused dozens of miles of destruction

June 19, 2026 No Comments

Meteorologists say an EF3 tornado with peak winds of 145 miles per hour tore a 24 mile path of destruction through Effingham County.