Experiencing the diversity of our world is something invaluable to a journalist, and Tony Ganzer has made that sentiment a mainstay of his travels.

In Mexico he paddled a canoe reporting the story of an accidental wetland caused by wastewater from Arizona farms. He has sailed the Florida coast and watched dolphins dive and play in the moonlight, nudging tiny bioluminescence to glow.  And in Germany he spoke with Arizonans at the Landstuhl military hospital, and reported their thoughts on war.

He's been a bread baker's assistant, an acoustic guitar player and coffee-house singer, a photo specialist, and an award-winning journalist—and he is always looking for ways to add to his repertoire.

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Hailing from the Northwest, Ganzer graduated from the University of Idaho in May 2005 with his Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Journalism and Mass Media.

He wrote for a local daily paper, and contributed as an anchor and reporter to local public television, before finding his interest in radio.

Ganzer worked as News Director for the University of Idaho’s KUOI-FM, before contributing to Northwest Public Radio and the Northwest News Network, a group that reports for NPR member stations in Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

In early 2006 Ganzer took a position as Morning Edition Producer/Reporter for NPR member station KJZZ 91.5 FM in Phoenix, Arizona. There he reported on many issues affecting the nation's fifth-largest city, like water management, air travel economy and immigration.

In 2008, Ganzer was awarded the Arthur F. Burns fellowship and was based for 2-months with Deutsche Welle Radio in Bonn, Germany.  He worked extensively comparing the U.S. and Germany's immigration systems, and answering the question "Can a guest worker program work?" He reported for both KJZZ Phoenix and Deutsche Welle.  He returned to Germany in December that year to tour renewable energy sites, eventually leading to an in-depth, 7-part series comparing Arizona energy policy to European practice.

In 2009, Ganzer was awarded a Robert Bosch fellowship, sponsored by the Robert Bosch Stiftung. He worked with Westdeutscher Rundfunk in Cologne and Bayerischer Rundfunk in Munich, reporting and learning about diversity and integration both in the newsroom and in the German speaking world.  The fellowship also facilitated high-level meetings with world leaders and power brokers in major German cities, Brussels, Paris and Warsaw among others.  Also, Ganzer traveled to Oslo to offer analysis on U.S. President Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize for Westdeutscher Rundfunk.

Ganzer joined the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation's English-language service World Radio Switzerland in June 2010 as correspondent based in Zurich.  He has reported the history-making night flight of Solar Impulse; a failed case against the Zurich Hell's Angels; accusations of police racial profiling; and he has interviewed bank CEOs, Nobel laureates and Dr. Doom.

In February 2012, Ganzer produced a series of stories from Cairo, principally telling the story of a Swiss-Egyptian who returned for Egypt's revolution. Find those stories here: (opens in a new window)

His stories have aired on the BBC, NPR, Public Radio International, Deutsche Welle, Westdeutscher Rundfunk and others. He has also offered breaking news updates and analysis, by telephone, for Deutsche Welle television.

Ganzer won the first-ever Michael Kirk Award for Broadcast excellence from the University of Idaho, as well as three Society of Professional Journalists regional awards in 2005 for radio feature and spot reporting.  He also took two Associated Press awards in '06, including first place in the prestigious "Use of Sound" category.

In Fall 2011, Ganzer began an M.A. program with the University of Leicester, in International Relations and World Order.

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In addition to radio and being an all-around news-hound, Ganzer regularly plays his acoustic guitar and writes his own music; he's a former sailing instructor; lifeguard; and has worked as first mate on a 41' Ketch; and as a deck-hand on a tall ship.

He holds multiple SCUBA certifications from PADI as a Rescue Diver.

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Link:The Rotarian magazine, of Rotary International, published a piece about Tony in December 2011, prompted by a thank you note.