“Over the last weeks, we have been working through how best to manage the impact of loss of federal funding. Just like every single public media organization in the country, we are being forced to make hard choices,” PBS Chief Executive Paula Kerger wrote in a memo to station managers. “While we have seen good progress from our Foundation, including a significant grant from a major donor to help support the NewsHour and Kids content, we recognized that we need to make significant changes in our staffing and operations.”
Following the Trump administration’s consistent attacks on public media, Congress voted to cut $1.1 billion in federal funding to that sector. As a result, the Corporation For Public Broadcasting will cease operations by the end of the month. Per NPR, PBS and PBS stations on average received 15% of their annual finances from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting. This has left individual stations scrambling to cover budget deficits that range anywhere from $100,000 to $1 million. As local PBS affiliate stations typically pay for programming and other services from PBS, the organization has taken steps to reduce annual dues. Kerger recently told CBS News that the average reduction comes to 15 percent, but stations with greater need will get more, citing one station forgiven half of next year’s dues.Â
Local public broadcasters have been hit with their own layoffs, but fundraising efforts are underway across the country to cover the deficits. While the resulting donor support has been heartening, Kerger and others have expressed concern about sustainability moving forward. “I am a realist,” Kerger said to CBS News. “I have to believe that there are some vulnerable stations that are not going to make it.”
