CPB to cease operations

[TheBigA]

The House appropriations committee has approved the 2026 budget without any funding for CPB. I'm not aware that CPB made its regular presentation, as the funding had previously been approved, and then rescinded. There were no hearings in either the house or senate for any CPB appropriation. Just as CPB was not called on to testify at the rescission hearings.

House Budget Panel Advances Bill Without Restoring Public Broadcasting Funds.

House appropriators advanced a fiscal 2026 budget that excludes funding for public broadcasting, following a similar vote in the Senate in July. The move cements $1.1 billion in rescissions for

www.insideradio.com

I find the paragraph at the end of the article to be very funny. It comes from the CEO of Salem Media:

“I'm not sure why they get special treatment that other non-commercial broadcasters don't get,” Santrella says. “You've got a lot of Christian broadcasters that are non-commercial that do it solely for the benefit of the listener. They don't get federal funding. I'm not sure why an organization that clearly seems to have set itself with a particular agenda deserves federal funding when other organizations that maybe have, quite frankly, an agenda that's different than NPR’s, don't get federal funding.”

If he took the time to read the Public Broadcasting Act, he'd see it was very specific. It was not meant to fund all non-commercial radio. It has nothing to do with "agendas." Religious radio, like religious education, has always been privately funded. At least until recently. If they want public funding, they have to apply for it and meet certain criteria. TTBOMK, religious broadcasters have never applied.

 

[ILOVERADIO]

Did you read the article I linked? Public radio station funding isn't as simple as, "It's their fault for not setting aside funds for a rainy day/It's their fault they were overstaffed". Some endowments and donations have conditions that mean they can only be spent on certain things, not just staffing. Why don't you go volunteer at a public radio station and find out how it actually works, rather than just reading things online.

With a 33 year career in nonprofit grants and fundraising, financially well run nonprofits maintain a diversity of funding. Often this includes some government grants (that usually have time and content restrictions) plus smaller private donations, corporate grants, foundations, and donations from wealthy families. Replacing expired government grants is often challenging; with few exceptions, I felt layoffs should be a last resort. Often they can be avoided through attrition, substitute funding, rainy day reserves, or new funders. While I did not work in public radio, I think these financial methods work well for most nonprofits.

 

[radiofan2023]

I did not work in public radio

Why don't you go volunteer at your local public radio station and find out how their specific nonprofit funding works? What new funders are rural stations going to get, if there are more people moving out of those areas than moving in, and the stations aren't/haven't been on most people's radar who don't live near those areas, until now?

 

[TheBigA]

I felt layoffs should be a last resort. Often they can be avoided through attrition, substitute funding, rainy day reserves, or new funders.

The government funding cut follows two years of declining sponsorship money. So they've already gone through the attrition and rainy day reserves.

These stations are first and foremost committed to their mission, which is to serve the public. They don't want funding cuts to interfere in that mission. From what I can see, some stations are looking into alternate funding sources, but they will likely need different staffing to carry them out. So there will be reallocating of resources, which will include layoffs in the specific areas where the funding was cut. Specifically this is likely to be the "Ready To Learn" programming, since that entire project was funded by CPB.

 

[ILOVERADIO]

Why don't you go volunteer at your local public radio station and find out how their specific nonprofit funding works? What new funders are rural stations going to get, if there are more people moving out of those areas than moving in, and the stations aren't/haven't been on most people's radar who don't live near those areas, until now?

I’m happier volunteering for a homeless agency than for public radio. Do you volunteer for public radio?

 

[TheBigA]

The Television Academy will present CPB with its Governor's Award during their annual awards show on September 14:

Television Academy to Honor Corporation for Public Broadcasting with 2025 Governors Award During Creative Arts Emmy Awards Ceremony on Sept. 7

Hollywood’s Salute to CPB’s 58 Years of Service Supporting Programming in the Public Interest

cpb.org

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Why don't you go volunteer at your local public radio station and find out how their specific nonprofit funding works? What new funders are rural stations going to get, if there are more people moving out of those areas than moving in, and the stations aren't/haven't been on most people's radar who don't live near those areas, until now?

From my point of view and operations, @ILOVERADIO is largely right in terms of the diversity of funding. We add to ours by holding bingo games through out the year (we have a state gaming license for this purpose!) and we hold a music festival every year. It had been a city thing until the 90s sometime.... not a city city thing, but it was like a multi agency thing, and the radio station picked it up about a decade and change ago after a lapse/break.

With a 33 year career in nonprofit grants and fundraising, financially well run nonprofits maintain a diversity of funding. Often this includes some government grants (that usually have time and content restrictions) plus smaller private donations, corporate grants, foundations, and donations from wealthy families. Replacing expired government grants is often challenging; with few exceptions, I felt layoffs should be a last resort. Often they can be avoided through attrition, substitute funding, rainy day reserves, or new funders. While I did not work in public radio, I think these financial methods work well for most nonprofits.

We are working on finding replacement funding.

 

[gr8oldies]

WDVX, the Americana station in Knoxville, was doing Recission Recovery month and last I heard had raised $60000 of the $100,000 lost from the Recission out of this year's allocated funds. East Tennessee's Own WDVX — Support WDVX

 

[Delete My Account]

I find the paragraph at the end of the article to be very funny. It comes from the CEO of Salem Media:
“I'm not sure why they get special treatment that other non-commercial broadcasters don't get,” Santrella says. “You've got a lot of Christian broadcasters that are non-commercial that do it solely for the benefit of the listener. They don't get federal funding. I'm not sure why an organization that clearly seems to have set itself with a particular agenda deserves federal funding when other organizations that maybe have, quite frankly, an agenda that's different than NPR’s, don't get federal funding.”

So, the benefit to the listener is a concern of the company that just had to apologize and back off from literal fake news in "2000 Mules" and yet...

https://www.morningstar.com/news/business-wire/20250903517814/salem-media-group-and-dsouza-media-announce-new-documentary-the-dragons-prophecy

Are working with none other than the "mind" behind 2000 Mules on a new documentary. That side of the aisle, at least the terminally online portion, loves to use the phrase "clown world." I'm starting to agree, but not for the same reasons they think...

 

[TheBigA]

PBS has cut about 100 positions because of the loss of CPB funding. They received substantially more than NPR:

PBS says it has cut about 100 positions because of loss of federal funding

PBS said it notified 34 staff members Thursday that they are losing their jobs. Congress cut more than $1 billion from PBS and NPR in July.

www.nbcnews.com

PBS lost about 15% of its budget in federal funding. PBS doesn't actually produce any TV programs internally.

 

[umfan]

I'm not aware that CPB made its regular presentation

Why would they when they aren't being funded and therefore would no be included in the budget process?

 

[TheBigA]

Why would they when they aren't being funded and therefore would no be included in the budget process?

The people are Inside Radio seemed to be expecting the money to be "restored" somehow. Everybody else is already making other plans.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

The people are Inside Radio seemed to be expecting the money to be "restored" somehow. Everybody else is already making other plans.

... under the next administration, maybe. but many stations cant wait that long....... and some wont last that long no matte what they do, and some need to find alternate funding in case that doesnt happen

 

[DaveBayArea]

WDVX, the Americana station in Knoxville, was doing Recission Recovery month and last I heard had raised $60000 of the $100,000 lost from the Recission out of this year's allocated funds. East Tennessee's Own WDVX — Support WDVX

They have a larger base of listeners to draw from than many of the rural stations that are hardest hit. The Knoxville Metro population is about 850,000. The larger markets will likely be fine. Plus, WDVX, WNCW, KEXP, Minnesota's "The Current", WXPN, and a few others I can't think of right now are well-known outside of their home markets. You said it in your post - "The Americana Station". They're a go-to station for many who appreciate that genre.

Dave B.

 

[TheBigA]

Plus, WDVX, WNCW, KEXP, Minnesota's "The Current", WXPN, and a few others I can't think of right now are well-known outside of their home markets. You said it in your post - "The Americana Station". They're a go-to station for many who appreciate that genre.

This is very true. I'm told that the online audience for these non-commercial music stations are largely out of market. That really changes the way they operate. They're no longer local radio stations, but national stations that serve a larger "community" than just people within their signal area. The smaller stations will have to look outside their geographic area for funding because the local community simply doesn't have enough money to support a radio station.

 

[TheBigA]

The non-partisan Congressional Review Service has issued a report on the defunding of CPB:

Report Outlines Four Paths Forward For Congress On Public Media.

The Congressional Research Service warns CPB will shut down in January 2026 after funding cuts, risking station closures and revenue gaps. Radio once received a quarter of CPB’s grant pool,

www.insideradio.com

My view is that this group completely misreads the current state of congress and the overall federal government. The cuts aren't just at CPB, but also at the department of education, and any federal agency that funded the arts & humanities. The doors to congressional action have been closed because they're all carrying out the president's agenda.

 

[TheBigA]

.

 

[ted chittenden]

The non-partisan Congressional Review Service has issued a report on the defunding of CPB:

Report Outlines Four Paths Forward For Congress On Public Media.

The Congressional Research Service warns CPB will shut down in January 2026 after funding cuts, risking station closures and revenue gaps. Radio once received a quarter of CPB’s grant pool,

www.insideradio.com

My view is that this group completely misreads the current state of congress and the overall federal government. The cuts aren't just at CPB, but also at the department of education, and any federal agency that funded the arts & humanities. The doors to congressional action have been closed because they're all carrying out the president's agenda.

I think the report's writers are very much aware of the current administration's role in defunding CPB and the public arts. They are trying to suggest other options should either this administration or Congress change their minds at some future date. I also think it was very smart to issue a report like this in case the current U.S. leader dies in office or the party currently in power in Congress is replaced during next year's midterm elections. (Yes, I know about the current leader's efforts to cheat the system but I won't touch on that here.) The report offers some good guidance if and when we want to rejoin the rest of the free world when it comes to public broadcasting.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Community Radio for Northern Colorado reduces staffing by 20%

Layoffs announced Tuesday affect eight jobs at Greeley-based KUNC and The Colorado Sound.

current.org

KUNC cuts staff as many public media stations are facing in response to the CPB recissions.

 

[TheBigA]

I think the report's writers are very much aware of the current administration's role in defunding CPB and the public arts. They are trying to suggest other options should either this administration or Congress change their minds at some future date.

The fact of the matter is the future of public media will be determined by those in public media. Not congress. It's as if the public broadcasting act no longer exists. And without any funding, it really doesn't. NPR & PBS are no longer encumbered by the rules created by congress. It's everyone for themselves.