New data from the nonprofit Semipublic will now provide potential donors more insight into public media stations in financial distress and whether they have strong local journalism and local programming and community-rooted programming.
Semipublic launched the website AdoptAStation.org nearly a year ago in the days following Congress’ decision to rescind federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The website helps connect donors and public media stations at financial risk.
(Read more on the enhancements to Adopt a Station.)
The introduction of Community Impact Tags, drawn from an expanded Semipublic dataset compiled over the past few months, provides insight into what the stations mean to the communities they serve, according to a release.
The website will now feature the following tags:
- Local Journalism Leader – Stations that create a high amount of local journalism compared to their annual budget.
- Local Program Leader – Stations that create a high amount of local programming compared to their annual budget.
- Native Audiences – Stations that are a member of Native Public Media and primarily serve Native American, Alaska Native or Indigenous communities.
- Rural – Stations that are members of the Alliance of Rural Public Media, or identified by America’s Public Television Stations as those that serve rural communities.
- HBCU – Stations operated by or in direct affiliation with a Historically Black College or University.
- Music – Stations that broadcast music as their main format.
Alex Curley founded Semipublic with the mission of building public trust in media through data. He said the tags are derived from financial filings, programming data and station licensing records compiled in its independent database.
[Related: “How John Oliver and a Data Startup Give Thanks to Public Radio”]
Curley launched AdoptAStation.org believing that the information was needed to help guide donors to the most at risk stations. Since July 2025, Adopt A Station has welcomed over 100,000 visitors and directed hundreds of thousands of dollars to stations across the country.
Stations that serve rural communities, Semipublic explained, often faced the steepest funding losses and sometimes operate as the sole local news source for the communities they serve.
In addition, stations servicing Native American communities saw steep cuts in funding. For example, Semipublic said KSHI(FM) serving the Zuni tribe in New Mexico lost 96% of its federal revenue. Meanwhile, stations across Alaska lost an average of more than 30% of their annual budgets.
But the organization said that its benefactors have lifted at-risk public media stations.
“Adopt a Station has had a huge impact on our station,” said Gerald Rodriguez, general manager of KRZA Community Radio in Alamosa, Colo.
“We received thousands of dollars in support because of this fantastic resource, Rodriguez said in the release.
“It directed donors to our website and our direct donation link. We are still receiving almost $1,000 a month through PayPal. It is a crucial data source for public media and we appreciate everything about it.”
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