At the risk of understatement, public media broadcasters are experiencing a critical moment. The loss of federal money that once was distributed by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will lead to budget shortages, or worse, at many public media entities.
CPB closed its operations on Sept. 30. Public radio stations, some of which receive up to 40 percent of their financial support from the government, are looking at ways to bridge the funding gap brought on by the Trump administration’s defunding of public media.
National Public Radio President/CEO Katherine Maher has said that as many as 80 NPR-affiliated stations could be shuttered in the next year because of the funding cuts.
NPR itself depends very little on direct federal funding, with most of its revenue generated from dues paid by member stations.
Fundraising ramp-up
Following the administration’s “clawback” of scheduled funding, public media have quickly ramped up fundraising efforts. According to Current, an online newsletter that covers public media, Louisville Public Media received $400,000 in pledges during a 24-hour span in August. Donors in Seattle stepped up $1.5 million in pledges for KUOW(FM) during a recent campaign.
Several philanthropic organizations created a Public Media Bridge Fund and pledged $27 million in support for stations severely hurt by federal funding cuts.
Vermont Public Radio lost about $2 million in federal funding per year as a result of the cuts. It raised approximately $1 million in a statewide campaign. Yet VPR announced in late August that it had laid off 15 employees, about 14% of its workforce.
“This is a heartbreaking moment,” Vermont Public CEO Vijay Singh stated on its website. “We don’t do this lightly and we do it with the intent of setting ourselves up for the best service we can provide for our community.”
The organization is considering other cost-saving measures, Singh said, adding that programming cuts have not been necessary yet. Members of Vermont Public’s executive team took pay cuts, according to the post.
Industry observers say public media outlets in rural communities that were more dependent on CPB funding could be hard hit. There are approximately 160 public radio stations in rural communities, according to CPB, including 27 in Alaska. According to a database from Semipublic, four of the 10 most reliant public media outlets are in Alaska.
How to make up the deficit
Meanwhile, public media organizations across the country are trying to decide how to navigate this new reality.
WYSO(FM) in southwest Ohio, operated by Antioch College in Yellow Springs, is facing a budget deficit. “We must raise an additional $300,000 this fiscal year and at least $300,000 in FY27 to make up for the funding we expected to receive from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting,” its website stated.
Colorado Public Radio (CPR) says 95% of its funding comes from the communities it serves. Yet the retraction of previously authorized federal funding, it said, will be felt by individual radio stations.
For instance, KRZA(FM), licensed to Alamosa, Colo., lost nearly half of its annual budget, according to a post on the CPR website.
Some stations, including KSUT(FM) in the Four Corners region of Colorado, may be eligible for some federal funds intended to backfill the losses from the funding cuts. The money, according to CPR, is the result of a deal struck by Republican Sen. Mike Rounds, who worked out an arrangement to have some money reallocated from the Department of Interior to support tribal stations.
Ideastream Public Media, which serves northeastern Ohio, says it lost nearly $3 million in CPB funding, about 10% of its budget. Based in Cleveland, it serves listeners on two FM signals, WCLV and WKSU, the latter of which is licensed to Kent State University and leased by Ideastream. In a move that has come under scrutiny, Ideastream recently came to an agreement with Cleveland State University to air its JazzNEO programming on WCSB(FM).
President/CEO Kevin Martin said, “The hope is supporters and listeners will make up some of it, but it will be difficult for many public broadcasters. I think we’ll see consolidation where it makes geographic and economic sense, with smaller broadcasters being absorbed by larger organizations.”
Martin expects a lot of schools and universities that hold broadcast licenses to reconsider their options. “They’ll likely start asking if broadcast is really related to their core mission, and ask if there might be another organization or entity that could continue the service in ways they are now unable to do. I think there will be a reexamination by public media organizations to determine how to proceed.”
NPR might also have to reconsider its relationship with its radio affiliates, Martin says.
“Those stations will now have less revenue, and there might be fewer of them. What we’ll have to figure out is if (NPR) increases our dues, can we pay it? Or do we shift to more local content and explore options geographically to generate content with less reliance on NPR. The next 12 months will be critical to finding out those answers,” he said.
All Classical Radio said it is losing $1 million in support over two years, approximately 10% of its annual operating budget.
The organization, based in Portland, Ore., operates seven FM stations in Oregon and southwest Washington state.
All Classical Radio’s Interim President/CEO Greg Arntson says he believes public media is not defined by how it is funded, but by whom it serves and how it is guided.
“As a public media arts organization, it is our promise to place community at the center, to uphold artistic excellence, and to make music and culture accessible to everyone. Public media thrives when it is shaped by its values, ensuring that every note, every story and every connection reflects service to the public good,” Arntson says.
The organization’s board and management continue to pivot, he said, modifying a comprehensive transition plan to advance the organization without federal funding.
“This will take time. In the short term, we’re appealing to our donors and partners to increase their support to help us bridge the gap. We are encouraged by the show of support thus far at this unprecedented time,” he says.
Radio Milwaukee has been able to navigate the loss by cutting programs not people, according to a spokesperson. In 2024 the company had made layoffs and structural changes that better positioned it to withstand the latest federal cuts.
“A large part of the story that’s been lost in all of this is the impact music stations like us face when paying performing rights organizations like ASCAP and BMI, for the music we play,” said Jordan Lee, executive director of Radio Milwaukee.
Lee says Radio Milwaukee’s mandate is to “connect communities and to explore what it means to be in connection with one’s neighbors within the diverse communities it serves.” The broadcaster is asking the Milwaukee area for help.
“This is the time for the individual community members to step up and help with their advocacy and their dollars. Supporting organizations that help with a variety of different society’s disconnections including the way we approach culture and music. We feel strongly that the pendulum will swing the other way,” Lee said.
Coming down the pike
The cuts to CPB did not come out of the blue, and at least some outlets were already laying plans.
Steven Williams, president/CEO of Newark Public Media’s WBGO(FM), says the station began preparing for possible cuts two years ago.
“The adjustments in staffing and spending also supported the projected relocation to a new facility in 2028. We are now fully acclimated to the new normal,” he said.
WBGO in its fundraising is offering a “clear, calm, succinct veracity” in its communication campaigns. That’s coupled with “placing greater emphasis on fundraising” via state and local funding avenues.
“We’re also utilizing our digital assets to a greater extent — e.g., streaming pre-roll/post-roll electronic newsletters and direct mail campaign,” Williams said.
Radio consultant Fred Jacobs wrote in his blog: “It would behoove public radio at this tumultuous fork in the road to work together, at least regionally, to craft strategies and tactics that serve their organizations well. The good news is that there’s plenty of research that can inform these strategies.”
Consultant Mike Henry of Paragon said public media needs to deepen community engagement.
“Now that government funding is tethered to political whims, public media is liberated from financial bribery. Public media’s shackles are off. That’s a good thing,” he wrote.
Henry says public media’s “local mission is to serve entire communities and not red or blue, and don’t change with the political winds.”
One positive response “could be a new era of collaboration and shared services that will allow many stations to survive as a group rather than a standalone station,” he says.
Showing resolve
Rima Deal, president of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, said public media will endure these latest developments but must evolve.
[Related: “Trust, Solutions and Connection: Why Community Radio Matters”]
“Without CPB support, the infrastructure that connects stations to one another, to audiences, and to music rights will be dramatically reshaped. The familiar national networks may remain visible, yet the real test of survival lies with the smaller, rural, tribal and volunteer-powered community radio stations,” she told Radio World in an email.
“These are not miniature versions of NPR or PBS; they are lifelines, often the last remaining source of local news, cultural expression and emergency alerts.”
While NFCB is not a lobbying organization, Deal says it has been engaged in education and advocacy throughout the crisis.
“We work across the political spectrum … our role is to ensure lawmakers — Republican, Democrat and independent — understand that community radio is civic infrastructure, much like libraries or volunteer fire departments. At this moment, we are focused on helping stations survive the immediate shock of federal defunding.”
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