Congressional cuts hit Illinois stations
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Illinois public media outlets are crafting survival strategies after last week's decision by Congress to rescind $1 billion in federal funding it had previously allocated.
Why it matters: The millions in Illinois cuts will mean more fundraising and possibly staff and programming reductions at stations serving hundreds of thousands of residents.
- Public broadcasters don't just provide news, but also critical information alerts that can mean life or death for local communities.
The big picture: While Chicago stations will lose millions — 6-10% of local budget — stations in smaller towns will be hit hardest.
Case in point: The federal money represented 70%-75% of the budget at Eastern Illinois University's WEIU in Charleston, general manager Jeff Owens told Illinois Public Media's "The 21st Show" this week.
Between the lines: On the same show, public radio and television representatives from across the state talked about strategies to compensate for the losses, including:
- New fundraising campaigns emphasizing the increased importance of public support and philanthropic dollars.
- Closing of unfilled positions, using more paid student interns, reducing national programs, collaborating with other outlets and making more local shows.
What they're saying: "We will have to drastically reduce our public service to survive," WCBU's assistant executive director Melissa Libert wrote last week.
Zoom out: While the cuts are meant to target NPR and PBS, the national organizations won't feel much of the impact.
- NPR and PBS nationally are mostly funded by nongovernment sources, such as corporate sponsorships or viewer/listener donations.
The bottom line: "Although there'll be efforts to restore the federal funding, we really do need to look ahead as if that funding was not coming back," Illinois Public Media director Moss Bresnahan said on "The 21st Show."
- WBEZ is seeking to recoup its $3 million loss by urging 10,000 listeners to become new monthly donors, asking the public to "move on with purpose."
- But "public media has never been more important than it is today, and so we have to make this work. And we will. We'll find a way to forge ahead," Bresnahan said.