Indiana public broadcasting at risk from state and federal cuts
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Federal funding cuts to public broadcasters have delivered a devastating blow to the 17 public media stations in Indiana and the journalists who work at them.
Why it matters: The cuts will undoubtedly impact station programming.
- Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations has already announced it will eliminate its eight-person statewide reporting team at the end of the year after the state cut its funding for the stations, too.
State of play: The federal cuts were included in a sweeping rescissions package meant to claw back more than $9 billion, including nearly $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through 2026 and 2027.
Yes, but: While the cuts target the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio, the national organizations won't feel much of the impact.
- Only around 1% and 15% of NPR's and PBS' national revenue comes through CPB, respectively, with most funding coming from grants, corporate sponsors and viewer/listener donations.
- The majority of federal funding is allocated to local member stations, which use it for day-to-day operations.
Threat level: Hundreds of local stations nationwide are expected to scale back or shut down, especially in rural areas where they are often the only source of local news.
Zoom in: WFYI, the Indianapolis public broadcasting station, is reporting that federal cuts total up to $13 million from the Indiana stations and four stations are facing cuts of more than 30% of their annual funding.
- WNIN in Evansville is facing a 37% budget cut. Tim Black, the station's chief executive, told NPR the loss of federal funding would be "pretty darn close to being catastrophic."
Catch up quick: The federal cuts are particularly brutal for Indiana stations, which lost their state funding — more than $3.5 million annually — earlier this year.
- Between state and federal funding cuts, some stations now face budgets slashed in half.
What they're saying: "This is an incredibly difficult decision, but with the loss of state funding, individual stations have to make some very difficult decisions to address funding shortfalls and are focused on sustaining services to their local communities," Mark Newman, executive director of Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations, said in a statement.