WPLN launches fundraising drive following federal funding cut
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The congressional decision last week to strip federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting blew a $400,000 hole in the operating budget for WPLN, Nashville's public radio station.
Why it matters: WPLN, widely regarded as a leader in local news, faces a precarious financial situation on the heels of several years of steady growth.
The latest: Listeners are stepping up to fill the funding gap. WPLN embarked on an immediate fundraising drive in the aftermath of last week's move by Congress.
- Mack Linebaugh, WPLN's vice president for audience and content, tells Axios the station is 35% of the way to its goal of filling the budget gap.
- "We're hearing from people who've never given before," he says. "We're definitely feeling the love."
Zoom in: Combined with its sister music station WNXP, WPLN boasts a staff of about 45 people, WPLN's vice president Linebaugh says. The station enjoyed growth, especially over the last six years, adding shows like "This Is Nashville."
- Linebaugh says the immediate funding gap is clear, but unknowns remain, such as the cost of music licensing, which has been paid by the CPB.
- Although the lost federal funding represents just 1% of the national NPR budget, the impact is much greater on local stations. The CPB passes the money to local NPR and PBS affiliates like WPLN
- For instance, the approximately $400,000 in lost federal funding amounts to about 5% of the WPLN budget. For smaller stations in rural areas, the percentage of federal funding is higher. "Local stations will really bear the brunt of this," Linebaugh says.
Flashback: All of Tennessee's congressional delegation voted in favor of rescinding the federal funding except U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis, the state's lone Democrat representative.
- Linebaugh says he joined other public radio executives on a trip to Washington, D.C., this year to advocate for maintaining federal funding support.
- Sen. Marsha Blackburn proposed legislation earlier this year that would have cut federal funding to national NPR and PBS, but not directly slashed grants to local affiliates like WPLN.
By the numbers: Tennessee's public radio and television outlets received CPB grants totaling nearly $6.9 million in 2023, according to CPB documents.
Go deeper: How the bill got passed