PBS North Carolina grapples with budget cuts
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The film maker Ken Burns at a PBS North Carolina event earlier this year. Photo: Courtesy of PBS North Carolina
PBS North Carolina, which reaches 14 million people in North Carolina and surrounding states, is set to lose around 15% of its funding over the next two years due to federal cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Why it matters: The funding reduction is equal to around $9 million over two years, PBS North Carolina's CEO David Crabtree tells Axios, and it will likely force the 70-year-old organization to make some tough budget decisions.
- Already, it's made two separate cuts to non-personnel expenditures this year, including pausing some local production projects.
Driving the news: The downsizing made earlier this month to the Corporation of Public Broadcasting is expected to have significant ramifications on local NPR and PBS stations nationwide.
- In North Carolina, the top recipients in 2024 were: PBS North Carolina ($4.4 million), PBS Charlotte ($1.2 million) and WUNC ($711,000).
What they're saying: "Bottom line is, we have to play the hand we're dealt," Crabtree said. "Our budget is finite. It could go up a little again with donations coming in, but right now, we are looking at a substantial shortfall.
- The N.C. Senate's budget proposal also slashes funding to PBS North Carolina; however, it remains to be seen what the final state budget will look like. Crabtree said he feels better about where the state budget is trending, but it's still up in the air.
Zoom in: In addition to showing content produced by PBS, PBS North Carolina produces a host of its own shows and documentaries, operates four channels and creates educational resources for children in the state.
- Additionally, its network of broadcast towers across the state provides broadcasts for the state's Emergency Operations Center and is used by first responders for emergency communications.
Threat level: Crabtree said no cuts are off the table right now, but the goal is to find a way to not cut production or staff.
- PBS North Carolina employs around 140 people in the state and has its headquarters in Research Triangle Park.
- The organization is looking at new ways to keep the same level of local content, Crabtree said.
- One move might be to scale back its own productions and instead purchase projects about North Carolina from other producers, a move that would lessen its editorial control.
The bottom line: "We will have to be more creative with what we have, without having content and quality suffer in any way. That is my commitment," Crabtree said. "How we're going to get there, I'm not sure, but we are working on it at least 18 hours a day right now."