Local Small Stations Hurt the Most?


Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Andrew Mercein, 5/8/25

Headline:  “Rural and Tribal Public Radio Stations Brace for Funding Cuts”

Subhead:  “Small broadcasters fear they will be unintended victims of national culture wars.”

“Today, stations like KSTK (Wrangell, Alaska) are facing an existential crisis. Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to cease all funding to NPR and PBS and to eliminate indirect sources of public financing like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars annually to stations nationwide. The move could wipe out funding appropriated through 2026 and 2027, endangering stations that already operate on razor-thin margins. “If CPB funding disappears, I don’t know how we’d survive,” said Cindy Sweat, KSTK’s general manager. . .”

https://www.cjr.org/news/npr-pbs-cpb-trump-public-radio-funding.php