Local NPR and PBS stations call for public support after federal cuts
Local NPR and PBS budgets will take a big hit after today’s vote by Congressional Republicans to claw back $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
After passing the House of Representatives with a vote of 216-213, President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill that will take 13% – or $1.9 million per year – away from Atlanta NPR and PBS affiliate WABE’s budget. The station, which is a Rough Draft media partner, has been on the air for 76 years.
Jennifer Dorian, WABE president and CEO, said her team is aligned in the importance of local news and local programming. The nonprofit media organization serving metro Atlanta receives 87% of its funding from the public. Losing federal funding that was expected to be distributed in November will be a shift, she said.
“We’ll be looking at new economic models for our partnerships with PBS and NPR, and more ways that the local community could fund our work,” Dorian said. “Amplifying Atlanta is our calling, and making sure Atlanta understands itself and that the wider world understands Atlanta is job one.”
If the community wants accountability journalism, local news, arts and culture coverage, “we’re going to have to place a value on that civic infrastructure” she said, calling for support in the short and long term.
“At WABE, we’re really lean. I know 13% doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s very impactful, because we operate every year on a break-even basis,” Dorian said. “There’s only one IT person, there’s only one broadcasting engineer, there’s only one managing newsroom director, you know. So, losing 13% of this money is significant.”
The state of Georgia does not provide funds to WABE. Federal cuts are set through 2027, but it remains to be seen how Congress will budget in 2028 and 2029.
Lobbyists and individual stations have been fighting the bill in Washington, D.C. Dorian said meetings with Sen. Jon Ossoff and Sen. Raphael Warnock were held, and both understood “how much we do for the local economy, how much we do for civic education, how much we do for community affairs.”
Sen. Ossoff told Rough Draft that now is not the time for Congress to focus on “defunding ‘Sesame Street.’”
“I’ve vigorously advocated in public against this defunding of public television and Public Radio, which Georgians rely upon, not just for news, but also for emergency weather information and emergency services,” Ossoff said. “We need to be bringing Republicans and Democrats together to do what’s in the national interest, not fight these culture wars.”
Broadly speaking, Dorian estimates that cuts will cause the closure of stations that heavily depend on federal funding. While those outlets are mostly rural, there is a risk that they will not be able to get emergency alert information on extreme weather events, power outages, cyber security problems.
“That’s not our situation in Atlanta, where I don’t think there’s going to be closures, but we will see across the country newsrooms weakening, the shrinking of local reporting, local arts and cultural programming, and local educational programming. We also could see the weakening of PBS and NPR nationwide as the stations don’t get the money to pay them,” Dorian said.
News networks rely on local stations for on-the-scene reporting of extreme weather events in Asheville, N.C. and Kerrville, Texas. And it’s vital for public radio to maintain the Emergency Alert System, Dorian added.
WABE launched a new appeal to listeners to make donations to make up the budget shortfall.
Georgia Public Broadcasting, a statewide network operating nine TV stations and 18 radio stations, receives funding several sources including the Georgia General Assembly. In fiscal year 2024, the state legislature gave GPB $12.9 million.
“For the past 65 years, Georgians have relied on Georgia Public Broadcasting to bring them high-quality educational programming, unbiased local news, homegrown sports and entertainment as well as emergency public safety messages,” GPB said in a statement. “GPB leadership anticipated a rapidly changing federal funding environment and in response, has conducted careful scenario planning in preparation for multiple outcomes.”
GPB added: “There is no better time than now for Georgians to show their support and donate to GPB.”
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