WYSO’s CPB funding, which comes in the form of a community service grant, accounts for roughly 8-10% of the radio station’s operating budget annually, according to WYSO General Manager Luke Dennis.
Nearly 1,500 stations receive some kind of operating support through the CPB, while roughly 0.01% of the total federal budget goes toward the CPB.
“This is the most serious threat we’ve seen to CPB funding,” Dennis told this news outlet. “It will have an immediate impact on our ability to serve our community.”
This month, ThinkTV President and CEO Kitty Lensman also shared concerns about the proposed cuts in a newsletter to members.
Federal funding accounts for 16% of the PBS station’s annual budget, she wrote.
“That may seem like a small amount, but that 16 percent allows us to secure grants, bring in sponsors, and build our membership with Viewers Like You,” Lensman wrote. “It’s seed money that makes our work possible, and it costs each American taxpayer less than $2 per year.”
ThinkTV serves the Dayton and Cincinnati region and provides programs popular among households, ranging from the “PBS News Hour” to “Sesame Street.”
Credit: NYT
Credit: NYT
The proposed cuts to public media are a part of a larger purge of the federal workforce and programs. Congress reconvenes this week and will have a 45-day window in which the House and Senate can approve or reject the public media rescission.
The president himself has called for defunding the two broadcasting networks, calling them a part of the “radical left.”
In a newsletter sent to listeners last week, Dennis said WYSO would be ramping up its fundraising efforts to combat the potential cuts. WYSO’s annual spring and fall member drives raise less than $200,000 each per year.
Dennis said WYSO is working on a campaign it plans to roll out this summer, flagging listeners to federal funding gaps. Although the station has numerous revenue sources, individual donors are the most reliable.
Dennis said access to credible information is crucial to participating in democracy. He believes WYSO exists to serve the whole community.
“Information is not partisan. Facts and truthful things are not partisan,” he said. “These are institutions that need our support and our protection, because institutions can be eroded, and the free press is an institution in this country.”
Aside from news, WYSO also provides music and cultural programming to the Dayton region, Dennis said. He thinks of public media as a community connector.
“We all live in bubbles, and public radio is always trying to invite people to step out of their bubble for a second and connect with someone else,” he said.
Dennis said listeners who want to help their public radio station should consider WYSO membership, but they can also advocate for public media through the Protect My Public Media campaign or record a testimonial about what public media means to them and send it to their NPR station.
“There’s still absolutely a need for a public broadcasting ecosystem, because it’ll always be free and available, and education will always be a core value of the programming,” Dennis said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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