In a message to listeners on Friday, WYSO General Manager Luke Dennis said the decision is “devastating” for the millions of Americans who use public media daily.
“We will work with our fellow public media stations and national organizations like NPR to restore federal funding, but that journey will take years and success is not guaranteed,” Dennis said.
After the rescission passed in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives early Friday morning voted in favor of the $9 billion package, which also included nearly $8 billion in cuts to foreign aid spending. Breaking from party lines was U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton — although he wouldn’t say why he voted against the cuts.
The cuts to public media are a part of a larger purge of the federal workforce and programs. President Donald Trump himself earlier this summer called for defunding the two broadcasting networks, calling them a part of the “radical left.”
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.
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.
PBS’s Dayton area station, ThinkTV, did not immediately return a request for comment about the funding cuts.
Credit: NYT
Credit: NYT
Public Media Connect, the regional nonprofit public media partnership of CET in Cincinnati and ThinkTV in Dayton, is set to lose $2.6 million annually with the rescission.
Public Media Connect President and CEO Kitty Lensman in a press release said the federal funding cut will impact locally owned public media stations the most. She said she fears for rural communities that rely on their local PBS station for early education or emergency alerts.
“In Ohio, these rural stations may go dark. So, the real losers in this decision will be our community, our families, our teachers, and, most importantly, our children who desperately need these services,” Lensman said. “This will impact future generations to come.”
ThinkTV serves the Dayton and Cincinnati region and provides programs popular among households, ranging from the “PBS News Hour” to “Sesame Street.” Officials at the station previously shared concerns with the public about the proposed cuts. Federal funding accounts for 15% of Public Media Connect’s annual budget.
While there reportedly have been some discussions in Congress about additional ways to fund local public media stations, none of those options have come to fruition, according to Public Media Connect.
Dennis told this news outlet that WYSO is beginning to see a shift in local fundraising: first, current members are increasing their donations. Second, numerous listeners are becoming members for the first time.
“It is just beginning, but the early signs are promising,” Dennis said. At his station, one in 10 listeners is a donor. WYSO is trying to make that ratio closer to one in five.
Dennis said in his newsletter that access to credible information is crucial to participating in democracy. He believes WYSO exists to serve the whole community.
“WYSO is part of a remarkable network of local stations which will fight to continue to bring you rigorous journalism, courageous storytelling, inspired music discovery, and the kind of reporting that democracy depends on — every day, without fear or favor,” he said. “That is the promise of a free press in a democracy. It’s in the First Amendment. It is the mission of public media.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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