Federal NPR, PBS cuts could shut down some Indiana public media stations, leader says

Indianapolis Star

5 hours ago

Some Hoosier public radio and television stations could be forced to shutter if President Donald Trump's administration is successful in its most recent attempt to defund NPR and PBS.
Indiana's 17 stations are already grappling with the loss of millions of dollars from the state, which is forcing tighter budgeting, consolidation efforts and layoffs in at least one case.
"The state funding cut was a gut punch," said Mark Newman, executive director of Indiana's network of public broadcasting stations. Without the federal money "They could be done."
Earlier this month, the U.S. House approved legislation that would seek to withhold $1.1 billion that was already approved for local public media stations across the country over the next two years.
The U.S. Senate still needs to vote on the bill. The chamber's appropriations committee will hear the legislation June 25.
Nearly a third of Indiana Public Broadcasting's total budget — about $13 million — comes from the state and federal governments, according to a WFYI analysis.
Without that financial support, smaller and more rural stations will be most at risk for closure or dramatic cuts. State and federal money accounts for more than 50% of some of their budgets.
One of the more extreme examples is Lakeshore Public Media, which serves northwest Indiana. It could lose 60% of its total operating revenue between lost state dollars and pending federal cuts. Layoffs and a reduction in TV and radio programming are already expected, though not finalized.
For WFYI, state cuts will cost the station about $590,000 a year. Congress could strip away an additional $1.5 million a year in federal funding — about 11% of the station's budget.
These cuts ultimately mean the state's existing news deserts could expand, Newman said.
Even if local outlets don't permanently close, he said, the cuts could hamstring their ability to produce news coverage in areas where accessible and consistent coverage is already limited.
"If you don't have that — have that trusted and independent source — where does it come from?" he said. "There's a greater likelihood that people would rely on less reliable sources of news and information about what's happening locally, regionally, nationally and internationally."
Indiana has 17 television and radio stations in Indianapolis, Bloomington, Fort Wayne, Evansville, Vincennes, Muncie, West Lafayette, South Bend, Merrillville and Elkhart.
Since taking office, Trump has sought to strip all federal funding from National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service, asserting that public media have a liberal bias.
Despite the focus on the national organizations, Newman said, they aren't the ones getting hit hardest.
"The folks that get hurt by this are the stations: the WFYIs of the world or the WVPEs of the world," he said, "small, rural communities who have stations that serve as a lifeline to a information content and how they learn and perceive the world around them."
Indiana's public media outlets were already limping through significant and somewhat unexpected state budget cuts, he said.
In late April, Indiana's Republican supermajority approved a bare-bones state budget that included a last-minute measure to strip $7.4 million from Indiana Public Broadcasting.
Stations have been finding ways to make up the loss of state money through fundraising, Newman said. Supporters have increased donations amid the threats, he said, but those surges are not sustainable long term. Across the board, he said, stations are working to find efficiencies and consolidate operations.
Without federal support, Newman said, stations will be in survival mode. Some may have to close, but others would "absolutely" need to dip into reserves for daily operations, he said.
It's difficult to see this effort as anything other than an attack on the freedom of the press, Newman said. Use of labels like "fake news" are difficult to understand because the rationale is unclear, he said.
The White House has described public media as "radical, woke propaganda disguised as 'news'" and has used those criticisms as reason for the massive cuts. NPR and PBS have repeatedly denied those claims.
In response to an executive order attempting to cease all federal public media funding, NPR and three Colorado public radio stations are suing the administration. The suit says the order violates the First Amendment and oversteps Trump's power as president.
Newman said Indiana stations don't hear Trump's criticisms from local residents. Staff at these stations don't fit that narrative, he said.
"It's just the environment that we're in, and it's just not journalism that's under attack in that way," he said.
Public media leaders, including Newman, are encouraging people to call and write their lawmakers to talk about their relationship with public media and urge them to vote down the federal cuts through the organized push called "Protect My Public Media."
The USA TODAY Network - Indiana's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.