01-08-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
Corporation for Public Broadcasting to close. Will it affect local stations in Indiana?
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes 70% of its funding to local stations, announced its closure Aug. 1 after losing more than $1 billion in federal funds last month.
The cuts to federal funds are yet another blow for Indiana's public broadcasting stations which saw their state funding slashed during the most recent legislative session.
The news was 'another gut punch' to Jay Kincaid, interim executive director of WTIU/WFIU in Bloomington, but not necessarily surprising, he said.
The decision to close stemmed from the funding loss but doesn't mean much materially for local stations. Instead, the closure can be viewed as a symptom of the cuts.
'It doesn't really affect us because there's no money for them to distribute to us,' Kincaid said. 'Other than it's just heartbreaking.'
The cuts in general are likely to hit rural stations harder because federal funds make up a higher percentage of their budget. At least four Indiana stations were expected to lose over 50% of their revenue: Northern Indiana's Lakeshore Public Media, Ball State Public Media, WVUB and PBS in Vincennes, and Tri-State Public Media in Evansville.
Some Indiana stations, like Lakeshore Public Media in Merrillville, began laying off staff before the federal cuts were announced. Most recently, Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations laid off members of its statewide reporting team, citing state budget cuts.
The CPB called its closure an 'orderly wind-down of its operations' in a news release Aug. 1. That includes eliminating most staff by Sept. 30 and keeping a small transition team until January 2026.
That team will distribute remaining funds and work to secure continuity for music rights and royalties for local stations.
'Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country,' said CPB president and CEO Patricia Harrison in the release. 'We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.'
A state budget shortfall and accusations of bias toward National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Station combined this year to create an uncertain fiscal environment for public media in Indiana.
Cuts at the federal level were previously appropriated but rescinded in a narrow vote prompted by President Donald Trump's distrust of the national outlets.
The decision is at odds with the majority of Americans according to a Harris Poll conducted in July, which showed 66% supported federal funding for public media. Local public media reaches 95% of Hoosiers according to IPBS, and 2.5 million Hoosiers tune in weekly.
