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Chicago Tribune
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Illinois public broadcasters in Chicago, and especially downstate, fear impact as Senate vote to cut funding looms
WASHINGTON — The GOP-controlled Senate is expected to decide this week whether to slash federal spending on public radio and TV, a move national Republicans say is long overdue but Illinois Democrats and media advocates argue could deprive Americans of reliable sources for news and educational programming. Chicago's public media outlets — WBEZ and WTTW — will undoubtedly get hit by the President Donald Trump-endorsed plan to take away $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting over the next two years. But the cuts would have a far greater impact on smaller stations that rely more on federal funding and predominantly serve rural areas. The coming Capitol Hill debate follows years of complaining by Republicans who claim that National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service are biased against conservatives. Until now, those criticisms weren't enough to convince lawmakers to make significant cuts to public broadcasting funding. But those efforts found new life with the second-term presidency of Trump, who has made media criticism a cornerstone of his political career and is now championing the budget cuts to 1,500 public media outlets across the country. Heather Norman, president of the Illinois Public Broadcasting Council, said large outlets such as those in Chicago 'may not be able to do as much as they would have been doing' if the cuts pass because 'when you pare back money, there's no room for growth or enhanced services.' But stations that are often the only daily news outlets in predominantly rural regions stand to lose even more, Norman said, as they have smaller budgets that rely even more on federal support, sometimes accounting for as much as 50% of their funding. Norman knows firsthand. She's the general manager of Tri States Public Radio in the western Illinois city of Macomb, home to Western Illinois University. The newspaper serving the city of 15,000 people closed its Macomb office more than two years ago. The TV stations that serve Macomb are in Peoria or the Quad Cities, more than an hour's drive away. That means that public radio is often the best way to get real-time information about dangerous situations in town. In September, for instance, a man barricaded himself in a home near Western Illinois' campus after shooting two Macomb city police officers. Four commercial radio stations are based in a building two blocks from where the standoff occurred, Norman said. But the commercial stations were unable to inform residents about the active shooter situation. 'They do not have a soul in their studio; they're all run remotely. So they couldn't tell anyone to stay away from that incident that was two blocks from their building,' Norman said. 'We were the only people on air that were able to tell people where not to go, what the police were doing. We did that regularly.' 'You have to have a way to disperse that information,' she continued. 'We were the people in the studio, that live in the (community), that were able to do that.' In the event of severe weather, public radio stations are equipped to provide regular updates. If the power goes out, and people can't charge their mobile phones or cell towers don't work, public radio stations almost all have back-up generators to stay on the air. 'We are a public service, and that's what our job is to do,' Norman said. Last week, as the Senate prepared to take up the funding vote, Illinois Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin asked his colleagues in a floor speech, 'Do you think we're better off with less information as Americans or more?' He also noted the cuts' far-reaching consequences, echoing much of what Norman said. 'What (does it) mean for small towns in downstate Illinois all the way up to Chicago?' he said. 'Public media stations provide essential, nonpartisan news coverage, life-saving emergency and weather alerts, and educational programming for our kids.' While downstate might be more affected, radio station WBEZ and TV station WTTW wouldn't go unscathed. Of the $1.1 billion that GOP lawmakers want to claw back, $700 million is set aside for direct aid to local stations. If the Senate approves Trump's proposed cuts without any changes, WBEZ would lose $2 million in direct funding and could lose another $1 million in indirect support, which includes staff training and lower negotiated rates for music licenses. The $3 million is approximately 6% of WBEZ's budget. 'WBEZ is in a stronger position than many peers, but as we collaborate with stations across Illinois and beyond, we know these cuts could weaken the overall public media system, diminishing the reach, depth, and impact of the information our audiences depend on,' said Victor Lim, vice president of marketing and communications at Chicago Public Media. Lim said that, even though WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times are both owned by the same organization, the potential funding cuts to the radio station would not affect the newspaper. 'Although the Sun-Times is part of Chicago Public Media, its operations are supported by separate revenue sources,' Lim said. 'CPB funding is limited to noncommercial broadcast services like WBEZ, so the Sun-Times would not be affected by the proposed rescission. However, our organization is still unified with a joint newsroom, so there are still potential negative effects on our overall ability to provide local, independent news.' The cuts to public media come as part of a larger 'rescissions' package the Trump administration is pushing in order to roll back funding lawmakers approved in March. The House's $9.4 billion package of cuts would also scale back spending on foreign aid, including the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, an initiative of George W. Bush's administration to prevent the spread of HIV across the globe. The U.S. has spent more than $100 billion on the program since its inception, and it is credited with saving approximately 25 million lives. Senators and Trump administration officials announced a deal Tuesday to maintain funding for the AIDS relief program, which could remove a major obstacle for a larger agreement. Foreign aid and public media spending account for a minuscule portion of the federal budget, but they loom large in the popular imagination. Trump and administration officials have accused public media outlets, including NPR and PBS, of political bias. Last year, Trump called for defunding NPR after an NPR business editor said in an online essay that 'an open-minded spirit no longer exists' at the news organization. The editor, Uri Berliner, later resigned. 'Republicans have campaigned on cutting funding for NPR and PBS for decades, and for good reason,' Russell Vought, director of Trump's Office of Management and Budget, said in congressional testimony last month. 'There is no longer any excuse for tax dollars to subsidize these radical, far-left networks,' he said. 'If you would like to donate to them on your own, you are more than welcome to do so, but taxpayers should no longer be forced to foot the bill.' Paula Kerger, president and CEO of PBS, responded last month to the accusations about political bias, saying, 'I think when people talk about 'bias,' they are speaking mostly about our news. Our news represents about 10% of the work we do.' 'But we work really hard to bring together a diversity of viewpoints,' she said. 'That's part of our mission.' Some Senate Republicans have hesitated to support a bill with such significant cuts to public media. Two senators from Alaska and one from South Dakota publicly worried about the impact the cuts would have on sparsely populated areas of their states. Trump, though, is pushing party members to get in line. 'It is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions Bill and, in particular, DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN & MSDNC put together,' the president wrote on his social media site last week, using a disparaging nickname for MSNBC. 'Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement.' Trump and his followers have repeatedly seized on controversies to accuse mainstream news outlets of bias, sometimes with serious financial consequences. The president sued Paramount, which owns CBS News, and alleged editing bias in a '60 Minutes' interview of former Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump's opponent in November's election. Paramount, which needs federal regulatory approval for a merger, recently settled the case, agreeing to pay $16 million toward Trump's legal fees and his future presidential library. That followed a $15 million settlement by ABC News, which is owned by Disney, in December over an interview conducted by George Stephanopoulos, an ABC News anchor and former adviser to President Bill Clinton. Stephanopoulos mischaracterized the sexual misconduct for which Trump had been found civilly liable. The Trump administration also engaged in a monthslong fight with The Associated Press because the wire service declined to use the term 'Gulf of America' that Trump invented to describe the Gulf of Mexico. Trump has also attempted to dismantle the Voice of America, a federally funded network of overseas reporters covering countries with limited press freedom. The White House accused the organization of being the 'voice of radical America.' Senate Republicans are using a little-used budget maneuver to try to effectuate the cuts. The arcane procedure gives Republicans the chance to make substantial changes to the spending deal Congress approved in March with just a simple majority vote in the Senate, rather than the three-fifths majority usually required to avoid a filibuster. The move would also strengthen the Trump administration's legal position by giving legislative approval to changes that Trump attempted to implement through executive actions, which NPR challenged in court. But to take effect, Congress must approve the rescissions package by Friday. If the Senate makes changes to the proposal, the House must approve them as well by the Friday deadline. If Congress does not OK the cuts, the Trump administration is required by law to spend the money as planned. Trump attempted to use the rescissions procedure once during his first administration, but the Republican-controlled Senate refused to cooperate. Some Republican senators say they are also skittish about the current Trump proposal. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, voiced several concerns with the package, though she has voted with Trump more often than not despite public protestations. Collins demanded more details from administration officials about foreign aid programs that would be scaled back, such as support for vaccines and economic aid to Jordan and Egypt. She also voiced support for local public media. 'I understand … the concern about subsidizing the national radio news programming that for years has had a discernibly partisan bent,' she said. 'There are, however, more targeted approaches to addressing that bias at NPR than rescinding all of the funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.' Democrats have also warned that after-the-fact cuts to bipartisan funding agreements could jeopardize future budget negotiations. 'If Republicans cave to Donald Trump and gut these investments agreed to by both parties, that would be an affront — a huge affront — to the bipartisan appropriations process,' said U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Senate's top Democrat. Schumer and a handful of Democrats, including Durbin, voted for the funding bill that Republicans now want to alter. 'It is absurd to expect Democrats to play along with funding the government if Republicans are just going to renege on a bipartisan agreement by concocting rescissions packages behind closed doors that can pass with only their votes, not the customary 60 votes required in the appropriation process,' Schumer said. As the fight plays out in Washington, local public media outlets are urging listeners to contact their elected officials and to support the stations financially. 'The outpouring of support has been encouraging, and many people have stepped up their giving or have set up recurring giving,' said Lim from Chicago Public Media. 'Community support is more important than ever and, if the funding goes away, we hope the community continues to stand with us as we work to protect Chicagoans' access to independent journalism and close the gap.' 'Our journalism is built to serve the Chicago region by reflecting its people, informing its communities and holding power to account,' he added. 'Federal funding helps make that possible, but regardless of the outcome in Washington, our commitment to the people of this city remains unwavering.'
Axios
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Public media funding cuts hit Chicago: WBEZ, WTTW brace for impact
President Trump and the Republican-majority U.S. House moved one step closer to cutting funding for public media, putting local organizations in limbo. The latest: The House passed a bill Thursday afternoon to cancel over $1 billion in funding for PBS and NPR, via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This funding was included in the 2025 fiscal year budget, but this action removes it. Why it matters: Federal funding for public media could vanish — and Chicago stations like WBEZ and WTTW are bracing for the fallout. The big picture: The move breaks decades of bipartisan tradition treating CPB funding as apolitical and throws public media companies into budgetary chaos. What they're saying: "If approved, this cancellation of funding would eliminate critical investments, stripping resources that we use to power independent journalism, educational programming, emergency alerts and the infrastructure that supports the entire network of newsrooms nationwide," Chicago Public Media CEO Melissa Bell wrote to station members. "This could threaten the ability of PBS, and member stations like WTTW, to operate autonomously," a WTTW spokesperson said in a statement. By the numbers: The cuts would amount to about 6 percent of Chicago Public Media's budget, which the organization estimates to be about $3 million annually. That's not factoring in possible syndication costs handed down by National Public Radio, which is also losing funding from this bill. For WTTW, 10% of its 2024 budget came from federal funding. Zoom in: Chicago Public Media and WTTW (which also includes WFMT-FM) are among the largest public media organizations. Chicago Public Media (WBEZ/Sun-Times) reported revenue of $70 million for 2024, while WTTW had a total operating budget of $32.7 million. Both organizations receive significant revenue from member donations. Yes, but: Smaller Illinois radio stations, such as WILL-FM in Urbana, WUIS-FM in Springfield, and WNIJ-FM in DeKalb, have significantly higher federal funding, in some cases accounting for half of their budgets. Those stations are attached to local universities. Zoom out: It's unclear if the organizations will supercharge fundraising to attract more private donors or cut back on programming and staff. Chicago Public Media recently cut staff at both the Sun-Times and WBEZ. The intrigue: The rescission package aims to claw back funding that Congress previously approved for fiscal year 2025. It primarily consists of cuts identified by DOGE, which include funding for foreign aid programs such as USAID. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting's funding is usually allocated every two years, so this cuts the second year of funding and puts future allocations in serious doubt. The rescission bill is rare in government. Trump attempted to use it during his first term, but was defeated in the Senate. Between the lines: Republicans have increasingly painted public media as left-leaning and biased, citing PBS programs like "Sesame Street" as "woke propaganda." The other side: Public media offers a variety of independent programming from news, culture, food and children's programs, funded to avoid programming influenced by corporations and commercials.
Time Out
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Wait, is the Green Mill jazz club being sold? Here's what's going on with the iconic venue
One of Chicago's most storied nightlife landmarks, the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, is in the headlines again. But don't panic just yet, jazz lovers: While the historic Uptown building that houses the century-old club is officially for sale, the Green Mill itself isn't going anywhere. The two-story structure at the corner of Broadway and Lawrence, where Al Capone once drank and Billie Holiday once performed, hit the market earlier this week. The building spans more than 21,000-square feet and includes eight commercial units, including buzzy neighbors like Birrieria Zaragoza and Le Nocturne. Current owner Dave Jemilo, who bought the Green Mill in 1986 and the building in 2021 for $5 million, hasn't publicly commented on the listing. However, sources familiar with the sale told Crain's that the club's operations are expected to continue uninterrupted, according to Block Club Chicago. That's welcome news for locals and tourists who flock to the velvet-draped venue for nightly jazz, slam poetry and a dose of Prohibition-era Chicago lore. The Green Mill has long been a living time capsule: Its curved bar, vintage booths and dim amber lighting conjure the days when mobsters sipped whiskey in the infamous 'Capone booth,' strategically placed with sightlines to both exits. If that weren't enough intrigue, there's also the tunnel system under the club, a relic of its gangster past. Once used for bootlegging and backroom escapes, the underground lair is accessible by a trapdoor behind the bar and has been featured in several films. View this post on Instagram A post shared by WTTW | Chicago's PBS Station (@wttwchicago) Jemilo's ownership transformed the then-dilapidated joint into an international jazz destination. 'I didn't buy a gold mine,' he once told WTTW. 'I bought a dump and made it a gold mine.' Under his watch, the Green Mill helped birth the global poetry slam movement and attracted generations of jazz talent. Though no asking price is listed, the building's landmark status protects it from major structural changes or demolition. So even if a new landlord steps in, the soul of the Green Mill—the music, the mythology, the martinis—should stay intact. In other words: The neon still glows, the horns still wail and for now, your favorite Uptown haunt isn't closing its doors. Just don't try to sneak into the tunnels.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
Young activist wins award for eye-opening discoveries about birds' movements: 'Mutually beneficial for people and wildlife'
A young activist who created Black Birders Week won a prestigious award from the North Carolina Wildlife Federation for her research on environmental volunteerism. Urban ecologist Deja Perkins received the honor of Young Conservationist of the Year. The website Black AF in STEM describes Black Birders Week as "a bold and unapologetic reclamation of the Black community's role in environmental spaces." This year, Black Birders Week is May 25-31. Perkins created the event in 2020 after a Black birdwatcher named Christian Cooper had the police called on him by a white woman in Central Park after he asked her to leash her dog. In response, Perkins, who was then working on a master's degree at North Carolina State University, co-organized Black Birders Week. "Any one of us could have been Christian Cooper," she told Science News at the time. NCWF's annual awards celebrate organizations and individuals who contribute to the protection and awareness of the state's natural ecosystem. Perkins, who once thought there was no "more to nature than zoos," as Chicago PBS station WTTW reported, was recognized for her dissertation, titled "The Geography of Participation: A Geospatial Analysis of Socio-spatial Gaps in US Participatory Science." It analyzes how data about who volunteers for "environmental monitoring" can illuminate inequities and other societal factors. "I am interested in using geographic information systems to look at past and current patterns to help plan for cities that are sustainable, resilient to climate change, and mutually beneficial for people and wildlife," she wrote on her website. By observing where birds are present — or absent — she derives information about, as WTTW wrote, "an area's socioeconomics or historical systemic structures like racism." Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Perkins' early childhood in Chicago didn't include much nature until her mother signed her up for a conservation program in high school. She came to appreciate how even in urban areas, people work to maintain wild spaces and protect wildlife. At Tuskegee University in Alabama, Perkins developed her love for birds and what they can teach humanity, majoring in natural resources. Perkins, who believes in the power of local action, also started the organization Naturally Wild, which, according to its website, "empowers Black-identifying individuals and people of color to explore and engage with the wildlife and natural spaces in their neighborhoods." On top of that, the seemingly unstoppable Perkins co-hosts the podcast Bring Birds Back. The podcast's website describes it as "a show about the joy of birds and the ways that humans can help them through simple, everyday actions." "We are out here doing the work to create the change we want to see!" Perkins posted on Instagram. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Chicago Tribune
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Dick Carter, producer and director of WTTW arts programming, dies
Dick Carter was a prolific producer and director for WTTW-Ch. 11 who from the 1960s through the '90s oversaw the making of dozens of music and arts programs, some of which aired nationally. Carter's best-known production was 'Soundstage,' which showcased major musical acts over its 11-year run in the 1970s and '80s. Carter also was an expert at directing dance programs, and he directed and produced telecasts of numerous ballets created by the late Chicago ballerina and choreographer Ruth Page. 'He could work in dance and music and opera and 'Soundstage,' but he could even make a talking-head show like 'Chicago Tonight' or 'Chicago Week in Review' exciting,' said longtime WTTW producer Jamie Ceaser. Carter, 85, died of complications from prostate cancer April 11 at his home in Palm Springs, California, said his husband, John MacMillan. He moved to Palm Springs in 2000. Born in Flint, Michigan, Carter grew up in nearby East Lansing. He played the organ and initially considered being a music major at Michigan State University before receiving a degree in broadcasting. Carter worked first for PBS station KTCA-TV in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he directed dance and opera programs. He joined WTTW in 1967 where early on, he directed station fundraising programs such as 'Stars for Eleven.' Carter also oversaw Channel 11-produced programs that were nationally distributed. One of his earliest WTTW productions was directing 'Kukla, Fran and Ollie,' the puppet-and-adult show produced in Chicago from 1947 until 1957 on two local network stations. In the late 1960s, WTTW revived the show, which was popular with children and adults, and distributed it nationally under the direction of Carter, who had started watching the show at age 11. Carter was executive producer of WTTW's 'Chicago Festival,' an award-winning series in the late 1960s and early 1970s that provided a local showcase for all segments of the arts. Carter also directed segments of 'Chicago Festival,' including dance programs. In 1968, WTTW won its first National Educational Television award for its 'Chicago Festival' broadcast of the comic ballet 'Coppelia,' by the Illinois Ballet Company. Carter won an award for directing that telecast. In a 1971 Tribune interview, Carter acknowledged the innate challenges of directing dance on TV. 'Ballet is always choreographed for the stage,' Carter said. 'Shots would be so wide that people wouldn't see what's going on. We change a good deal of the choreography, having the dancers move diagonally back and forth in the camera instead of across the stage.' In 1978, Carter produced and directed an opera version of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale 'Hansel and Gretel,' and a telecast of Page's ballet 'Frankie and Johnny.' In 1982, Carter produced and directed a one-hour production of Page's ballet of 'The Merry Widow.' The program cost WTTW $275,000 to hire a cast and build scenery, and the production, which aired in 1984, won a national Peabody award. Carter also directed a TV version of Page's 1961 work, 'Die Fledermaus,' for WTTW in 1986. Carter's work for the station extended beyond dance programs. In 1974, Channel 11 gained the rights to four silent films starring Greta Garbo. Carter scored the films with musical soundtracks that he composed. Carter's participation in the nationally distributed 'Soundstage' program began toward the end of its first season, in 1975. Carter ultimately directed more than 60 episodes of 'Soundstage,' by his own count, according to a 2000 Tribune article about his career, and he was part of the program until its sign-off in 1985. One of Carter's most memorable 'Soundstage' episodes was a 1979 salute to jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. In a 1985 Tribune interview, Carter called the episode 'a high point of my career,' and added that jazz pianist and bandleader Count Basie, who had appeared in the broadcast as well, came into the control room during the show and would tap Carter's shoulder with glee in time to Fitzgerald's singing. 'Even in the '70s, we never lip synched,' Carter told the Tribune. 'We had lots of time for each act. So we let performers do what they did best. And we made it real.' 'Despite low budgets, Carter gave the program a clean and professional look, with quick switching reverse angle and crowd reaction shots,' the Tribune wrote in 1985. Versatile, Carter could direct any kind of broadcast. He directed some episodes of the WTTW-founded national movie review show 'Sneak Previews,' and he also directed the news and public affairs programs 'Chicago Tonight' and 'Chicago Week in Review.' Carter also directed 'As We See It,' a 1979 series on school desegregation, and he produced and directed a show about the Hubbard Street Dance Company in 1981. Later, WTTW produced some original drama programming, and station bosses tapped Carter to direct a drama show, 'Jesse and the Bandit Queen,' a televised adaptation of a David Freeman play that was taped in 1986 and aired in 1988. And in 1987, he directed 'Remembering Bing,' a documentary about entertainer Bing Crosby. 'He was great at what he did, and he could get totally frustrated when things didn't go right,' recalled producer Tom Weinberg, who created WTTW's 'Image Union' program. 'He knew what he was doing in a major way. Nobody was as involved as he was.' Carter continued directing pledge drives for WTTW, including a notable one filmed at the Chicago Theatre in 1988 titled 'A Grand Night,' which featured Shirley Jones, the Hubbard Street Dance Company and many other acts. He directed the station's 1989 broadcast of the Ollie Awards, which honored quality children's programs across the nation. In 1991, Carter co-produced and co-directed a WTTW program about blues singer Koko Taylor, titled 'Queen of the Blues.' And in 1994, he directed 'Remembering Chicago,' an historic look at Chicago featuring Irv Kupcinet, Studs Terkel, Bill Gleason and Chuck Schaden. Carter directed episodes of a short-lived 'Soundstage' reboot called 'Center Stage,' a live concert television series that aired from 1993 until 1994 and that was an unprecedented co-production agreement between WTTW and cable's VH-1. Until his final years at WTTW, Carter produced and directed telecasts of the Golden Apple Foundation's Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching. Carter retired from WTTW at the start of 2000 and moved to California. He also is survived by a brother, John. There were no services.
