Eleven months after cutting its workforce by 6% due to budget shortfalls, New York Public Radio will again lay off staff due to a projected $10 million budget shortfall. At least 8% of staff are expected to be let go, per NYPR CEO LaFontaine Oliver.
Oliver detailed the financial difficulties in an email to staff, obtained by Hell Gate, citing persistent increases in expenses and revenue declines despite previous cost-cutting measures such as staff cuts, a hiring freeze, the elimination of senior executive roles, and a hold on annual salary increases and paid internships.
He wrote, “Our deficit continues to climb, and with our Q4 reconciliation complete and the books closed on FY24, we are now projecting a deficit for FY25 that is on course to once again reach more than $10 million by the end of the year.”
NYPR is the parent entity of WNYC, classical music station WQXR, and news site Gothamist. An 8% RIF for the broadcaster would likely affect around 25 positions.
Oliver blames economic uncertainty and increased competition, saying, “For profit, nonprofit, and public media outlets alike are continuing to sustain losses wrought by declines in advertising, shifting audience behaviors, disruptions in the tech space, stubbornly high interest rates, and overall uncertainty in the markets.”
He added, “Competition for philanthropic support is stiff, not only from our peers in nonprofit news outlets who are accelerating their pursuit of these same dollars in the face of increased challenges. Membership, long the hallmark of the public media model, is being strongly impacted by shifts from legacy media to digital platforms.”
NYPR is providing a buyout offer to certain employees over the next two weeks, with job cuts to come next month.
The financial landscape for public radio has been challenging. NPR has experienced a 30% decline in weekly listenership since 2020, and numerous stations nationwide are grappling with financial difficulties in the post-pandemic era.
San Francisco’s KQED laid off 8% of its staff in May, the same month that LAist (KPCC) announced a buyout plan. Additionally, Boston’s WBUR, Santa Monica’s KCRW, Chicago Public Radio, WAMU in Washington DC, and CapRadio in Sacramento have also experienced buyouts and layoffs within the past year.
Some of us pine for a time when WNYC was as different as can be from the very “corporate” operation it has come to be. I recognize that some significant portion of that is irrational – it’s a rule of nature & the world that change is inevitable and … in the long run, GOOD.
But the corporate culture there is now NOT going to be rolled back. I’ve worked mostly in the private sector. It’s a truism that almost every “business” sometimes over-expands. That, of course, is followed by cutbacks, layoffs, etc. Sometimes, there are “reorganizations,” even bankruptcies, and they ARE the accepted way of trying to salvage something with a good and solid core … that has “growths” that are bringing it down.
Of course, there is ZERO transparency at NY Public Media, but I wonder if the billionaire who gave up on Gothamist wasn’t just plain realistic & hard-headed. (Yes, I know that he was also a miserable human being, but BOTH might be true.) Maybe, acquiring WQXR was judged to be a “big win,” but running a newspaper strikes me as daunting since 2000, and Laura Walker is/was a typical WNYC “leader” in that she had poor people skills & even worse managerial ones.
How to turn things around? Ads may NEVER “come back.” I’ll bet there are 20 people at NYPM now earning (all in) over $500K p.a. That’s nuts. Trimming staff as they’re doing for a SECOND time is nuts. Hasn’t worked/Won’t work. When the only thing – other than broadcasting – that hasn’t changed in 50 years is the begging, you know something’s seriously awry. Many former journalists are now small businesspeople, courtesy of Substack. WNYC and its sisters needs products & services that GENERATE income.
I’m an older long-time listener and former member of WNYC. I no longer find WNYC interesting or particularly informative. The quality of their programming has significantly declined, and long ago I decided not to renew my membership. I have so many complaints and criticisms of WNYC and public radio; they’re clearly no longer for me. There are much better sources for news, information and entertainment.