While some broadcasters are celebrating Congress’s rescission of funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, one commercial radio operator based in Madison, WI, is speaking out on behalf of public radio and the services it provides to communities across the US.
Civic Media, which operates 23 stations in Wisconsin, WELY-AM/FM in Minnesota, and is acquiring five more signals in Michigan, released a statement supporting public broadcasters, including Wisconsin Public Radio, tribal stations like WOJB, and rural public outlets across the country.
In its statement, Civic Media said, “We stand with our colleagues in public media against these cuts. We pledge to support their efforts. Local journalism matters. Independent, fact-based reporting and information are essential to a functioning democracy.”
Though Civic Media receives no CPB funding itself, the company stressed the role public stations play in providing free, fact-based news and local programming on both radio and television. With budgets planned around federal support, the loss of CPB funds could lead to newsroom cuts, scaled-back programming, or full station closures.
NPR’s board voted to cut its own budget by $8 million to help rural stations absorb the impact of what is expected to be an average $350 million funding loss per station caused by Congress’s two-year CPB rescission.
