‘Hard decisions’ ahead for CA public broadcasters as funding agency shutters
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the entity that has stewarded funds for public television and radio stations for almost 60 years, said Friday that it will begin winding down operations.
Last month Congress passed a measure that would eliminate $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, or CPB, and this week a Senate committee released a spending bill that did not include any funding for the organization. As a result, the CPB announced Friday, a majority of its staff will be laid off at the end of September, with a small transition team remaining on through January.
“Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,” President and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a news release.
David Lowe, the president and general manager of Sacramento’s PBS affiliate, KVIE, said the announcement was expected but sobering. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting funds represent about 14% of KVIE’s operating budget.
“Losing that level of support is a real blow,” Lowe said in an email. “That said, we have built reserves specifically for moments like this. Those reserves, along with support from our donors, sponsors, and members, give us time.”
In the immediate term, Lowe said, KVIE is committed to preserving its local content, investing in digital news and continuing its national program, including its children’s shows.
“But make no mistake. This is a major loss, and it will require hard decisions if funding is not eventually restored,” Lowe wrote. “Public media was created to serve the public without commercial influence. That mission doesn’t change but how we sustain it will. We’ll be looking to our community more than ever.”
Capital Public Radio has said that it has not received any funding through CPB for the past two years, since federal auditors launched a financial review of the station.
Nowadays, 90% of CapRadio’s funding comes from member contributions and paid sponsorships for local businesses, said Chris Bruno, the station’s chief marketing and revenue officer. The wind down of CPB will not affect CapRadio’s programming or staff, he said. In fact, the station is bringing on one part-time and four full-time hires.
But the station would have been more vulnerable in the recent past: CapRadio used to receive around $900,000 in federal funds, which represented around 6% to 8% of its budget, Bruno said. Public television stations typically rely more heavily on federal funds than public radio stations, and it’s not uncommon for one to depend on federal dollars for 15% to 16% of its budget.
“Clearly at a national level, what’s going on right now is an unprecedented attack on public media,” Bruno said.
This story was originally published August 1, 2025 at 1:17 PM.
