Foundations to give tens of millions to save public media subject to Trump cuts

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00:00A group of non-profits is pledging $36.5 million to public TV and radio stations

00:05that are at risk of closing after the Trump administration and congressional Republicans

00:10shut down the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

00:14CPP's closure will impact 1,500 stations nationwide,

00:18including 115 that relied on the CPP for more than 30% of their budget.

00:25John Palfrey, president of the MacArthur Foundation, said in a statement,

00:29stations serving rural, small to mid-market, and native communities,

00:33as well as documentary ecosystems, are disproportionately impacted by the funding cuts

00:39and need intentional support.

00:41These stations are more than just broadcasters.

00:44They are critical sources of information and connection.

00:47Republicans rescinded the funding because they believe NPR and PBS have a left-leaning bias

00:52and no longer fulfill their public service mission.

00:55The MacArthur Foundation is one of five pledging to make up for that loss.

01:00The budget cuts have already forced stations to scale back or even eliminate teams and programming.

01:05That includes local news, emergency alerts, and educational content.

01:09The stations the foundations are hoping to help the most serve markets containing 43 million people.

01:16WETA, the PBS station in D.C., which produces PBS NewsHour and documentaries like Ken Burns' The American Revolution,

01:24will lose a minimum $18 million over the next two years.

01:28As a result, the station is implementing an immediate hiring freeze

01:32and will not provide raises or cost-of-living adjustments to its employees.

01:36WETA Vice President Mary Stewart told S.A.N.,

01:39we won't compromise on quality, we will have to make changes on scope and quantity of what we produce and offer.

01:46The station said it did not have layoffs or any other cuts to announce,

01:50but an employee at the station said they expect layoffs in October,

01:54when the federal government's new fiscal year begins and the current grants expire.

01:58I'm Ray Bogan for Straight Arrow News.

02:00For more reporting, download the S.A.N. app.