WBUR, other public media outlets, brace for Trump's move to claw back federal funding

In Massachusetts and around the country, public media outlets are bracing for President Trump's latest salvo: the potential elimination of federal funding.

As early as next week, Congress will take up the president's request to claw back $1.1 billion in support for public radio and TV, and public media leaders in Massachusetts are sounding the alarm about the funding threat.

“It’s the most direct attack on WBUR — and public media — ever,” WBUR Chief Executive Margaret Low wrote in an email to station donors Wednesday.

As expected, the White House formally sent a “rescission request” to Capitol Hill this week. It asks Congress to take back two years of approved funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Lawmakers have 45 days to approve the measure, with simple majority votes in each chamber. Republicans hold slim majorities in both houses; while many of them have stations in their districts and receive air time on public radio and TV, they are under pressure to approve Trump's request.

WBUR gets about $1.6 million, or 3%, of its funding a year from the federal government.

In an interview with WBUR Morning Edition host Tiziana Dearing, Low said the station could weather the direct loss of funding. But smaller public radio stations that rely more heavily on federal support could be forced to trim spending or to shut down. That could also cost WBUR millions of dollars in lost syndication fees for its national programs and sponsorships.

“WBUR will be here even if federal funding goes away,” Low said in the interview. “But we will be diminished, and in order to address that loss we will have to make significant cuts.”

Boston’s other public media outlet, GBH, also warned about the latest funding threat from the Trump administration. Roughly 8% of its budget comes from federal funding, including a portion related to television.

“It could affect everything from our local news coverage to the national programming we produce — including educational programs and materials for kids — reaching millions of people nationwide,” said Susan Goldberg, chief executive of GBH, in an emailed statement. Earlier this week, GBH announced more than 40 employees were laid off at the company, because of stagnant revenue and federal funding threats.

Low, Goldberg and other public media executives are urging supporters to contact their elected representatives to support free speech and to vote against the rescission request.

Editor’s note: WBUR’s Patrick Madden reported this digital story, and WBUR’s Beth Healy is the story editor. The audio interview atop this post aired on WBUR's Morning Edition. The interview was conducted by WBUR's Tiziana Dearing, produced by Rob Lane and edited by Jeff Cohen. 

Under standard practices for reporting on WBUR, no other BU or WBUR staff were allowed to review the story before publication.