BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A bill in Congress zeroing out funding for public media poses a serious threat to community radio station WDIY, the nonprofit’s executive director said Tuesday.
The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved a measure clawing back all $1.1 billion appropriated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting over the next two fiscal years.
The bill now awaits a vote in the Senate.
WDIY gets roughly 15% of its operating budget from federal money distributed by CPB. Much of that money pays to license programming from National Public Radio, said WDIY 88.1 Executive Director Margaret McConnell..
The CPB also negotiates licensing deals with music publishers that allow member stations like WDIY to play music on the air. If CPB cannot cover those licensing fees, member stations would need to pay for licensing on their own.
“Maybe we can rely on our reserves for a year, but our reserves aren't big enough to take us through multiple years.”Margaret McConnell, executive director of WDIY 88.1 radio
In all, WDIY would need to come up with about $200,000 to make up lost funding, pay for NPR content and cover music licensing without federal support, according to McConnell.
“It's money I don't have,” McConnell said Tuesday night during a WDIY virtual town hall meeting.
“Maybe we can rely on our reserves for a year, but our reserves aren't big enough to take us through multiple years.”
Budget shortfalls
Even with federal funding, WDIY has been running a budget deficit in recent years. If not for unexpected windfalls in the last two years, the station would have ended the 2022-23 fiscal year $48,000 in the red, and ended 2023-24 with a $141,000 shortfall.
Station management projects expenses will outstrip revenue by more than $92,000 in the current fiscal year, McConnell said.
To cover the existing shortfall — and fill the gap left by federal funding cuts — WDIY’s leadership plans to focus on creating new partnerships with major Lehigh Valley companies, attracting new donors and pursuing grants from other sources.
“I think we're all looking for ways to stay connected in a world that is being divided on purpose, and I believe there is connection created in this radio station and the many other community public radio stations,” said McConnell.
Call to action
McConnell urged WDIY’s supporters above all else to contact their U.S. senators.
Though the threat to WDIY’s operations is “significant,” it is not “insurmountable,” said McConnell.
“This is, I think, the toughest it's ever been — the toughest threats we've ever faced,” she said. “We've seen some of this in the past, and the community has rallied, so I am hopeful. I have to have hope that we can make this work.”
WDIY is not the only Lehigh Valley public media outlet that would be harmed by cuts to federal funding.
Lehigh Valley Public Media — which operates PBS39, 91.3 WLVR and LehighValleyNews.com — would lose about 20% of its funding, or a little more than $1 million.
Lehigh Valley Public Media is hosting a panel discussion Thursday on the future of public media organizations in the face of potential federal funding cuts.
It is being held from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Univest Public Media Center on the SteelStacks campus in Bethlehem.
