Federal funding for New York Public Media totaling approximately $57 million is set to be stripped away due to cuts in Congress.
In a significant blow to local journalism and community services, New York's public media landscape is facing a severe crisis due to cuts in federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Over the past two years, New York's public media organizations are expected to lose at least $57 million, a loss that threatens to exacerbate news deserts and reduce access to locally controlled media.
New York Focus conducted a statewide listening tour to study the state's local news landscape and found that many organizations have skeleton staffs. This is particularly true for rural stations that rely heavily on CPB funding. For instance, WSKG, a public radio and TV station in a rural part of New York's Southern Tier region, faces a shortfall of approximately $1.3 million a year, or 21% of its annual budget.
Rural communities, which disproportionately depend on public media for local journalism, education resources, emergency alerts, and community connection, will be especially hard hit by these cuts. Mountain Lake PBS, a public TV station based in Plattsburgh, stands to lose about $950,000 a year, or about 35% of its annual budget. North Country Public Radio, a rural radio station, is facing a loss of around $340,000 a year, or about 12-15% of its annual budget.
The CPB's shutdown follows a series of federal actions, starting with a 2025 executive order by President Trump to cease funding for NPR and PBS. This was followed by a Congress-approved reclamation of $1.1 billion in funds, finalized in a 2026 appropriations bill. The closure means a major federal funding source no longer exists to support public media organizations nationwide, forcing layoffs, program cuts, and potentially the closure of smaller stations.
The state legislature has made efforts to help some local news outlets, such as allocating $90 million in subsidies to hire and retain workers. However, these efforts excluded nonprofit outlets like public media stations. Some public media organizations, such as StoryCorps and the National Black Programming Consortium, will also be affected by these cuts.
The federal public media funding model is a public-private partnership that leaves rural stations vulnerable. As a result, rural communities are left with fewer resources for local journalism, education, and emergency services. The loss of these essential services could widen the gap between urban and rural communities in New York.
In the face of these challenges, some public media organizations are adapting. The New York Public News Network, launched in 2024, is a collaboration through which member stations share not only a reporter, but also resources and knowledge. This collaboration aims to help stations pool their resources and continue to provide quality journalism to their communities.
Despite these efforts, the future of New York's public media organizations remains uncertain. The loss of federal funding has critically undermined these organisations, threatening the survival of rural stations that rely on this essential support to deliver local news, educational content, and emergency services to underserved populations.
- The New York Focus conducted a statewide listening tour, revealing that many local news organizations are operating with skeleton staffs, particularly rural stations that heavily depend on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) funding.
- WSKG, a public radio and TV station in a rural part of New York's Southern Tier region, is facing a significant shortfall of $1.3 million annually.
- Mountain Lake PBS, a public TV station based in Plattsburgh, stands to lose approximately $950,000 a year, potentially affecting its operations.
- North Country Public Radio, a rural radio station, is facing a loss of around $340,000 a year, a significant percentage of its annual budget.
- The CPB's shutdown, following a series of federal actions, has resulted in a major federal funding source no longer being available to support public media organizations nationwide.
- The state legislature has made efforts to support some local news outlets, but nonprofit organizations like public media stations have been excluded.
- In response to these challenges, the New York Public News Network, launched in 2024, is a collaboration aiming to help member stations share resources and continue to provide quality journalism to their communities.
