Due to President Donald Trump and Congress eliminating funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting about a year ago, the entity has voted to shut down, Variety reports.
CPB helped fund local public TV and radio stations for 58 years. The entity opted to shut down so it would not be “vulnerable to future political manipulation or misuse.”
In July, the Republican-led Congress approved a rescission package, also known as the Big Beautiful Bill, that led to eliminating $1.1. billion in public broadcasting funding that was originally approved for the next two years.
Local station WORT-FM lost $112,000 in funding from the CPB, forcing it to lay off two of its seven full-time staff members in November.
The public funding cut was 12% of the radio station’s 2025 budget.
WORTstock, an annual springtime concert the station hosts, was also cut for 2026.
