Public Radio Stations Face Uncertain Future

With the threat of funding cuts looming local public radio stations face an uncertain future. You're watching the Local News Network, brought to you by Dunkin Donuts and the FLC Center for Innovation. I'm Connor Shrieve, the executive director of Four Corners Public Radio. Tammy Graham says, the uncertainty of 2025 has forced leadership to shift its approach to operating and funding stations like KSUT.

So in a way, it's given us the opportunity to really share, like with this interview, what we feel our value is to our region, and kind of elevate the mission of what public radio is in a way that, you know, you don't always get to do every day other than just, you know, playing good music and having great, you know, news on air.

In May, KSUT joined National Public Radio in a lawsuit against the Trump administration that challenges the President's executive order to freeze public media funding.

He, he doesn't have the authority to command how CPB funds are dispersed and, and utilized, and it's also unconstitutional as a retaliation for the president's disagreement with the editorial positions and news reporting of National Public Radio

KSUT attorney Steve Zinberg hopes the court sets the date for a summary judgment. In August Graham says the executive order will hurt local stations.

The money that we get as community stations from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which is the federal funding that's at issue right now, that money comes to us $330,000 a year. 20% of our budget comes directly to us. We don't have to spend our money with on NPR, we are dictated to, to a certain portion of those funds is restricted to spending on national programming. It doesn't have to be NPR. So this isn't about NPR.

Despite the uncertainties, Graham says, support extends beyond KS UT's listening community. The station is enjoying its best fundraising year ever.

We've received donations from all over the country, people that have never heard of KSUT, but they looked us up and they said, I support what you're doing. I'm behind you. Thank you for taking a stand for the system. And here's, here's a, here's a check. So it's really been heartening.

Graham is proud to represent more than 240 public stations across the country. She says The trio of stations selected to take part represents the microcosm of NPR stations nationwide.

NPR felt like there's a perception sometimes, like when people generally think about it, an NPR station, they think of these big, major market affiliates and they really wanted to show this spectrum kind of in this microcosm in Colorado of a, a statewide network, a mountain serving, you know, Aspen Public Radio, serving many mountain communities, and then KSUT, which is very rural and also serves Mountain.

While the President's order targets the next two fiscal years of funding, Graham says she knows it won't be the last time money for public media gets scrutinized. For more information about this and other stories, visit Durango Local News. Thank you for watching this edition of The Local News Network. I'm Connor Shreve.