S1: Welcome in San Diego , it's Jade Hindman. Amid federal funding cuts , KPBS general manager Deanna mackey discusses how KPBS could be impacted. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. On Friday , Congress passed a rescission package put forth by the Trump administration to pull about $9 billion from several federal programs. That includes $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. And that means cutting all federal support for NPR , PBS , and member stations , including KPBS. On today's show , we're sitting down with KPBS general Manager Deanna mackey to hear how the funding loss may affect us. Deanna , welcome to the show. Thank you. Jade. So we're hearing a lot of numbers thrown Throwing around $1.1 billion cut from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. But what does that look like for us ? For KPBS , it is 12% of our budget , so that comes out to $4.3 million. And the impact is forever. It's not just for one year with the CPB , the Corporation for Public Broadcasting basically ceasing to exist effective October. We will not be receiving any more federal funding. Hmm. And what is KPBS relationship to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting ? As an NPR and PBS station. So the CPB is a private nonprofit that was created by Congress to take federal funds. So taxpayer funds , which comes out to about $1.60 per person per year , and that money is given to CPB. They have criteria that station have to meet to receive what is called our community service grant. And so every year we turn in reports to CPB to prove that we've met the criteria , and that includes doing our own fundraising in the community. And then usually in the late fall , around November , we receive our first distribution of our funding. So annually we have been receiving around $4 million , you know , from the federal government to help support our budget and our service to San Diego. Well , as you mentioned earlier , you know , this loss of funding is going to have a long term impact. Um , so how does it affect KPBS ability to provide local journalism across San Diego and Imperial County in the short term ? And by that , I mean , basically this calendar year , we have a little bit of runway because we're in good financial shape , we're solid and we have reserves , but we cannot make up that 4.3 million without support from the community. So we are doing scenario planning to consider what we might have to cut come next calendar year if we aren't able to make up those funds. And obviously , that would be a huge loss to San Diego County , because I believe we are providing one of the most important local public services in this community with our news , with our children's programming , and with our community engagement , like the community conversations we do in neighborhoods all around the county. Do you have any idea of where cuts may happen ? First , in terms of KPBS programs ? I don't at this point , but I can tell you that generally , CPB funds are used to pay our dues to NPR and PBS , and so we anticipate that it will be harder for us to pay for that national content , because not only are we losing our funding , but stations across the country are losing their federal funding. And for small and rural stations , it makes up a much larger percentage of their budget , anywhere from 40 , 50 , 60% at times , and there are in communities often where there isn't an audience base of donors , there isn't a base of sponsors that they can call on. So it's anticipated that 100 stations across the country will go under. So when those stations stop paying in to the national fund , it means more pressure on stations like KPBS to pay for PBS and NPR programming , as well as the local services we're providing. So that is a problem. And initially , we are anticipating that there will be some diminishment of dues from PBS and NPR to help stations out , but they won't be able to sustain that forever. So we expect they will likely make cuts , as we will. Hmm. What's the response been like from the community in reaction to this news ? Well , I would call that the silver lining in all of this. We've had amazing support from the community. Many calls , emails , people even coming to our front door , knocking on the front door , being let in to make a donation at the reception desk. We just participated as a team in the pride parade this past Saturday. And as we walked through the parade , people were screaming and yelling our call letters. They were bowing to us. So I can't tell you how much that means for me and for the team to know there's so much support and we are receiving financial contributions as well. And of course , we need a lot more of those , but we very much appreciate the support that the community has shown so far. And you know what it speaks also to , you know , because not only does KPBS provide journalism and news to communities , in many ways , PBS , it provides early education for a lot of kids through its children's program. And correct. Absolutely. And that is one of the things that really hurts me the most in all of this. Is that already because of Department of Education funds that have been taken away from PBS children's programming. Those funds are used to invest in the research to ensure that those programs are made to meet the socio emotional needs of children and the age needs of those children , and at the most critical years , we know that children. Their learning really blooms between 0 and 5 , and a lot of the content that we provide on KPBS kids is meant for children under eight. So what's going to happen to those communities that don't end up being able to sustain and have , you know , public television for those children ? And people might say , oh , you can just go get it on streaming. You have to pay for streaming. KPBS Public Media is the only free , educational , consistent service , whether for children or adults in this country. Hmm.
S2: Hmm. Well , I want to present some of the opposition , uh , to you , uh , into public media funding. Some argue that public media should not be funded by federal dollars.
S1: A lot of the programming we provide on our radio station , on our television station , digital social media , is to help people have a sense of place in San Diego , to help people laugh to help people have wonder about the world. Be that nature or nova the to me. It is stunning that this funding has been cut when it only accounted for $1.60 per year per person. So we are saying as a community that we care so little , we won't even invest $1.60 per person per year to ensure that this content is made available to every citizen in the United States.
S2:
S1: I think that often the work we do in public media is what I would call deep transparency and inclusivity. And some read into that bias , as opposed to seeing that it's opening minds to show all sides of a topic.
S2: There are some really deep divisions in our nation right now.
S1: It's a partnership between US eNews Source and Voice of San Diego , where we are telling a lot of stories about how governance works in this community as well as nationally , how individuals can get involved in their communities beyond voting. Be that volunteering , participating in a school board or a city council meeting. And through that initiative , we're inviting a lot of people in. We've made many invitations to community leaders who lead conservative , lean conservative to join us , to be interviewed , to have a conversation with me about their ideas and concerns. I will say that since the inauguration , we've had more trouble having people accept those invitations. But I will say right now on this radio show , you're welcome. We are fair , we are open , and we want to hear from you because that's the whole purpose of public matters. Mhm.
S2: Mhm. You know , we're obviously focusing on KPBS right now , but it's not just us. There's a lot of rural and smaller stations that will be hit hard by this. As you alluded to earlier.
S1: And what that will mean is those communities will not have public media available to them any more. Covering their local communities and providing that free over-the-air service for those communities. Additionally , they will not be paying into sort of this great experiment of a collaboration of federated stations sharing in the dues for NPR and PBS. So I anticipate communities will lose out. Across the country , there will likely be less content , national content until all of us as a collaborative can figure out through fundraising and through reorganizing , how we can continue to provide the same level of service we did before.
S2: You know , public media has certainly changed over the years. Covering breaking news , for example , hasn't always been as much of a core function of the station as it is today.
S1: Especially here in San Diego. You know , I've had the privilege of having a relationship with KPBS for more than 40 years because I worked here as a student , then left. Worked here in the course of my career , then left and now in this position leading the organisation. So I've watched the newsroom grow and develop and respond to the needs of this community. And as news has diminished in San Diego as the number of journalists has diminished , KPBS has stepped up and ensured that we're here providing coverage of the variety of experiences happening in this county , doing it on all platforms. Being there when breaking news happens , being there for emergency services and as I said before , also being there and providing joy and sense of place. And I do not see that changing. Right.
S2: Right. You know , we're celebrating 65 years as we speak. KPBS is what gives you hope for our future. Right now.
S1: Our community gives me hope. We have heard from so many people who deeply love this station , who deeply appreciate the work that my team does that are cheering us on that are there for us. And that gives me a lot of hope that we will be able to overcome this challenge. It's going to take us some time. But we can do it. And we can do it with the help of San Diegans.
S2: I've been speaking with KPBS General Manager Deanna mackey. Thank you so much for joining us.
S1: Thank you for having me.
S2: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
