PBS North Carolina offers voluntary separation to staff amid major federal funding cuts
PBS North Carolina announced it is offering a series of voluntary separation offers to its employees following a significant loss of federal funding in a press release on August 5.
By Marisa Sardonia
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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — PBS North Carolina announced it is offering a series of voluntary separation offers to its employees following a significant loss of federal funding.
The public media network confirmed via a press release on Tuesday that its “most permanent employees” will receive these offers through its Reorganization Through Reduction program. The network says this is part of its strategy to “minimize the potential scope of involuntary staff reductions.”
“We did not create this—it was dictated by Congress,” said PBS North Carolina CEO David Crabtree via the release. “Nonetheless, we will play the hand we’re dealt and pledge to continue to be good stewards of our budgets.”
On July 24, President Donald Trump signed a bill that effectively eliminated approximately $1.1 billion previously approved for public broadcasting via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which helps fund NPR (National Public Radio) and PBS (Public Broadcasting Service). This came after the White House claimed these public media networks were politically biased and an unnecessary expense, according to The Associated Press.
This decision has resulted in an annual loss of $4.8 million for PBS North Carolina, which will affect the network’s ability to provide “educational programming and critical emergency communications infrastructure,” the network said.
PBS North Carolina will also implement “revenue-generating and cost-saving measures” such as expense reductions, a hiring freeze, and an elimination of vacant positions, the network said.
“While this is a time of fundamental change for public media, it reminds us of our deep roots in the communities we serve. PBS North Carolina, then WUNC-TV, began in 1955, twelve years before the establishment of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Today, PBS North Carolina still belongs to the people of this state, and our commitment is unwavering,” Crabtree said in the release.
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