PBS North Carolina has begun laying off employees this week in response to the elimination of federal funding for public media.
It’s unclear how many staffers at the statewide public TV network are losing their jobs, or which positions have been cut. CEO David Crabtree did not respond to inquiries from WUNC seeking details, but sources familiar with the situation said some affected employees were notified Tuesday that their jobs are being eliminated.
The move comes after PBS NC offered buyouts last month to most of its 140-member staff. Crabtree told WUNC at the time that layoffs could be possible depending on how many staffers accepted a severance package. He did not provide a specific number of positions that might have to be cut, but "it could be in the neighborhood of 25 to 27%."
Only a small number of employees took the buyout offer. Some of the employees laid off will still receive a severance pay package.
The cuts come after PBS NC lost $4.8 million per year from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, or 15% of the station's overall budget, after Congress approved President Donald Trump’s “rescission” request to eliminate all federal funding for public media.
Crabtree has said that despite an uptick in donations, additional fundraising from viewers and supporters won't be enough to offset the loss of federal funding.
Layoffs have become common across many public TV and radio stations. According to a public radio consultant who’s tracking the moves, more than 300 jobs in public media have been eliminated since the vote in Congress.
The national PBS network itself laid off 15% of its staff earlier this month.
PBS NC also faces possible cuts to its state funding. The state Senate's original budget proposal called for a $4 million cut to PBS NC, but that wasn't included in the House plan, and no final budget compromise has been reached.
PBS NC and WUNC Radio are both public media broadcasters, but the two are fully separate from each other. While WUNC Radio is an affiliated entity of UNC-Chapel Hill, the station receives no state or university funding. WUNC has been impacted by the defunding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which makes up about 5% of the station’s budget. WUNC has not cut any staff positions in response to the funding loss.
