With the wind-down of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and this week’s action by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies to remove any funding for local public broadcasting stations in its FY 2026 appropriations bill, budget concerns have ramped up for both PBS and NPR.
As such, the organization led by CEO Paula Kerger has revealed that about 15% of PBS staff will be eliminated. It’s a direct result of Republican efforts on Capitol Hill to put a kibosh on federal funding of the CPB.
According to The New York Times, which first gained access to the internal memo, 100 positions are being eliminated. Specifically, 34 individuals have already departed PBS. Open positions will not be filled. Summertime job cuts are also included in the mix. This comes after a hiring freeze, business travel restrictions and a salary augmentation halt.
“These decisions, while difficult, position PBS to weather the current challenges facing public media,” Kerger said in the internal e-mail.
