WPR Cuts Staff, Shows Amid CPB Funding Uncertainty

Wisconsin Public Radio has notified at least 15 staff members that they will be laid off as part of a broad restructuring driven by budget shortfalls and the looming threat of federal funding cuts. The station will also end three nationally syndicated programs.

To the Best of Our Knowledge, BETA, and Zorba Paster On Your Health, as well as the locally distributed University of the Air, will all cease. In a letter to members, WPR Director Sarah Ashworth said the moves are necessary due to “increased expenses, flat revenues, potential funding cuts, and the urgent need to adapt our service to meet audiences’ habits and needs.”

WPR is operated jointly by the University of Wisconsin and the state’s Educational Communications Board and consists of 38 stations carrying either the WPR News or WPR Music format after a 2024 programming restructure.

Like many public media outlets, WPR is confronting both longstanding budgetary pressures and the possibility of further financial strain as Congress debates whether to rescind $1.1 billion in previously allocated funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. About 4% of WPR’s budget comes from that federal source.

The House of Representatives has already voted to approve the rescission, with Senate action pending before a mid-July deadline. Even without the proposed cuts, employees said internal warnings about potential reductions date back nearly a year.

According to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s State of the System report for 2024, public radio revenue remained largely flat. But beneath that stability, there is a widening financial gap: large stations with over $3 million in annual revenue added nearly $94 million since 2020, while smaller and mid-sized grantees saw continued losses. Among stations earning less than $1 million annually, collective revenue dropped $9.7 million compared to 2020.

Fewer than half of smaller stations reported any revenue growth in 2024, compared to three-quarters of the largest outlets.