Shutdown of CPB ‘cold dose of reality’ for Atlanta public media
After more than five decades of helping fund public radio and television stations in Atlanta and across the nation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s board of directors has voted to dissolve the organization.
The finality of the decision, which follows Congress rescinding more than $1 billion in federal funding for CPB this summer, makes permanent what had appeared likely for months. Although CPB will distribute its remaining funds, the dissolution of CPB — the federal financial backbone to operators — means Atlanta’s public radio and television stations must continue to find alternative streams of revenue to make up for the funding gap.
This could look like expanding fundraising, increasing corporate underwriting and sponsorships, or seeking grant money from outside organizations. They may also consider ways to cut costs.
Although the public media sphere knew the funding was eliminated last summer, reading news of CPB dissolving was like having a “cold dose of reality thrown in your face,” said Wendy Williams, the general manager of Atlanta jazz station 91.9 WCLK-FM.
“The thing about federal support is that it was a consistent form of revenue we didn’t have to go after every year,” Williams said. “We’ve now added to our fundraising pressures as a public media station, because we already fundraise.”
Representatives for WABE and GPB declined to comment.
Founded in 1967, CPB distributed about 70% of its federal funding to more than 1,500 public media outlets nationwide. These include WABE, the network of stations under Georgia Public Broadcasting and WCLK-FM, among others across the state. Much of the remainder goes to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service for national programming.
The Atlanta-based stations weren’t entirely dependent on the CPB funding. For both WABE and WCLK-FM, it represented about 13% of their respective budgets. For GPB, about 11% of its revenue in fiscal year 2025 came from CPB.
Others are not faring as well. Stations across the country, particularly in rural regions, reportedly face imminent closure as a result of the shutdown.
In the aftermath of Congress’ decision, PBS cut 15% of its workforce, slashed its budget by 21% and cut some of its programming. It’s reducing the dues required from member stations by $35 million to help ease financial pressures on local newsrooms, but that also means PBS will receive less revenue from its members. NPR is cutting $5 million from its budget.
WABE saved money by renegotiating its affiliation and licensing agreements with NPR and PBS, CEO Jennifer Dorian told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last month. The station has also trimmed its staff over the past year-and-a-half from a peak of 99 to 79 today and nixed its longtime arts show “City Lights.”
WCLK-FM, which is owned by Clark Atlanta University, isn’t actively looking to cut costs, Williams said. Its affiliation with the university helps ease the financial burden. It receives about one-third of its budget from Clark Atlanta and does not have to pay rent to occupy space on campus. The school has helped support the station to identify new sources of funding and expanding outreach efforts.
It also is seeing increased support from the community. In prior years, WCLK-FM would typically raise about $200,000 in membership support during its fundraising periods. During the first half of its current fiscal year, it has raised more than $400,000. That doesn’t reflect the amount it has received from sales and underwriting.
The university’s music department also put together a fundraising concert in December, and churches have taken collections for the station, Williams said.
“Even when we thought that people were exhausted and tired of hearing these messages, it turns out they’re not,” she said. “They have really risen to the occasion.”
WABE is also seeing increased support. About a month after federal funding was rescinded, WABE raised $1.6 million through donors. The station is stable through June 30. But next fiscal year, it will still have a deficit of $1.9 million. At the tail end of last year, however, the station received a $3 million donation, the largest one-time individual gift in its 76-year history. A longtime Atlanta resident who died in 2023 had earmarked the money for the station in his will.
Clark Atlanta’s institutional advancement team has helped WCLK-FM write emergency campaign mailouts. The station has also scoped out opportunities for grant funding, including support from Public Media Co., a nonprofit organization dedicated to expand public radio services nationwide.
“It has really been a whole all-hands-on-deck approach since August, when we first got the notice that (funding) has gone away,” Williams said.
About the Author
Savannah Sicurella is an entertainment business reporter with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
