The Corporation For Public Broadcasting that provides programming support and funding to Montana Public Radio and Montana PBS will begin “an orderly shutdown,” laying off most employees on September 30th. A transitional staff will remain until January.
What this means for Montana Public Radio, which derives 11% of its budget from the CPB, is unclear. Appearing on the KGEZ Good Morning Show, Montana Public Radio Media Center Director Anne Hosler tells us that they plan an aggressive campaign asking listeners to help fill the funding gap. What isn’t clear is how they’ll fill their programming gap, such as Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and BBC World Service.
The closure of the Corporation For Public Broadcasting is the direct result of the passage of the Recessions Package, which de-funded the nearly 60-year-old Corporation for Public Broadcasting, created by President Lyndon B. Johnson. About 70% of the money from the CPB went to local NPR and PBS Stations.
