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West Virginia Public Broadcasting makes best of budget cuts, federal funding threat

West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s headquarters in downtown Charleston. (File Photo)

CHARLESTON — West Virginia Public Broadcasting was already making the best of a more than 10% cut in its general revenue budget in the next fiscal year, but future federal funding cuts could place additional burdens on the state’s educational broadcaster.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday, titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media.” The executive order calls for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) — the non-profit founded by Congress in 1967 — to cease all direct and indirect funding of National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

In his executive order, Trump said the need for federal funding for NPR and PBS was no longer needed due to the abundance of media options for consumers. Trump also accused NPR and PBS of liberal/progressive media bias that favors Democratic politics and policies over Republican positions.

“Unlike in 1967, when the CPB was established, today the media landscape is filled with abundant, diverse, and innovative news options,” according to the executive order. “Government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence.

“At the very least, Americans have the right to expect that if their tax dollars fund public broadcasting at all, they fund only fair, accurate, unbiased, and nonpartisan news coverage,” the executive order continued. “No media outlet has a constitutional right to taxpayer subsidies, and the Government is entitled to determine which categories of activities to subsidize.”

While the CPB Board was ordered to cease all direct and indirect funding to NPR and PBS, the executive order appears to allow funding for local public broadcasting programs, though it remains unclear how those federal funds would flow to in-state public broadcasting systems.

According to reporting from NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik, federal funding for NPR makes up only about 1% of its direct funding, with indirect funding coming from NPR affiliate stations, such as West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Member stations and other institutions receive anywhere from 8% to 10% of their funding from CPB, which provides more than $500 million to public broadcasting programs in other states. According to CPB, the board is fully funded by Congress through Sept. 30, 2027.

In West Virginia, federal funding through CPB and other federal grants made up 18.8% of West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s $10.2 million budget in fiscal year 2024 according to its most recent annual report. Fiscal year 2024 federal funding for West Virginia Public Broadcasting was $1.9 million.

In a statement released Monday afternoon, Department of Tourism Cabinet Secretary Chelsea Ruby said she was monitoring the unfolding situation regarding federal funding along with West Virginia Public Broadcasting Executive Director Eddie Isom.

“The West Virginia Educational Broadcasting Commission is a unique organization that relies on state, federal, and privately raised dollars for operations,” Ruby said. “We have been working closely with West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s (WVPB) Executive Director Eddie Isom and his team on WVPB’s budget and programming. We applaud the team for both working to reduce unnecessary overhead costs and further diversifying WVPB’s funding sources.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting received 44.5% of its funding in fiscal year 2024 – more than $4.5 million – through private funding by individual donations, sustaining members, and large-dollar grants from foundations. But 36.7% of West Virginia’s Public Broadcasting’s funding in fiscal year 2024 – more than $3.7 million – came from the state’s general revenue budget.

In fact, the West Virginia Legislature and former governor Jim Justice had been slowly increasing West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s budget over the last five years, from $3.8 million in fiscal year 2021 to $4.3 million in the current fiscal year. But the fiscal year 2026 general revenue budget passed by lawmakers in April and signed into law by Gov. Patrick Morrisey reduced West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Budget to $3.9 million – a 10.7% cut.

The largest cut to West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s budget was to personal services and employee benefits, reducing that line item from $3.5 million in the current budget to $3.1 million in the fiscal year 2026 budget. All other line items remained unchanged from the previous fiscal year.

Ruby said the state budget cuts would be absorbed by eliminating a vacant position and shifting other positions from general revenue to private funding. Ruby said there would be no layoffs of employees. Ruby said an unused production facility in Morgantown would also be sold.

“…WVPB will strategically address the change in funding levels by eliminating one vacant position and shifting a number of positions to be covered by privately raised funds, ultimately resulting in no noticeable impacts for the agency,” Ruby said. “In fact, private funds raised through various sources already cover the salaries of 14 other staff members. Additionally, WVPB is already taking steps to sell a state-owned facility, eliminating expenses associated with this building that has not been used as an active studio space for live productions in over six years.”

Ruby also said that West Virginia Public Broadcasting plans to continue to apply for grants and other private funding, securing three new grant awards recently.

“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting awarded a multi-state grant for $650,000, which covers costs across multiple Appalachian states, including the salary of one WVPB staff member,” Ruby said. “The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation awarded the station both a $50,000 grant for an education initiative and a $10,000 grant for a digitization project this spring.”

West Virginia Public Broadcasting wrapped up a recent fund drive last week coinciding with Public Media Giving Days, a nationwide fundraising effort for local public broadcasting programs between May 1 and May 2.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting is managed by the state Educational Broadcasting Commission (formerly called the Educational Broadcasting Authority), an agency within the state Department of Tourism. West Virginia Public Broadcasting is also supported by two nonprofits: The West Virginia Public Broadcasting Foundation, which focuses on major gifts, grants, and bequests; and the Friends of West Virginia Public Broadcasting Board, which solicits for annual memberships.

During the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers approved a bill introduced on behalf of the Governor’s Office to eliminate the Departments of Arts, Culture and History and move all of its agencies, boards and commissions – including the Educational Broadcasting Commission – to the Department of Tourism.

According to its 2024 annual report, West Virginia Public Broadcasting had 592,500 monthly viewers for its TV stations around the state and 82,300 listeners to its radio stations each week. West Virginia provides educational programming; produces radio and TV programs and documentaries; and provides award-winning news and public affairs programming.

Popular programming produced by West Virginia Public Broadcasting includes The Legislature Today, Mountain Stage, Us and Them, Inside Appalachia and West Virginia Morning. West Virginia Public Broadcasting also provides emergency services communications through its satellite links and broadcasting towers.

Trump’s executive order regarding direct and indirect funding by CPB to NPR and PBS could face a legal challenge in the federal courts. A pending court case is challenging the Trump administration’s attempt to fire three members of the CPB Board.

“CPB is not a federal executive agency subject to the President’s authority,” said CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison in a statement last Friday. “Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government.”

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com

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