This story was reported and written by Williamsburg Watch. Williamsburg Watch is a media partner of WHRO, and Williamsburg Watch's publisher is on the board of a Lancaster newspaper owned by the PBS station in Harrisburg, Pa.
WHRO Public Media’s governing board will discuss today how to cut costs if the U.S. Senate follows through with a plan to claw back all government funding for public media, the organization’s President and CEO Bert Schmidt told Williamsburg Watch.
Voting along party lines June 12, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved a bill to claw back all funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps fund National Public Radio and the Public Broadcast Service. Virginia Republicans Jen Kiggans, 2nd District, and Rob Wittman, 1st District, voted for the measure. Democrat Bobby Schott, 3rd District, voted against.
Congress voted to take back $1.1 billion in funds that had already been approved for the next two years.
The proposal was at the behest of President Donald J. Trump, who accuses public stations of being biased against conservative viewpoints.
“Whenever our journalists challenge somebody who’s in power, people get mad,” Schmidt said. “I have seen both conservatives and liberals complain about us not being fair to their side” depending on who is in power.
The measure would cut 9% of WHRO’s budget, or $1.9 million. WHRO, which is owned by Hampton Roads’ 21 school divisions, operates five radio stations and five TV stations, including WHRV and WHRO.
Over the past 64 years WHRO has expanded its programs to include news, music, PBS programs and educational resources for schools across the state, including online courses and a web-based library of multimedia learning objects.
While the federal dollars represent a minority of the organization’s budget, many of its donations are restricted and can only be used for specific purposes, Schmidt said.
That will require cutting other expenses, he added.
“It’s going to be a new WHRO, there’s no doubt about that. There will be dramatic cuts to this organization,” Schmidt said.
Other public broadcast stations, especially in smaller markets, are heavily dependent on federal funding and may have to close, Schmidt said.
As local newspapers shriveled their staff, WHRO launched a local news operation and plans to grow it to 14 reporters this year. Schmidt said future expense cuts should not affect news because of donations pledged to local journalism.
Senators have until July 18 to approve the House decision. Because it is a rescission measure, the Senate parliamentarian ruled the vote must be taken within 45 days of the House’s action, Schmidt said.
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