"Since 1973, KOTZ has delivered the news to Kotzebue, population 3,102, and several other small, sparse villages that collectively are home to about the same number of people. Some 30 miles north of the Arctic Circle, KOTZ is the only source of local news for a region larger than Indiana, but with just 0.1% of its residents. For five decades, the station has been a lifeline, connecting remote communities throughout Northwest Alaska and to the rest of the state and country."
"But those bonds are at risk since Congress voted in July to claw back more than $1 billion in federal funding to public media stations like KOTZ, an NPR affiliate. The rescission is expected to disproportionately impact news stations in rural areas, which have fewer local funding options than more affluent and populous areas and tend to depend more heavily on federal support."
"The station has ramped up fundraising efforts and has enough money to continue operating until the spring. A longer-term solution remains elusive. Whether KOTZ will close has become a perennial question for the station and the thousands of people who rely on it for local news, weather forecasts and emergency alerts. "This is silencing the voices of rural Alaska," says KOTZ's news director, Desiree Hagen. "That's a real injustice.""
Kotzebue, Alaska relies on KOTZ, a radio station established in 1973, as the sole local news source across a region larger than Indiana serving about 3,102 residents and other small villages. The station provides local news, weather forecasts, and emergency alerts to remote communities throughout Northwest Alaska and beyond. Congressional rescission of over $1 billion in federal public media funding threatens stations like KOTZ, which received roughly 40% of its budget from federal funds. Stations face fundraising pressures, program cuts, layoffs, or closure. KOTZ has funds through spring but lacks a clear long-term solution, imperiling community connectivity.
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