PBS cuts 15% of jobs in wake of federal funding cut

"PBS's chief executive told public television officials Thursday that it was cutting about 15 percent of its jobs due to the move by Republicans in Congress to eliminate all federal funding for public broadcasting. Thirty-four PBS staffers were notified Thursday that their positions were being cut. Taken with the loss of a longstanding federal grant for an educational initiative earlier this summer, and the elimination of about three dozen other vacant positions, PBS will have lost more than 100 jobs in all."

""Over the last weeks, we have been working through how best to manage the impact of loss of federal funding," Kerger wrote in a memo to station managers shared with NPR News. "Just like every single public media organization in the country, we are being forced to make hard choices." That result of the federal cuts from the Congressional rescission - or clawback - of planned expenditures of $1.1 billion over two years on public media."

PBS is cutting roughly 15 percent of its jobs following the elimination of federal funding for public broadcasting. Thirty-four staffers were notified, and combined with earlier grant losses and removal of vacant positions, PBS will lose more than 100 jobs. PBS anticipates a 21 percent revenue decline. The cuts stem from the Congressional rescission of planned expenditures totaling $1.1 billion over two years and the cancellation of a major U.S. Education Department grant. Foundation support, including a significant grant for NewsHour and Kids content, provided some relief, but staffing and operational changes remain necessary.

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