Atlanta's WABE faces $2M loss as Congress rescinds Public Broadcasting funds

Atlanta-based WABE faces funding cuts

After Congress clawed back billions in federal funding, a local news outlet is calling on the community for help. WABE, Atlanta's NPR and PBS affiliate, will lose almost two million dollars a year from its budget.

ATLANTA - Atlanta’s public radio and television station WABE is bracing for nearly $2 million in annual losses following a decision by Congress to rescind billions in previously authorized federal funding, including money earmarked for public broadcasting.

The funding rollback is part of a broader $9 billion clawback that impacts more than 1,500 locally operated public TV and radio stations across the country. WABE, Atlanta’s NPR and PBS affiliate, says the loss represents about 13% of its operating budget.

What they're saying:

"Journalism without fear and without favor. We need to tell the truth," said Jennifer Dorian, WABE President and CEO.

For 77 years, WABE has served the Atlanta community with independent reporting focused on local issues ranging from the environment to the arts. Owned by Atlanta Public Schools, the station also produces educational content for students and classrooms across the district.

"In a district like ours where so many of our students arrive at school already behind, it’s vitally important," said Atlanta Board of Education member Cynthia Briscoe Brown.

Dorian emphasized the station’s mission to center Atlanta in its programming and serve the broader region with in-depth, accountability journalism. "Our job is to amplify Atlanta so that Atlanta understands itself and that the wider world understands Atlanta," she said.

But critics of federal funding for public media argue taxpayer dollars should be directed elsewhere.

"When you’re trying to make tough decisions and you’ve got a 37-trillion-dollar national debt, getting rid of a taxpayer funded mouthpiece is really an easy decision," said state Senator Blake Tillery, a Republican representing Georgia’s 19th Senate District. "Consumers already have many commercial choices."

Dorian countered that commercial media cannot always meet the needs of every community. "Where the commercial news model can’t cover everything, we try to deepen and fill in with good accountability journalism for the community and that is threatened by this defunding," she said.

What's next:

In response to the cuts, WABE has launched a campaign urging local listeners and viewers to help close the funding gap.

"I believe Atlanta will have our back and does value the service we provide," Dorian said.

The Atlanta Board of Education is working with elected officials to explore options to restore at least part of the lost funding.

"It really breaks my heart that we’re having to fight to save something which is so vital to building and being community," said Briscoe Brown.

Why you should care:

While WABE may be able to weather the cut with community support, smaller public broadcasters—particularly in rural areas—are facing an even more dire situation. Some stations receive 60 to 70 percent of their budget from federal sources and may not survive without that assistance.