Washington’s WAMU Says It Can Weather Loss Of Federal Funding.

News/talk WAMU (88.5), the perennial radio ratings leader in Washington DC, isn’t too worried about the impact of the Trump administration’s defunding of public media. The 64-year-old station estimates the recission will equate to a loss of $1.5 million annually or about 4-5% of its operating budget, according to a news story on WAMU’s website.

“We are not caught flat-footed, we have seen this coming and have been planning and preparing for it,” WAMU General Manager Erika Pulley-Hayes told Esther Ciammachilli, host of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

Like other public radio stations, WAMU has already seen an increase in listener donations as the recission became front page news. Pubcasters are letting listeners know now is the time to step up and donate. Messages like “your support matters,” “we need you” and “please support us at this critical time” have become widespread on public radio websites. But a spike in donations may not last once audience outrage abates and Pulley-Hayes recognizes the long-term impact won’t be fully understood for some time.

It’s also unclear how defunding will impact “1A,” the WAMU-produced show that is syndicated by NPR to roughly 450 stations. Pulley-Hayes says the American University-owned station is working with the network to soften the blow for the show’s affiliates, yet many details of the situation remain unclear.

So far, WAMU hasn’t announced any programming or staff changes. Station management says it’s in a strong position to deal with the challenge as it figures out what adjustments may be necessary in the future.

Of course, not every public radio station is as independently solvent as WAMU. Coast to coast, public broadcasters are bracing for the loss of federal funding. “It could be a one-man show at some point where I’m doing everything by myself,” says Gerald Rodriguez, General Manager of KRZA Alamosa, CO (88.7). He told Politico that funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting accounted for half of the annual operating budget for the station, whose coverage area straddles the Colorado and New Mexico border. WFAE Charlotte (90.7) announced just hours after Congress rescinded funding that it would reduce its workforce by a half-dozen employees. The station’s own news report says other positions are being eliminated, reduced, or will be combined with remaining staff duties.

South Dakota Public Broadcasting is also looking at layoffs and other cuts after it lost $2.2 million in federal funding, or 23% of the overall budget for its radio and TV operation. Executive Director Julie Overgaard says if they cannot make up the gap by the time the new fiscal year begins in October, they will be forced to cut up to a quarter of their 60 employees.

Their stories aren’t unusual. “Small rural stations like KASU will be more affected than the larger stations in larger metropolitan areas,” Mark Smith, Station Manager for Arkansas State University news/talk KASU (91.9) Jonesboro, AR told KAIT-TV. “We are going to have to look at some serious changes.”