A statement from KTOO President and General Manager, Justin Shoman
Juneau, AK – September 18th: Two months ago today, at the President’s behest, Congress voted to rescind federal funding for public media.
Journalism in America is under threat. Paywalls are rising and local newsrooms are shuttering. All too often, misinformation is filling the void. With federal funding for public media eliminated, this threat has tipped into a crisis, especially in Alaska. And this is not just an assault on the free-press, it’s an assault on public safety especially in rural areas of Alaska.
Amidst the uncertainty, there has been something gratifying: hearing from the community and donors who continue to share how much they value KTOO’s service.
The Financial Picture
The funding that the Trump administration directed Congress to wipe out had already been approved for use by stations across the country, KTOO included.
Federal funding accounted for $1.2 million of KTOO’S annual revenue—more than a third of our entire budget and the loss of this funding creates immediate cash flow challenges at the station.
The most resource-intensive services KTOO provides are news, public affairs and Gavel Alaska legislative coverage. Notably, NPR programming—often cited in the President’s talking points for defunding—represents a small fraction of our overall budget. KTOO bears no expense for PBS thanks to a strategic partnership with Alaska Public Media. Further partnerships with KUAC in Fairbanks, KYUK in Bethel, and the Alaska Rural Communication System ensure that Gavel Alaska is accessible through broadcast TV in the most remote corners of Alaska.
We’ve built an incredibly efficient system in Alaska leaving very few areas to cut.
KTOO’s Immediate Response
KTOO has implemented several immediate measures to weather this crisis. We have instituted a hiring freeze that resulted in the elimination of two open positions, roughly 10% of all staff.
Temporary staff furloughs have been implemented and we’re evaluating our program schedule to see where we can find savings without compromising local service.
But our response isn’t purely defensive. KTOO is leaning heavily into our fundraising efforts, prioritizing major gifts, foundation support, and we launched our on-air fundraising campaign this week — a full month ahead of schedule. We’re doing everything in our power to recover as much funding as possible prior to October 1st, when we would otherwise receive federal dollars.
Our primary goal is to retain the highest level of public and community service possible. Following cuts in state funding, we’re a smaller organization than we once were. At this moment, we are vigorously focused on delivering local news and programs to our community without compromise. The news department has expanded its capacity in the past year and it is imperative that we support local news at a time when fact-based information is under threat.
Meanwhile, KXLL and KRNN, both with growing audiences, provide joy and much needed relief from an active and often challenging news cycle.
While no layoffs are currently planned, this is a precarious situation.
This is also a critical moment for our democracy. Local information, storytelling, and fact-based news are the foundation of cultural understanding and underpin a belief system that prioritizes people over politics to advance a democratic republic.
What’s next?
Significant challenges will extend well into the future. The emotional response to federal funding rescission will inevitably fade, making sustained support more difficult to maintain.
We will move forward despite these challenges and KTOO’s priorities will remain constant as the organization charts a new course. KTOO will continue our commitment to:
- Universal access to local news that is free from paywalls.
- Building community relationships that meaningfully serve the full diversity of our Juneau and Southeast Alaska.
- Strengthening partnerships with media organizations across the state to create greater efficiencies.
- Continually evolving to meet audience and community needs.
None of this is possible without bridging the immediate gap. And our incredible community has stepped up in a big way, contributing nearly two-thirds of the $1.2 Million of the funding that was stripped away by Congress. We are extremely grateful to everyone who has donated already.
Transformation takes time and resources
Once “bridge funding” is fully secured for KTOO and other stations in the Alaska Public Broadcasting network, we’ll dive deeper into conversations about a broader transformation of public broadcasting as we currently know it.
We’ve also worked with our media partners across the state in establishing the Voices Across Alaska Fund at the Alaska Community Foundation. The fund aspires to raise $15 million to support public broadcasting across the state. In four short weeks, it has already raised $3.5 million. Alaskan stations have been unified in their advocacy efforts prior to the loss of federal funding and meetings to convene public media leaders across the state began immediately after the rescission vote.
Meanwhile, community support is needed today to avoid staff reductions that would compromise our community service and erode the vital team needed to transform an organization and an industry.
KTOO is determined to persevere, and will continually work to create an even more efficient model of public media in the months ahead. We’ll continue advocating for support of local news and life-saving information at the state and national levels; an imperative for rural stations in the network. In the meantime, success requires community support not just this year, but next year and in all the years that follow.
