KWSO & the Elimination of CPB & Federal Public Media Funding

The recent elimination of federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has public radio and TV stations making plans for the future.

At KWSO we will be working on increasing the amount of revenue we already generate through donations, sustaining memberships, and underwriting, and we have requested additional funding as part of the annual Tribal Budget process through the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Branch of Health & Human Resources (who already provide operational funding.)

Small rural and Tribal radio stations are getting some attention nationally as their operations rely more heavily on federal funding than urban stations or statewide networks.  Public Media Company has launched the Public Media Bridge Fund. The Fund’s purpose is to secure local public media service at this vulnerable moment, with an early focus on rural and underserved communities where public media organizations face the greatest risks.  This isn’t a long term solution however it will allow smaller stations to continue to operate and develop new sustainable models for funding.  Many Tribal radio stations are on the list including KWSO.

CPB funding, on average, has made up about 40% of the KWSO budget and includes staffing, national programming, access to the Public Radio Satellite System, engineering and service contracts.  At this point – KWSO is secure in continuing into 2026 without any drastic changes, but there are still a lot of unknowns.  National Programming Partners are reducing fees to assist smaller stations.  CPB has negotiated music licensing and steaming agreements for their stations, and there are still questions about how that will need to be handled and what costs to stations will be associated with that, with CPB closing up shop.

KWSO is committed to continuing to serve listeners and those connecting with us in Warm Springs and beyond, and just about every day we are adding ideas to funding strategies, as we move forward.

We’ve been telling our story – and if you would like to see, listen or read, any of the pieces other media have put together – here’s a list with links.

KWSO & CPB funding loss – media coverage – Summer 2025

Video

• Fox-12 Portland – https://www.kptv.com/2025/08/05/oregon-stations-face-uncertainty-following-federal-public-broadcasting-cuts/
• KGW – Portland – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3UiRiIy5-w
• Central Oregon Daily – Bend – https://www.centraloregondaily.com/news/madras/kwso-warm-springs-radio-federal-funding-cuts-2025/article_3dea3795-dc13-49bc-b0a1-97b27763f558.html
• WSCAT Youth Project – Warm Springs (not really about funding but about what we do at KWSO) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxynMmWdtcg&t=31s

Articles

• Bend Bulletin – https://bendbulletin.com/2025/07/25/community-radio-in-warm-springs-falls-victim-to-public-media-spending-cuts/
• Spilyay Tymoo – https://wsnews.org/2025/06/federal-funding-kwso-jeopardy/
• OPB – https://www.opb.org/article/2025/07/16/corporation-public-broadcasting-radio-pacific-northwest-rural-tribal-communities/
• Underscore – https://www.underscore.news/justice/federal-policy/tribal-radio-stations-hit-hard-by-federal-broadcasting-cuts/
• NiemanLab / Harvard University – https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/08/how-tribal-radio-stations-are-preparing-for-a-future-without-the-corporation-for-public-broadcasting/

Radio

• WFMU – https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/151312
• OPB Think Out Loud –  https://www.opb.org/article/2025/07/28/community-media-organizations-and-rural-serving-stations-in-the-northwest-reeling-from-federal-cuts/