ISU’s KISU public radio station braces for blowback from possible federal budget cuts
Sam Ross
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI)– The US Senate approved the Trump administration’s $9 billion rescission package on Thursday, which aims to cut $1 billion in federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a financial backer for NPR, PBS, and local public affiliates like Idaho State University’s KISU radio station.
The proposed cuts will be brought before the House of Representatives on Thursday before being officially enacted, but KISU general manager Jamon Anderson said they are already planning for the potential of losing one of their main sources of funding.
“The impact of the loss of CPB funding is going to be big, it’s going to be huge,” said Anderson. “I think we’ve got funding in place for this current fiscal year, but we’re going to spend the next 11 months really trying to increase the amount that we’re getting from some of those other areas with the goal of continuing on with increased business support and, of course, donations.”
Anderson said federal funding through CPB accounts for around 25% of KISU’s annual budget. Other sources of financial support for the station include local business backing, listener donations, and a small amount from student fees through the university.
The pull-back of federal funding, Anderson said, is likely to interfere with KISU programming, including broadcasting for ISU athletics, for which KISU is the exclusive outlet, and their 24 volunteer-produced shows.
However, Anderson said the real repercussions of the funding cut will be felt by the students who take advantage of KISU resources for class experience, and the people who rely on the public radio station for news, music, and the over 8,000 free public service announcements offered by KISU using CPB funding.
“I start to think about the folks that will be impacted,” said Anderson. “The employees, the students, the educational and nonprofit communities in our area, and we always hope to rebuild and, of course, make that support up in other areas but I think we have a long road ahead to make that happen.”
For more information, you can visit the KISU website.