Lakeshore Public Media, which brings Northwest Indiana viewers Bob Ross's "The Joy of Painting," "Ask This Old House," "Rick Steve's Europe," "All Things Considered," "Marketplace" and other beloved shows, is down to a skeleton staff and cutting back on local production after state funding cuts gutted its budget.
The Merrillville-based broadcast affiliate of PBS and NPR will see a 40% reduction in funding because of state cuts and now faces a potential cut to federal funding. The U.S. House of Representatives voted to eliminate federal funding for public media through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which would also have to be approved by the U.S. Senate.
"These are very tenuous times. Not only for the organization that is Lakeshore Public Media, but also the many people that will lose the needed services and content across Northwest Indiana and our friends in Illinois, due to state and federal funding cuts," Lakeshore Public Media President and CEO Chuck Roberts said. "The vote to cut funding to CPB in the House means that the Senate is the last hope for small stations across our nation, including Lakeshore Public Media. With the state funding cuts, you will see a reduction in the production of local content and the jobs of some awesome people telling the stories of Northwest Indiana. Federal cuts will have even further consequences for public media in our neighborhoods."
Lakeshore Public Media and other public radio stations across Indiana have been urging viewers and listeners to contact their senators and other elected officials to prevent the funding cuts.
“Indiana’s public media stations play a unique role in delivering trusted news, classroom-ready education content, emergency alerts and cultural programming to communities across the state,” said Mark Newman, executive director of the Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations. “Our focus now shifts to the Senate, where we will continue to work with our partners and policymakers to emphasize the value of this essential public service.”
Public media is also supported by local and private investment, including from pledge drive donations and corporate underwriting. But the funding cuts would hurt local stations, especially in rural and underserved communities, Newman said.
“Federal support makes it possible for stations to extend their reach, deepen their journalism and build programs that reflect the people and stories of Indiana,” he said. “We will continue engaging with stakeholders at every level to ensure the critical role of public media is understood and preserved.”
Lakeshore Public Media recently laid off all but a handful of staffers and is looking to automate programming throughout the day. It will be forced to cut some of its locally produced television and radio programming due to the lack of staffing, Board Chair Larry Brechner said.
"We don't know how much we're going to be able to maintain," Brechner said. "It's a gut punch."
He co-hosts "Art on the Air" with Ester Golden, interviewing a variety of local and national artists about their work and latest projects. It will remain on the air. Lakeshore Public Radio will still be able to air local shows like Tom Lounges' "Midwest Beat" and "Midwest Beat Blues," as well as the "Building Blocks" show about early childhood development that has institutional support.
But the radio station will no longer have local hosts during the day of programs like "Morning Edition" who read local headlines on the air, Brechner said. It won't be able to do local news gathering such as by covering city council meetings.
He said it was unfortunate for Northwest Indiana since much of the radio news in the area focuses either on Chicago or downstate Indiana, leaving a void.
Lakeshore Public Media will also have to cut back on the production of Lakeshore PBS shows like "Eye on the Arts" or "Friends and Neighbors," Brechner said. "Eye on the Arts" should be able to keep going because it has Indiana Arts Commission funding but the frequency could be reduced.
"We'll put out what's possible with minimal staffing," he said. "'Building Blocks' was committed funding from First Things First Porter County. Some shows are easy to produce. 'In Studio' just brings in a band so all you need is a camera to set up. But there's a lot of labor involved in shows like 'Friends and Neighbors' and 'Eye on the Arts.' Decisions have yet to be made about programs and what we can actually do with a skeleton staff."
Lakeshore Public Media brings not only news but science, travel and arts programming, as well as Ken Burns documentaries and BBC programs that add international perspective.
"There's a perception that public broadcasting is enjoyed by the upper class, but these programs fill a need for everyone," Brechner said. "We serve extremely wide demographics of people. Without public broadcasting, life would not be as rich. We need people to support public broadcasting now more than ever. To lose public broadcasting would be a tragedy."
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