CPB will give $250,000 each to New York City’s most prominent public media stations a week after Superstorm Sandy battered the city and forced the broadcasters to scramble to stay on the air. WNYC-AM/FM and WNET-TV will be able to use the money for providing news and information about relief efforts to New York and New Jersey and for repairing the storm’s damage to their equipment.
“CPB is pleased to be able to provide these additional resources so that WNET and WNYC can continue to deliver the vital news and information on which their listeners and viewers depend,” CPB President Pat Harrison said in a press release announcing the grant.
WNYC’s AM transmitter, knocked off the air during the storm, remains dark, as does its WNJO station serving New Jersey’s Toms River community. Three of WNET’s four New Jersey transmitters are running on backup generators with no indication of when power will be restored.