The Center for Investigative Reporting, which co-produces the public radio show and podcast Reveal, has eliminated 10 positions due to financial concerns, according to a Friday email to staff from CIR CEO Kaizar Campwala.
“Every team in the organization has been impacted by these cuts, and we will be adjusting our output to the realities of a smaller staff,” Campwala told staff in the email.
Campwala confirmed the cuts in an email to Current but declined to say which positions were affected, citing privacy concerns.
In addition to the cuts, Campwala told staff that Kevin Sullivan, EP of Reveal, “has made the decision to move on from CIR” and that his last day was Tuesday. Campwala declined comment to Current regarding Sullivan’s move. Sullivan did not respond to Current’s requests for comment.
Reveal host Al Letson will take on “a larger leadership role,” and Senior Editor Brett Myers and Senior Supervising Editor Taki Telonidis will take over as interim EPs, Campwala said in the email.
Campwala said that “one of the biggest hurdles” facing the organization this year is replacing the Paycheck Protection Program funds that it relied on in 2020 and 2021 “without reserves to lean on.” CIR received PPP loans of more than $1.5 million in 2020 and $1.2 million in 2021. In 2021, the organization reported that the loan helped it retain 63 jobs.
“And while we’ve secured some new sources of funding, our current revenue projections require us to reduce expenses this year,” Campwala wrote in the email.
The organization’s expenses exceeded its income by nearly $3 million in 2020, the most recent year for which an IRS 990 form is available. In the prior year, CIR’s expenses were nearly $1.4 million above revenue. CIR reported expenses for Reveal as more than $8.3 million in 2020 and revenue for the show of just under $1 million.
The show airs on more than 580 public radio stations.
Reveal is the best thing on the air. Period. Hang in there!