KCUR in Kansas City, Mo., and its partner classical station will eliminate three full-time positions and one part-time job, according to an email to staff from GM Sarah Morris.
Two vacant positions will not be filled, the email said, and Classical KC will “pause” locally produced content, shifting to nationally syndicated programming.
The changes will go into effect in “upcoming weeks,” Morris said.
Morris told staff that the cost of the stations’ current operations is not sustainable.
“The primary cause is rooted in lingering effects from the pandemic, when audience listening habits changed and advertising income fell dramatically for all public media,” Morris said. “But you may remember that KCUR also made additional, intentional investments — paid for from our reserves — to increase salaries where possible, to invest in growing audience for both stations, and to diversify revenue streams. At the time, we anticipated that our finances would improve post-pandemic, but that has not materialized.”
Classical KC will keep a full-time producer and a contract employee for digital work, including producing a newsletter and social media. Full-time jobs for a director and a community engagement/announcer will be cut, and a part-time assistant producer will lose their job, according to Morris’ email. A vacant position for an audience/announcer job will not be filled.
Classical KC, described on its website as a home for 24/7 classical music, started in 2020 and is a partner of KCUR.
At KCUR, one vacant newsroom position and a graphic designer’s job will be eliminated. Spending on non-essential supplies and travel has also been paused.
The cuts don’t fix every problem, Morris acknowledged in her email.
“We must continue to tightly manage costs as well as attrition as we work toward a sustainable future,” Morris said. “These were difficult decisions to make, and saying goodbye to talented colleagues is never easy.”
This is just the latest in a wave of job cuts at public media stations. Current has tracked about 500 jobs lost to layoffs and buyouts since March 2023.