KIXE PBS cuts five positions due to federal funding loss

KIXE PBS in Redding, Calif., has laid off one part-time employee and is not filling four other positions following the rescission of federal funding for public media. 

The station received about $850,000 annually in federal funding, or 41% of its budget, GM Rob Keenan said in an email. 

“Our budget has been cut in half,” Keenan said. “We have a reserve that will carry us into the spring. We ultimately will need outside funding for the station to survive.”

He added that finding local funding has also become more challenging, but the station has begun to get a better response to fundraising efforts. 

All five positions represent 45% of the station’s staff, Keenan said. The cuts took place Aug. 15. 

KIXE’s auction assistant was laid off, and the open positions not being filled include a director of engineering, productions assistant, volunteer and outreach coordinator, and membership manager, Keenan said. 

He added that it is important for the station to continue its programming, local partnerships and outreach. 

“The goal is to show a level of  normalcy – that we are still part of the community,” Keenan said. 

Layoffs have hit stations across the country since July, when Congress voted to claw back nearly $1.1 billion in CPB’s appropriations for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.