System/Policy
New York Public Radio cuts 26 positions, ends ‘Notes From America’
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The layoffs amount to a workforce reduction of 8.5% at the station, which faces a significant budget deficit.
Current (https://current.org/tag/layoffs/)
The layoffs amount to a workforce reduction of 8.5% at the station, which faces a significant budget deficit.
“Despite our best efforts to contain costs and grow our revenue, we continue to face severe financial headwinds,” said CEO LaFontaine Oliver.
The station offered the voluntary buyouts in May, with CCO Kristen Muller saying at the time the organization faced a budget shortfall over the next two years.
Current has tracked more than 400 jobs lost to layoffs or buyouts since March 2023, including at operations as different as NPR, Chicago Public Media, GBH in Boston and WBHM in Birmingham, Ala.
“It’s never easy to say goodbye to colleagues and friends, but we feel confident that this will position us well for the future,” said PBS President Paula Kerger in a staff memo.
The station is facing a budget deficit of more than $750,000.
The station is also ending its podcast “Rightnowish.”
GBH is also suspending the shows “Greater Boston,” “Talking Politics” and “Basic Black” but plans to “reinvent” them as digital-first programs, said CEO Susan Goldberg.
The layoffs will be part of a “range of cuts” at the station.
The organization is “facing a significant budget shortfall over the next two years in the range of $4-$5 million.”
The radio station will also leave three open positions unfilled and save $1 million by ending its RadioActive Youth Media program.
The station will also transition its daily news podcast to weekly.
The restructuring included layoffs and cuts to local programming.
The job cuts affected staff working in children’s media, local news and the Interactive Engagement Group, among other units.
In an email to staff, outgoing CEO Matt Moog and board chair Robert Pasin said that revenues “are not growing to support our mission.”
APM Studios will move away from being a standalone podcast studio.
The cuts affected staff in CPR’s audio and podcast production departments.
Management shared a “new strategic framework” with staff Friday.
The positions affected were in marketing, membership and television production and did not include the news department.
The public TV station’s board had previously announced a $1.5 million budget cut after discoveries of financial mismanagement.