The effort to rescind previously appropriated federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting passed both houses of Congress and was signed into law by President Donald Trump.
This effectively eliminates $1.1 billion in federal funding for nearly 1,500 public media stations across the country‚ including WUWM, for the next two years.
And, the CPB — the independent, nonprofit that distributes federal funds to public media stations — is now beginning to wind down its operations.
This is an undeniably difficult moment for public broadcasting. For nearly 60 years, the CPB has played a foundational, nonpartisan role in building and sustaining the public media system. It served as a firewall between government and public media, and distributed federal funds to ensure that every community — from the largest city to the smallest town — had access to trusted local news, emergency alerts, educational programming and cultural storytelling.
Public media stations will start to feel the impact from the loss of funding in October of this year.
Congress is actively working on the FY26 budget and while this may include funding in the future, we just don’t know.
What this means for WUWM
Here in Wisconsin, this moment feels especially significant. Our state is the birthplace of public radio in America. WUWM was one of the original 80 stations to receive CPB support in 1970, and today, we continue to serve as a trusted source of news, connection and storytelling for southeast Wisconsin.
Federal funding through the CPB represents about 6% of WUWM’s annual operating budget, or roughly $320,000 per year. While this gap is meaningful, we will be able to navigate this current moment without immediate changes to staffing or programming.
Thanks to the generosity of major donors and careful financial planning throughout the years, we’ve built and maintained some reserves to help buffer short-term disruptions like this. But those funds will not replace sustained federal support.
Replacing federal funding will require WUWM to broaden our base of support, and that begins with more listeners choosing to give. Today, about 7% of our audience donates. If that number grows, we can weather this challenge together.
As many of you know, we celebrated our 60th birthday this year. As part of that celebration, we developed a timeline to document WUWM’s history, our evolution and the stories we’ve covered. This timeline highlights our founding moments alongside milestones like the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 and the creation of the CPB. As you walk through it, it’s hard not to feel how deeply intertwined our story is with CPB’s. That support helped make WUWM, and public broadcasting as we know it, possible.
We began our 60th birthday celebration without knowing that we would draw it to a close at this historic moment, just as CPB prepares to sunset. And yet, we find ourselves beginning again, ready to reimagine our path forward. Our FY26 strategic plan lays the groundwork for this next chapter, with renewed investments in digital transformation, local content, audience engagement and philanthropy. Our mission to connect, engage and inspire has never felt more urgent.
The future is ours to shape, and we get to make it together. Here’s how to help:
- Become a member. Nearly 80% of our budget comes from community support, but only about 7% of listeners give. If you haven't yet, now is a powerful time to give.
- Come visit us. Schedule a tour to see our timeline and learn how radio is made.
- Stay engaged. Listen on-air, online or on our app. Sign up for our newsletter, follow us on social media at @wuwmradio and share your thoughts at wuwm@uwm.edu.
- Share this message. If WUWM is important to you, let others know. Now is the time to amplify the value of this public service and invite others into it.
We will continue to keep you informed about major developments as they happen.
In the meantime, know this: we are still here. We are still telling stories. And we still believe, deeply, in the power of public media to bring people together, shine a light on truth and serve the common good.
