California’s Radio Bilingüe faces ‘serious setback’ with federal funding cuts
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Congress rescinded $1.1B from CPB, impacting NPR, PBS and Radio Bilingüe funding.
- Radio Bilingüe faces $300K annual loss, threatening rural and bilingual programming.
- FEMA also withdrew $1.1M grant for disaster alerts, deepening fiscal challenges.
Radio Bilingüe, the nation’s oldest and largest Latino public radio network, is calling the federal cuts to public media a “serious setback” that will impact the communities it serves.
Last week, Congress passed a bill to rescind $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) that was previously approved to support public media institutions like NPR, PBS and Radio Bilingüe for the next two years. The cuts are part of a $9 billion rescission package to reduce federal spending.
On Friday, the radio station sent out “a call to action for listeners and allies” asking for community support.
According to Radio Bilingüe, the impact of the cuts will likely hit rural and low-income communities that rely on public media for local news, emergency alerts, educational programming and civic information.
“These are the very communities that Radio Bilingüe serves every single day. We know our audience well, and we know firsthand that they cannot afford to lose the vital lifeline that public media provides,” the radio network said in an email.
Radio Bilingüe estimates an “immediate direct loss of $300,000 per year” from CPB — funding that helps pay reporters, youth and indigenous content creators, and allows the station to produce and air its daily Spanish-language news and information program to stations nationwide.
“Our team is doing everything possible to continue operations, deliver life-saving information, and keep the music playing that heals us,” Hugo Morales, founder and co-executive director, said in an email.
Radio Bilingüe, founded in Fresno more than 45 years ago, owns and operates 15 radio stations in California, including Fresno, Modesto and San Luis Obispo. It also operates in Arizona, New México and Texas, and has 92 affiliate radio stations across the country, Puerto Rico and Canada.
Radio Bilingüe is the leading Latino public radio network and Spanish content producer in U.S. public media providing music, news and information, and forums for Latino voices in Spanish, English, Mixteco and Triqui.
The radio station was also informed that a $1.1 million grant from FEMA for upgrades in the nation’s disaster alert readiness system has been withdrawn.
According to Radio Bilingüe, CBP, a private nonprofit, currently pays the royalties for the station’s “beloved music programs” and finance the national satellite infrastructure that many of its affiliate stations rely on to bring Radio Bilingüe programming to their communities.
Radio Bilingüe said the loss of those “crucial contributions” is incalculable at this time.
According to Morales, the station’s annual budget is about $4 million.
Morales said while the federal cuts are unfortunate, he is hopeful the radio station, which is based in Fresno, can “weather” the storm thanks to prudent financial management, savings and philanthropy contributions in California.
Other public media in the Central Valley that would be affected by the cuts include Valley PBS and Valley Public Radio.
