ORLAND — Roughly a quarter of WERU 89.9 FM’s annual operating budget would disappear if lawmakers kill federal funding for public broadcasting.
Karen Doherty deejays her Monday afternoon radio program at WERU’s Orland headquarters. The community radio station, which broadcasts everything from reggae to organic gardening tips, is threatened by possible cuts to federal funding for public broadcasting. — ELLSWORTH AMERICAN PHOTO BY CYNDI WOOD
“Everything we do there could be less of,” said General Manager Matt Murphy.
The community radio station, run by seven full-time employees, one part-timer and a legion of volunteers, broadcasts everything from news and children’s programming to electronica and folk music.
Congress is debating whether to eliminate funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports nearly 1,300 public television and radio stations nationwide.
WERU stands to lose about $120,000 a year. An up-to-$85,000 grant application to the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program also is in jeopardy.
Murphy said the grant, which would be used for replacing the station’s now obsolete transmitter, is the most immediate concern. WERU had hoped to replace the transmitter this fall or next spring.
The other proposed cuts would not be effective until fiscal year 2013.
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