GBH is slashing about 6% of its workforce because the Trump administration strips federal funding from the Boston public station.
The media outlet is reducing 45 workers, GBH introduced on Monday. This comes amid President Donald Trump’s push to rescind federal funding for the Company for Public Broadcasting.
That is the second straight yr of widespread layoffs at GBH.
“GBH is being impacted by several dynamics at once: federal funding cuts, rising costs of doing business, and the need to evolve our work to meet audiences’ needs,” Susan Goldberg, president and CEO of GBH, mentioned in a press release.
“Today, we made structural changes that will cut expenses and our workforce to reduce our budget gap, while also creating high quality content in new ways that will help us reach a broader audience more efficiently,” Goldberg added.
Throughout the fiscal yr that ended final June, GBH’s whole working bills have been $291.9 million, whereas the station’s whole working income got here in at $279.6 million — for a deficit of $12.3 million.
“Layoffs are never our first choice,” Goldberg mentioned. “We’re unhappy to need to say goodbye to colleagues and grateful for his or her contributions. At a unstable time like this, we owe it to the general public to reshape our work to satisfy the second and to make sure long-term sustainability. GBH stays dedicated to being essentially the most modern, trusted, and impactful public media group in America.
“And, as we approach our 75th anniversary, it’s a good reminder that we’ve been inventing and evolving for a very long time,” the CEO added. “While our world, our audiences, and our industry undergo rapid transformation, what will never change is how much we care – about our staff, our audiences, our work, and our community.”
Final yr, the station minimize 31 employees from 13 departments — about 4% of the station’s workforce.
Goldberg final yr famous that the general public station, like many different media retailers, was dealing with “financial headwinds.” The station was coping with a $7 million funds hole.
These layoffs at GBH final yr got here after WBUR introduced that Boston’s NPR station was shedding seven workers and 24 others have been taking buyouts. WBUR’s on-air sponsorship earnings plummeted by about $7 million lately.
Final week, PBS sued Trump and different administration officers to dam his order stripping federal funding from the 330-station public tv system, three days after NPR did the identical for its radio community.
Herald wire companies have been used on this report.
