New Hampshire
NHPR, NH PBS set to lose federal funding after cuts clear Congress
New Hampshire Public Radio and New Hampshire PBS are among the media outlets who will see major cuts to their funding streams following votes in Congress this week to defund public broadcasting.
On a near party-line vote, Republican lawmakers approved a rescission package backed by President Trump that will cut $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The CPB, in turn, awards grants to local stations across the public radio and television network.
For New Hampshire Public Radio, the cuts amount to more than $400,000, or 6% of the station’s annual budget. In a fundraising appeal sent Friday morning, NHPR CEO Jim Schachter said the rescission puts a “permanent gap” in the station’s budget.
“Our short-term response includes cost-cutting, of course; the demand for efficiency is greater than ever,” he said.
New Hampshire PBS receives 18% of its budget — or $1.3 million — in the form of grants from the CPB. Earlier this week, vice president Dawn DeAngelis said the loss of that money won’t be easy to make up, but that the organization is hoping to avoid layoffs or a reduction in local programming.
“We’ve been preparing for this eventuality for a while,” DeAngelis said. “We’ve been communicating with people across the system. So I feel that we’re better prepared to handle it. Will it be difficult? Yes.”
Cuts to ripple across the country
Roughly 2% of NPR’s budget comes through federal funds. For PBS, that share comes to about 15%. Both NPR and PBS also receive additional federal money in the form of payments from member stations that receive government funds.
The reliance on federal funding by local stations varies considerably across the nation. Stations in more rural or remote parts of the country tend to rely far more heavily on federal funding to stay afloat.
While public broadcasting has enjoyed bipartisan support in Washington for decades, Trump has repeatedly accused NPR of political bias. The network has denied those allegations, but was unable to convince the Republican majority in Congress to protect its funding.
Big financial impacts for other New England stations
Regionally, other New England public media organizations say they are still assessing the impact of the funding cuts on their bottom lines.
Boston’s two public media outlets — WBUR and GBH — say they expect to lose millions of dollars from the funding cuts. GBH was set to receive about 8% of its budget — or $18 million — from the CPB in the coming fiscal year. For WBUR, about 3% of its annual budget, or $1.6 million, comes from that source.
But for both news organizations, the financial losses could mount much higher, as both GBH and WBUR take in millions of dollars in sponsorships and syndication fees from other stations that pay to air their programs, including Here and Now, The World, and Frontline. Stations could decide to drop that programming as part of their own cost-cutting efforts.
“This is a painful moment,” said WBUR CEO Margaret Low. “We may be defunded but we feel determined to carry on and continue to serve the city and the country with high-quality journalism.”
Elsewhere in New England, Maine Public says it will lose about 12% of its budget due to the loss of federal funding. And Vermont Public says it gets about 10% of its annual funding from the CPB — or about $2 million a year.
Editor’s note: This story was edited by NHPR’s Dan Barrick. No other NHPR staff or management provided input or reviewed the story before publication.
The federal government has activated the New Hampshire National Guard’s 157th Air Refueling Wing in connection with the war with Iran.
“I’ve had a briefing myself, a classified briefing, but it’s really important on the messaging on this that we really coordinate with the Pentagon,” Gov. Kelly Ayotte told reporters during a press briefing following Wednesday’s Executive Council meeting.
Ayotte said she was unable to share additional details about the nature of the New Hampshire National Guard’s activity related to the conflict, including how many guard members have been activated or what role they are playing.
“We’re going to respect what messaging comes out of the Pentagon just to make sure that our men and women in uniform are fully protected and that we aren’t providing any information that could be used in a way that would be harmful to them,” Ayotte said.
In a statement Thursday, Ayotte said the unit had been deployed in late February to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in support of the operation.
Earlier this week, Pentagon officials confirmed that members of the Vermont National Guard were involved in attacks against Iran over the weekend, though our news partners at Vermont Public were not able to confirm additional details on the nature of the operation.
During the briefing with local reporters, Ayotte also stressed her support for servicemembers and those close to them.
“I have such respect for our men and women in uniform,” Ayotte said. “As you know, I come from a military family, and they have our full support, and we appreciate them and their families, and obviously anyone who is serving right now, and my thoughts and prayers go out to those who have lost someone that they love.”
By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – While Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte has said she opposes increasing highway toll rates across the state, the Senate voted Thursday to increase rates for out-of-state license plate holders.
It now goes to the House for consideration.
This would be a $1 increase for those who have out of state plates going through the tolls at Hooksett, Hampton and Bedford for out-of-state plates, a 75 cent hike for those taking Hampton’s Exit 2 and on the Spaulding turnpike at Rochester, and a 50 cent hike for those taking the exit off I-93 to Hooksett.
An analysis in the bill shows that this would increase toll revenue by $53.3 million in fiscal year 2027 and go up each year to generate $81.4 million a year in 2036.
Senate Bill 627 passed on a voice vote with two Republicans, Senators Regina Birdsell of Hampstead and William Gannon of Sandown opposing.
Senator Mark E. McConkey, R-Freedom, moved to take the bill off the table and offered an amendment.
He said the last time there was a systemwide increase to the turnpike toll was 19 years ago.
“I am sure we could all agree the cost of operations…has continued to escalate when revenue is not rising with it,” and he noted that with an enterprise fund, the state can only spend what it takes in.
The state has just completed a 10-year highway plan and there was a $400 million shortfall in projects that could not be paid for under the current income.
McConkey said the measure would not increase tolls for New Hampshire drivers with a state license plate.
“Why don’t we ask our neighbors,” to pay a toll increase. “We are getting the best of all worlds,” by passing the bill, he said, including “protecting our residents” and having resources for improvements to the turnpike system.
Sen. Gannon, R-Sandown, asked McConkey if there are any studies on impacts near the border on businesses.
If implemented, McConkey said the state will be the 27th lowest in per mile cost still. McConkey said the bill would also increase from seven to 14 days the amount of time for those with NH license plates to pay for a toll adding there are other states that also have different rates for out-of-state users.
The Hampton toll cost would go from $2 to $3, while Hooksett and Bedford would rise from $1 to $2 for out-of-state plates.
New Hampshire currently has the lowest rate per mile among states with tolls roads.
The governor said she does not support a toll increase.
“We are not going to put a burden on drivers for a toll increase,” Ayotte said. “Families are struggling.”
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