U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján convened a roundtable discussion Thursday with New Mexico public broadcasting leaders to address the devastating impact of federal funding cuts that will eliminate $5.8 million in annual support for stations across the state.
Speaking at KANW-FM in Albuquerque, Heinrich warned that the cuts pose serious risks to rural and tribal communities that depend on public broadcasting for emergency services during natural disasters.
“For a state like New Mexico that is so large and rural, and where we rely on our rural and tribal communities on public broadcasting for emergency services, this has real impacts on people’s lives,” Heinrich told station managers and executives gathered for the Aug. 7 roundtable.
The meeting came one week after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced it would shut down by Sept. 30 following Congress’s approval of President Donald Trump’s request to rescind $1.1 billion in previously allocated funding over the next two years. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting allocates funds to more than 1,500 public TV and radio stations across the U.S., including 10 in New Mexico
Station managers describe dire consequences
During the roundtable, station managers from across New Mexico painted a stark picture of how the cuts will affect their operations and the communities they serve.
New Mexico PBS will lose $1.7 million annually — 18% of its operating budget — while KRWG in Las Cruces faces an $888,000 cut, representing 25% of its budget. KENW in Portales will lose $978,000, or 27% of its funding.
Barbara Maria, manager of KTDB-FM serving the Navajo community of Ramah, told the senators her station broadcasts 80% in Navajo and provides critical information to isolated communities with limited cell phone coverage.
“Without KTDB, nobody would have done anything, or didn’t know what would be happening” during the COVID-19 pandemic, Maria said during the roundtable, adding that federal cuts would devastate programming and staffing.
Sen. Luján emphasized that public broadcasting stations serve as the backbone of New Mexico’s Emergency Alert System, particularly in rural areas where cell service is unreliable.
“Recently, we all suffered some of the worst natural disasters that New Mexico has seen in some time,” Luján said. “If it was not for the infrastructure that CPB put together, some of those repeaters that carried these signals and those transmitters, they wouldn’t have reached people, and these were life-saving announcements.”
Emergency communications at risk
KUNM’s Jeff Pope told the senators that the loss of emergency broadcasting infrastructure could have life-threatening consequences. During last year’s wildfires near Ruidoso, KUNM provided critical communications when cell towers failed, he said. Pope also shared how a station he was working for in Asheville, N.C., served as a lifeline during a disaster.
“When Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina last year, public broadcasting was there when traditional communications failed,” Pope said.
According to the station managers, New Mexico’s public broadcasters also support the state’s Turquoise Alert System for missing Indigenous people and provide wireless emergency alerts that reach cell phones through PBS broadcast signals.
Franz Joachim, general manager of New Mexico PBS, warned the senators that the cuts would affect “local communities, small communities and tribal communities that are going to see programming, content and emergency alerting disappear.”
Unique cultural programming under threat
The roundtable also highlighted cultural programming available nowhere else in the country that faces elimination.
Adrian Velarde of KRWG described a 25-year bilingual music program that helps listeners learn Spanish, while KUNM’s “Singing Wire” has provided indigenous programming for 52 years. KENW offers agricultural programming serving eastern New Mexico farming communities.
“These are all the stories that we tell that nobody else is telling,” Joachim said. “We find the stories about our communities. We tell those stories and we share them with each other.”
Katie Stone, executive director of The Children’s Hour, warned the senators that cuts to children’s programming would eliminate role models for young viewers. “When we lose the cultural programming, public broadcasting, we lose children seeing a model of what could be their own future,” Stone said.
Political battle over bias allegations
The Trump administration has defended the funding elimination, arguing that public broadcasting displays liberal bias and wastes taxpayer money.
“NPR and PBS receive tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds each year,” the White House said in a May fact sheet. “NPR and PBS have fueled partisanship and left-wing propaganda with taxpayer dollars, which is highly inappropriate.”
However, a Harris Poll conducted in July found 66% of Americans support federal funding for public radio, including 58% of Republicans and 77% of Democrats.
Republican Party of New Mexico Chairwoman Amy Barela argues that public media disseminates politically biased information, calling it an unnecessary burden on taxpayers.
“In today’s media environment, it is clear that NPR and PBS have increasingly embraced a one-sided narrative that fails to represent the diverse views of the American people. If these organizations wish to continue operating as political or ideological platforms, they should do so independently—without relying on taxpayer dollars,” Barela said in a July statement. “Government funding should not be used to subsidize media outlets that no longer serve all Americans fairly. Taxpayer dollars should not be used to underwrite political activism disguised as journalism.”
Both NPR and PBS have repeatedly denied bias allegations.
Uncertain future for New Mexico stations
Heinrich and Luján expressed frustration with the cuts during the roundtable, with Heinrich calling public broadcasting “pretty much part of my every single day.”
Lujan said he grew up watching PBS on two TVs.
“I thought we grew up rich because we had two TVs. We had one for one to see it, and then the other one gave us the sound,” Lujan said. “I didn’t know as a young kid that they had to come out of the same machine.”
Station managers said they are exploring options to maintain services despite the dramatic funding loss, but acknowledged the challenges ahead.
“Our mission is as strong as it’s ever been, but I think we just have to adapt to this new reality of how do we continue doing what we’re doing with significantly reduced resources,” Velarde told the senators.
Some stations have reported increased donations since the cuts were announced, but station managers said private contributions cannot fully replace federal support, particularly for rural stations with limited donor bases.
The funding cuts take effect Oct. 1.