Boise State Public Radio has served Idaho for nearly 50 years. Now they continue to face challenges after a national agency cut their federal funding on Monday.
On Monday, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting shut down, ending decades of support for PBS, NPR, and local stations like Boise State Public Radio.
"Public funding represented some 20% of our budget, so like any business that's, you know, hammered with a quick change," said Tom Michael, General Manager of Boise State Public Radio. "We've looked at a lot of ways to reduce expenses, but we're really committed to service."
Watch to learn how local public media is working to secure its future.
The move follows last summer's Rescission Act, cutting over a billion dollars from public media funding nationwide.
"It's a real tragedy because they were committed to non-commercial news throughout the country through hundreds of different stations," added Michael.
Federal support helped BSPR keep more than 30 transmitters on the air, many reaching rural Idaho. The loss is felt by staff and students who learn the craft of journalism and how to keep pouring into the future of local media.
"Idaho Public Television remains on the air and will continue to serve Idahoans in the months and years to come. We're working every day to address the gap in our budget through retirements, reducing expenses and additional fundraising efforts." - Idaho Public Television
"It's so cool [that] we have a pretty strong internship program. Especially Boise State University students, but also we attract students from other areas, so being part of an educational facility, it's important for us," Michael said.
Idaho Public Television issued a statement about the impact of the CPB shutdown on its operations.
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"The formal shutdown of the CPB was not unexpected due to the funding cuts brought on by the Recission Act of 2025. CPB funding represented nearly $2.2 million annually for Idaho Public Television. For decades, these funds helped cover the costs of local productions, education in communities, and much more throughout our state," Idaho Public Television said. "Further, these federal cuts will not affect how we use our State of Idaho general fund allocation, which pays for the broadcast infrastructure that allows our content to reach 99 percent of Idaho homes."
BSPR leaders say they're still focused on high-quality programs and local news, even if the future looks different.
"Boise State Public Radio was founded in 1977, so we're coming up on our 50 years. The next 50 are certainly gonna look different than the last 50, but with this great community support that we have and, you know, individual membership donations, we're gonna be strong," Michael said.
Boise State Public Radio says individual donations and memberships will be crucial to keeping its signal strong across Idaho.
