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BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) — The House of Representatives will soon take up the package of spending cuts that was narrowly approved by the Senate Wednesday night.
It slashes previously approved funding for foreign aid as well as PBS and NPR.
PBS Appalachia General Manager and CEO Julie Newman stopped by First at Four Thursday to discuss how it will impact the Southwest Virginia Station.
“It’s been a devastating day to be in public media,” Newman said. “It’s something that we could foresee coming so it wasn’t a total surprise.”
While she said the road ahead is tough, PBS Appalachia won’t have as much of an impact as other PBS stations.
“We are the first all-digital public media station in the country which means we are the only station that does not receive federal funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting,” she said. “However, our parent company, Blue Ridge PBS, Blue Ridge Public Television, Inc. which serves Blue Ridge PBS in Roanoke and PBS Appalachia in Southwest Virginia, we’re the same parent company. And they do receive that funding from CPB. So their loss of funding directly impacts and devastates us at PBS Appalachia as well.”
The measure now has to go back to the House for a final vote before the Friday deadline.
You can watch Newman’s full interview on First at Four above.