This story will be updated.
Public media stations across Indiana confront major funding cuts at both the state and federal levels. The reductions jeopardize their national, statewide and local programming, staffing, emergency alerts, and community services.
The stations broadcast NPR and PBS content throughout Indiana.
Last month, state lawmakers approved eliminating financial support for all 17 public broadcasting stations in the state's new two-year budget. Gov. Mike Braun is expected to sign the legislation soon.
Federally, President Trump signed an executive order May 1 directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to halt funds for NPR and PBS. That followed Trump’s move to dismiss three of the five board members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and his administration’s request that Congress end federal funding to public radio and television.
Nearly $13 million in total state and federal public funding accounts for about 30% of the combined budgets of Indiana’s public media stations, according to a WFYI analysis of budget and funding data. Together, these stations reach nearly all counties in Indiana and serve border communities in Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky and Ohio.
Many stations told WFYI the loss of state and federal funds could result in disruptions or cuts to operations, services or staff.
The stations are part of Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations. IPBS is the collective they established to share a broad range of services, education initiatives and news coverage. Some of the stations only have a radio or television license, but others hold a dual-license. All of them are nonprofits.
IPBS Executive Director Mark Newman works with stations on programming initiatives and community engagement activities.
“A big part of my role is engaging with the Indiana General Assembly and ensuring that the funds that have been consistently allocated to public broadcasting for decades continues to happen,” he said. “In this last legislative session, an eleventh-hour decision was made to cease funding to Indiana Public Broadcasting, which resulted in a $3.67 million gap in our operating capabilities.”
During debate in the House on April 24, before lawmakers voted on the budget, Rep. Ed Delaney (D-Indianapolis) asked if the decision to pull the funding was a part of the Trump administration’s fight with public broadcasting or a “criticism of the content.”
One of the budget’s authors, Rep. Jeff Thompson (R-Lizton), said it was a fiscal decision. “I think dollars were very, very tight. I had to make priorities.”
For more on each station in Indiana, see below.
Combined, all public funding comprises 15% of the station’s total 2024 operating expenses of $11,838,864.
It was slated to receive $447,842 in state funding, or 3.8% of its budget. It was also allocated $1,326,662 in federal funding for a Radio Community Service Grant, a Television Community Service Grant, and Other System Support. That is 11.2% of the station’s budget.
“We are still assessing the impacts that the loss of state funding will have on our stations,” said the station’s Marketing Director Laura Baich.
The station reported this story on state lawmakers cutting public media funding. It did not provide budget data for this story. WFYI confirmed numbers from its 2024 financial audit.
WTIU has a broadcasting radius of 55 miles and WFIU 50 miles.
Combined, all public funding comprises 13.3% of the station’s total 2023 budget of $1,687,475.
It was slated to receive $58,333 in state funding, or 3.5% of its budget. It was also allocated $165,874 in federal funding for a Radio Community Services Grant. That is 9.8% of the station’s budget.
“It was a serious kick in the gut when every legislator I talked to said the funding would be there … until the final reconciliation,” said Station Manager Anthony Hunt about how WVPE could be impacted. “I'm still catching my breath. This will likely most affect our Indiana interconnection, as we relied on that money for the collaborative IPBS projects between other Indiana stations.”
WVPE has a broadcasting radius of about 50 miles for most of its signals, but Hunt said it can sometimes be heard further south.
Combined, all public funding comprises 59.7% of the station’s total 2025 budget of $2,598,530.
It was slated to receive $439,761 in state funding, or 16.9% of its 2025 budget. It was also allocated $1,110,271 in federal funding for a Next Generation Warning System, a Radio Community Service Grant, a Television Community Service Grant, and Other System Support. This is 42.7% of the station’s budget.
“Right now, we are simply taking a look at budget gaps and potential budget gaps. We are not able to discuss any specifics regarding potential cuts/losses to programming, staffing or other services,” said Carlin Beckman, the station’s Vice President of Finance and Administration.
The station reported this story on state lawmakers cutting public media funding.
Its broadcasting radius is approximately 60-70 miles and reaches 15 counties in Indiana, 16 counties in Kentucky, and nine counties in Illinois.
Combined, all public funding comprises 12.7% of WBOI’s total 2025 budgeted revenue of $1,520,948.
It was slated to receive $58,333 in state funding, or 3.8% of its 2025 total budgeted revenue. It was also allocated $134,956 in federal funding for a Radio Community Services grant, 8.9% of the station’s budget.
“The loss in state funding will be felt across our organization. It will impact local music programming, news gathering, planned technical upgrades and the roll out of new ways listeners would have been able to connect with us on digital platforms,” said President and General Manager Travis Pope.
The station reaches 15 counties in Indiana and 4 counties in Ohio.
PBS Fort Wayne(WFWA) is based in Fort Wayne and holds a television license. It is not affiliated with WBOI.
Combined, all public funding comprises 43.2% of PBS Fort Wayne’s total 2025 budget of $3,531,159.
It was slated to receive $400,643 in state funding, or 11.3% of its 2025 budget. It was also allocated $1,124,641 in federal funding for a Next Generation Warning System, a Television Community Service Grant, and Other System Support. This is 31.8% of the station’s budget.
“We are assessing these questions now and evaluating different operating scenarios,” said General Manager Bruce Haines. “Clearly the level of local service we provide will be adversely affected and we are doing our best to mitigate this impact.”
The station’s broadcasting radius is about 65 miles and reaches 15 counties in Indiana and six in Ohio.
WFYI Public Media is based in Indianapolis and is a dual-license station.
In 2022, WFYIpurchasedWBAAfrom Purdue University in West Lafayette, which holds a radio license. The two stations’ budgets are combined.
Combined, all public funding comprises 15.8% of WFYI’s total 2025 budget of $14,314,837.
WFYI was slated to receive $593,838 in state funding, or 4.1% of its budget. It was also allocated $1,667,310 in federal funding for a Radio Community Service Grant, a Television Community Service Grant, and Other System Support, 11.6% of the station’s budget.
“The lack of state funding will undoubtedly affect our operations and our ability to provide essential services to our community. We are deeply concerned about the impact this will have on our viewers and listeners across the state,” said CEO Greg Petrowich in a statement after state budget cuts were announced.
The two stations cover dozens of counties in Central and Northeast Indiana.
Lakeshore Public Media (WLPR-FM and WYIN-TV) is based in Merrillville and is a dual-license station. The station did not provide budget data. WFYI used numbers from their 2024 financial audit.
Combined, all public funding comprises 34% of the station’s total 2024 operating expenses of $2,803,690.
It was slated to receive $384,412 in state funding, or 13.7% of its budget. It was also allocated $569,738 in federal funding for a Radio Community Service Grant, a Television Community Service Grant, and Other System Support. That is 20.3% of the station’s budget.
The station’s broadcasting radius is over 65 miles and reaches multiple counties in Northwest Indiana and Illinois.
Ball State Public Media is based at Ball State University in Muncie and is a dual-license station with separate branding for Indiana Public Radio (WBST) and Ball State PBS (WIPB).
Combined, all public funding comprises about 61.4% of Ball State Public Media’s total 2025 budget of roughly $2.6 million.
It was slated to receive $435,491 in state funding, or about 16.7% of its 2025 budget. It was also allocated $1,161,702 in federal funding for a Radio Community Service Grant, a Television Community Service Grant, Ready to Learn, and Other System Support. Federal funds are an estimated 44.7% of the station’s budget.
“We are still working out how we will adjust our operations in collaboration with IPBS and our partner stations across the state. We will not fill open positions for the immediate short term which will be our first step,” said Phil Hoffman, Assistant Dean of Media at Ball State and General Manager of the stations.
Hoffman provided a rounded figure of $2.6 million for the station’s 2025 budget. He said that the figure WFYI found in the station’s 2024 audit included university expenses in addition to station expenses and should not be used.
The radio and television stations cover a sizable chunk of North-Central Indiana. They also reach several counties in Ohio.
PBS Michiana-WNIT is based in South Bend and has a television license.
Combined, all public funding comprises 34.3% of PBS Michiana’s total 2025 budget of $4,222,534.
It was slated to receive $438,601 in state funding, or 10.4% of its 2025 budget. It was also allocated $1,010,488 in federal funding for a Television Community Service Grant and Other System Support. This is 23.9% of the station’s budget.
Amanda Miller Kelley is the station's President and General Manager.
She told WFYI the station will likely see cuts to community services and gave the example of distributing literacy materials to children. Its production would also be impacted.
She said they never considered losing all public funding at the same time — or over a third of PBS Michiana’s budget.
“Everything we’ve thought of has been sort of a step-down,” Miller Kelley said. “You’ll just see an overall impact on what we’re able to do across the board.”
The station’s broadcasting radius is about 50 miles and reaches 17 counties in Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan.
Vincennes University in Vincennes owns and operates WVUB and Vincennes PBS as a dual-license station.
Director of Broadcast Operations and General Manager Nichole Carie provided a rounded figure of $2.3 million for the station’s 2025 budget. The university confirmed the station’s total operating expenses from its 2024 financial audit.
Combined, all public funding comprises 53.4% of the stations’ total 2024 operating expenses of $2,665,747.
It was slated to receive $417,744 in state funding, or 15.7% of its 2024 budget. It was also allocated $1,006,458 in federal funding for a Radio Community Service Grant, a Television Community Service Grant, and Other System Support. This is 37.8% of the station’s budget.
Tony Hahn is Vincennes University’s Vice President of Government and Legal Affairs and said the impact goes beyond the services of its radio and television stations.
“Vincennes University has the unique mission of not only operating stations, but also creating a learning laboratory for students and future broadcasters. We are still examining the impact on our stations and the University as a whole based on the passage of the recent state budget. Unfortunately, that is all I am able to share at this time as we continue to scrutinize budget items,” he said.
WVUB has a broadcasting radius of about 60 miles and WVUT about 50 miles. The stations reach at least eight counties in Indiana and seven counties in Southern Illinois.
Editor's note: Most stations provided budget data for WFYI to do the analysis. In instances where others did not or said they could not Katherine Arno — the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Vice President of Community Service Grants and Station Initiatives — suggested using specific total expense figures from 2024 station financial audits, which she shared with WFYI. The reporter shared this process with the stations that did not provide budget data.
Contact WFYI data journalist Zak Cassel at zcassel@wfyi.org.
Disclosure: This story was reported and written by WFYI Data Journalist Zak Cassel and edited by News Director Sarah Neal-Estes and Managing Editor Eric Weddle. In following NPR’s protocol for reporting on itself, no WFYI or IPBS executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly.
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