WHRO To Lose About $2M; But Does Not Plan to Close

WHRO Public Media in Norfolk will lose $2M in federal funding but pledges to remain open, exploring fundraising and cost-cutting to sustain its educational and cultural programming.

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By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

Although federal funding cuts will close many public broadcasting stations, and WHRO Public Media is set to lose about $2 million, it does not plan to close.

WHRO is not closing, but is re-evaluating its day-to-day operations, especially financially intensive local programing, at a time when many public broadcasting stations plan to close in September. At least 80 NPR and PBS member stations nationwide will close, according to NPR CEO Katherine Maher. WHRO, based in Norfolk, received $2 million in federal funds in 2024 to help deliver emergency alerts, free educational resources, local news and cultural programming across Hampton Roads and beyond.

WHRO is the only public media outlet in the country owned by 21 local school divisions, a unique model that connects its mission to education and community service.

Without federal support, WHRO officials say key services are now in jeopardy, including rural emergency alerts, WHRO KIDS, free online courses, in-school outreach and student competitions which were funded by federal funds.

“We’re actively exploring ways to sustain these services for our local communities that depend on them,” a station official said in a statement.

In July, Bert Schmidt, president and CEO of WHRO, said the Norfolk-based station will lose $2 million in federal funding. He told VPM News, following the U.S. Senate vote, that the station has been planning for the cuts.

WHRO intends to launch a fundraising campaign and will possibly dip into endowments to pay bills – the station’s annual million-dollar licensing fee to air PBS content is due in a couple of months – and some staff who are retiring will not be replaced.

“At the end of the day, we’ll certainly have to make cuts,” Schmidt said. “We have to. And all stations will have to figure out how to be a quality public media station without federal funding.”

Members account for the largest single source of WHRO’s revenue, at 35 percent. WHRO is also owned by a consortium of 21 school divisions in the Hampton Roads region, which provides some funding.

Federal funding accounts for 9 percent of the Hampton Roads station’s $21 million budget, Schmidt said. But he noted much of the budget is restricted revenue that’s locked in for specific projects; that leaves about $5 million for local programming.

VPM President and CEO Jayme Swain said VPM’s upcoming headquarters, which is under construction on East Broad Street in downtown Richmond, will proceed. The new building, which is set to cost $44.7 million and open in spring 2026, will replace the 1960s-era station at 23 Sesame Street in Chesterfield County.

Congress and the Senate recently withdrew all funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in fiscal years 2026 and 2027, leaving even stations that remain operational scrambling to restore their budgets. (The federal fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30; Virginia’s runs from July 1 to June 30.)

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is closing after losing all federal funding.