Local radio faces federal funding cuts

When storms ravaged through her hometown in Puerto Rico, Aurea Ortiz thanked a transistor radio for protecting her community. 

“We’re still standing because of the beauty of the radio,” Ortiz said. 

Now, Ortiz is a volunteer for the Lehigh Valley’s community-run public radio station WDIY. 

But this same lifeline is at risk of going silent from federal intervention. 

Margaret McConnell, the executive director of WDIY, said the station has lost 15% of their budget due to major federal funding cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. She said this money was used to pay for NPR programming that WDIY airs for six hours through the week and two hours on the weekends. 

McConnell said local radio stations like WDIY now face uncertainty on how to maintain NPR programming and local programs that serve the community. 

WDIY started 40 years ago when a small group of community members wanted the radio station to play music they wanted to listen to, along with trusted news from NPR. 

McConnell said it took these community members 10 years to raise the money and get the approval and equipment they needed to start the station. 

Today, McConnell said the station airs over 30 podcasts, two of which are hosted by McConnell and the rest hosted by volunteers. 

McConnell said WDIY airs music genres the Lehigh Valley community has specifically asked for. McConnell said people have even met their spouses and bands have formed, all because they met at the station. 

“We give a microphone to those who might not otherwise have any other outlet for sharing information,” McConnell said. “We are a community cornerstone and a public square. It’s really a loss to this community to not have an entity like ours that is pulling people together.”

McConnell said WDIY was already operating at a budget deficit. Now that the deficit has increased and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting down completely, there are more unknowns. 

McConnell said WDIY has decided to continue to pay to use NPR for at least a year. She said NPR gave a fee relief to all stations as an emergency response, allowing WDIY to pay almost half of what they paid for public radio this past year in the next fiscal year.

“My staff has been wonderful at staying focused,” McConnell said. “Most of this has fallen on me to negotiate, and my staff and volunteers just continue to show up and do their jobs day-in and day-out.” 

She also said other radio stations have begun to negotiate their own music rights in face of federal funding cuts. But, with a full time staff of only five employees, this is a near impossible task for the station, she said.

“There’s a lot of people that still don’t know about our stations or what we do,” she said. “We need the community to spread the word, to continue to support us, to step up additional support and to really continue to advocate for us amongst their peers.”

McConnell said there must be significant efforts in the next year to assure the station will not go silent. 

She said she’s confident that work is being done to make people aware of funding problems. She also said she hopes that the station’s financial uncertainty will be resolved by Jan. 1, 2026.

Justen Blackstone, the founder and a producer at the Foundry Recording Studio in Bethlehem, said he was made aware of WDIY’s challenges from funding cuts a few weeks ago. He said a large part of the work being done at Foundry — a small business where local artists can record and rehearse music — is built from the community found at radio stations. 

“Local radio stations should be the place where local artists are first discovered, heard, found and supported,” Blackstone said. “It’s important to foster that community and give people an opportunity to get their creative voice out there.”

Blackstone said WDIY’s funding is important for local creators, and the Foundry is doing what they can to show support for the station. 

Ortiz has volunteered as a host at WDIY for three years, alongside over 120 other volunteers. She said WDIY is a place where individuals can collaborate. 

“It’s going to end if we don’t do something, so that’s why I’m doing my share,” Ortiz said. “I have to go out to my community. I have to tell them we’re losing information and programs.”

Ortiz said last year WDIY aired six programs celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in September and October. Due to restricted funding and limited airtime, she said they were only able to run one program this year. 

She said it’s important for people to spread awareness about the value local radio stations offer to the community. 

“It’s not up to me, (and) it’s not up to the station,” Ortiz said. “It’s up to the people that govern us. We are fighting because it’s our radio station, and we have to stand up and say, ‘This is our way of life,’ and people should not take away something that is doing good to our community.”