鈥楢 lifeboat in an angry sea鈥�: Listeners rally to a rural radio station amid funding cuts
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Caitlin Babcock Staff writer
| Ignacio and Durango, Colorado
Crystal Ashike鈥檚 reporting for local radio station KSUT made when she broke a story on white vans that were showing up on Navajo land and whisking people away. The photojournalist, who is herself Navajo, uncovered how tribal members were being offered access to treatment for substance abuse, only to end up in fraudulent sober living homes.
KSUT is an NPR-affiliate radio station that serves five counties and four tribes in southwest Colorado and northwest New Mexico, providing local news like Ms. Ashike鈥檚 story. And it鈥檚 about to lose nearly a fourth of its funding when the Corporation for Public Broadcasting winds down on Sept. 30.
The CPB announced it was closing operations after Congress passed a rescissions bill this summer, clawing back nearly $1.1 billion in funding for public broadcasting. This nonprofit corporation, established by Congress in the 1960s, provides a small percentage of funding for NPR and PBS, institutions Republicans have long accused of having a liberal bias. It also helps fund local radio stations like KSUT, which are affiliated with NPR and air some of its content alongside their own programming tailored to local communities.
Why We Wrote This
KSUT, a radio station serving a remote community in Colorado, exemplifies the new challenges many rural public broadcast stations face as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting closes. For now, local listeners are helping to keep the station afloat.
A 2023 study by the Public Media Company, an advisory firm, found that 78 local stations across the country were at risk of having to shut down operations if they lost that government funding. KSUT hasn鈥檛 arrived at that point 鈥� yet. But for this station serving small mountain towns, there鈥檚 a lot of uncertainty. And for many in the community, it fills an indispensable role.
鈥淚 think we鈥檇 really be in a news desert for anything that mattered to us locally, regionally, if it weren鈥檛 for KSUT,鈥� says Carol Fleischer, a longtime listener.
From tribal news to emergency alerts
KSUT is based in Ignacio, a town of about 1,000 people in southwest Colorado that is also the headquarters of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. The Southern Ute originally founded the station in 1976 to provide community news and traditional Native American music. At the time, it was one of only eight tribal stations in the country.
After becoming an NPR affiliate in the 1980s, KSUT now runs two separate signals, with one exclusively dedicated to tribal news. The tribal signal broadcasts from 8 a.m. to midnight every weekday. Its programming is a compilation of news affecting local tribes, traditional music, and talk shows like a weekly broadcast on health issues affecting Indian Country.
The second signal airs a morning regional newscast, a compilation of the station鈥檚 own reporting as well as collaborations with other Colorado stations. They also broadcast programming from NPR and BBC News, plus music handpicked by their DJs.
During the summer 鈥� which in southwest Colorado means fire season 鈥� KSUT鈥檚 morning host puts together a list of updates on any fires that are burning and how effectively they鈥檙e being contained. When necessary, the station broadcasts live emergency and evacuation alerts. The fire season this summer has been a pretty intense one, says Tami Graham, the station鈥檚 director, with six active fires in the area.
For some listeners, radio is the primary or only source for this kind of information. In the mountains and canyons of the KSUT broadcast area, cell service is 鈥渉it-or-miss,鈥� as one resident describes it. More than 20% of people in La Plata County lack reliable broadband service, meaning radio may be their only way to receive emergency alerts. The internet connection can even be unpredictable around the radio station headquarters.
鈥淭here鈥檚 this whole conversation around, is radio still relevant?鈥� says Ms. Graham. 鈥淲ell, it鈥檚 extremely relevant in rural areas like this.鈥�
Relying on 鈥渄uct tape and glue鈥� to keep going
Like many stations around the country, KSUT has seen an outpouring of support in the weeks since the CPB announced its shutdown. Members have upped their monthly donations, many listeners are sending money for the first time, and the station has even had funds come in from people far across the country.
Given the support, KSUT doesn鈥檛 have any immediate plans to reduce their operations. But it鈥檚 hard to know how things will look in six months once public radio fades from the news, says Ms. Graham, sitting in her office moments after returning from speaking on the air.
On Aug. 19, several major philanthropic organizations said they would commit almost $37 million to help keep local public media stations afloat. Their is on stations that have received 30% or more of their funding from the CPB.
KSUT receives 20% of their funds from the government, and they鈥檙e not sure whether they鈥檒l see any of that money.
鈥淚鈥檓 cautiously hopeful that we will receive some of that support,鈥� says Ms. Graham.
Even though KSUT doesn鈥檛 have immediate plans to cut programming, the funding cuts could damage their broadcasting ability. Early this year, KSUT was awarded a $500,000 grant 鈥� administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency through the CPB 鈥� to update the technology that enables emergency alerts. But they never received any of the money. After six months of uncertainty regarding the funds because of a separate issue with FEMA, Congress passed a bill rescinding funding for the CPB, which then informed Ms. Graham that KSUT would have to spend any allotted funds by Sept. 30.
The station paid $46,000 to buy a needed transmitter and other equipment. Three days later, the CPB told the station it would not be able to reimburse them before the shutdown, and warned them not to purchase any new equipment.
Much of KSUT鈥檚 broadcasting equipment is over 20 years old and requires updates. The day before Ms. Graham spoke to the Monitor, a short power outage had knocked them off the air temporarily. Part of the promised grant money would have gone toward backup equipment that could have prevented this kind of outage.
The funds could have also allowed them to purchase the technology to monitor equipment remotely 鈥� something that鈥檚 crucial in mountainous Colorado, where snowy winters or summers heavy with wildfires can make it impossible to access tower sites year-round.
Ms. Graham says their approach has relied heavily on 鈥渄uct tape and glue鈥� as they try to keep their equipment running.
Local listeners weigh in
Priscilla Precious Collins, a member of what鈥檚 known as the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, says KSUT is 鈥渙ne of the pillar sources of information in our community.鈥� She recalls how the radio was 鈥渃rucial鈥� in spreading information to tribal communities during the pandemic, such as how to keep tribal elders safe.
Ms. Collins, who now is getting her doctorate of public health in Denver, is sometimes invited onto the station to talk about substance abuse, recovery, and peer support.
鈥淥utside of KSUT, who else is doing that for our community?鈥� she asks. 鈥淲ho else is talking about those topics?鈥�
On a baking hot morning in Durango, one of the biggest towns served by KSUT, 20 local listeners assemble in the dining room of a downtown hotel to share their thoughts on local radio.
鈥淚 was a schoolteacher for 37 years, and I listened to KSUT going to school and coming home,鈥� says Sweetie Marbury, a former mayor who organized the group. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a window to the world for us that live in mountain towns.鈥�
鈥淲ildfires are a new thing to me,鈥� says the Rev. Jamie Boyce, who moved to Durango last year聽and appreciates the local fire coverage.
Moni Grushkin turns to NPR programming, which KSUT broadcasts during parts of the day, when she wants to seek out neutral news.
Although 鈥渘eutral鈥� isn鈥檛 a word everyone agrees on.
鈥淏eing in a rural area, I hear the liberal,鈥� says Ellen Stein, the opinion editor for local paper The Durango Herald, about NPR News. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 even with the choices of the questions that are asked, the stories that are covered.鈥�
Sidny Zink, another former mayor, wonders if the CPB shutdown was entirely a bad thing.
鈥淚 give monthly to KSUT. I appreciate it being here,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut should the public be paying for it?鈥�
Coverage in news deserts
A 2023 conducted by the Harvard Kennedy School found that most local public radio stations serve areas where community members say there鈥檚 not enough news to meet their needs 鈥� areas that are essentially news deserts. It also found that the biggest reason these stations don鈥檛 provide more news coverage is lack of funding.
Amid the upheaval in the public radio landscape, KSUT presses on with building community ties.
On a recent morning, the KSUT broadcast pauses. 鈥淲e have a very sad announcement,鈥� says Ms. Graham, the executive director. She tells listeners that one of the station鈥檚 DJs has unexpectedly passed away. The next group of songs will be a tribute to this individual.
A listener writes in that afternoon. 鈥淚 send my deepest condolences to you and to everyone there at KSUT,鈥� she writes, 鈥渁s I know it is not just a business.鈥� In this woman鈥檚 49 years of listening to KSUT, she says the station has been a 鈥渓ifeboat in an angry sea.鈥�
