KWBU Continues the Fight to Stay on the Airwaves

WACO, Texas (FOX 44) — After major funding cuts threatened the livelihood of KWBU, a large fundraising effort in September puts them closer to being comfortable – but still not where they need to be.

KWBU started off as a student radio station at Baylor University in 1966. In 2000, the station stepped away from Baylor and became an NPR affiliate station servicing McLennan County. In those 25 years, the station has continued to be supported by funds from Baylor and from federal funding received by NPR.

That quickly changed this spring when Baylor cut their cash funding for the station, followed by Executive Order 14290 cutting funds for public broadcasting programs, including NPR. The cuts from Baylor came amidst a university wide budget reallocation, which saw KWBU lose over 9,000 in funding. As for the federal funding, President Trump ended funding for public broadcast programs such as NPR and PBS, creating another 4,000 sized hole in their budget.

Joe Riley is the President of KWBU and says that while the huge rush of donations helped, there’s still work to be done.

“We had a great drive in September. I mean, we brought in, we had a goal that we’ve never had before, 0,000 goal, and actually brought in almost 5,000,” said Riley. “That doesn’t get us completely out of the woods. That’s what we needed for September.”

Molly-Jo Tilton is the reporter at KWBU. She joined the station straight out of college, and now a year later she might lose the station entirely.

“it’s tough because you do think, you know, sometimes, like my family isn’t here. I moved here on my own to do this because I feel that this work is important,” said Tilton. “I think it makes me a little nervous. I’m not going to lie.”

To donate or learn more about KWBU, you cand visit their website.