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- Francisco Rodriguez reports on Native Public Media and the Arizona Community Foundation partnering to sustain tribal radio stations across the country.
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Native Public Media and the Arizona Community Foundation have formed a partnership to help sustain dozens of tribal radio stations nationwide as they reel from the loss of federal funds.
The partnership, which ACF announced in December, aims to fill funding gaps for NPM’s network of over 60 tribal stations. Federal funds accounted for 30% to 100% of revenue for the 36 stations in the network that formerly received CPB support, according to NPM CEO Loris Taylor.
The partnership will help sustain tribal radio stations, supporting them in becoming more financially resilient and strengthen their voices, she said. Stations in NPM’s network that did not receive CPB support will also be eligible for assistance.
“When the ownership is someplace else other than with local communities, you’re just not going to hear your own narrative,” Taylor said. “If you’re able to have your own broadcast facilities, you have the power to speak, and your power to be heard increases exponentially.”
The partnership seeks to provide stations with both immediate relief and long-term sustainability through two separate funds under ACF’s stewardship, said ACF VP of Strategic Partnerships Kim Covington. NPM has raised over $3 million in total funds thus far.
“While each station’s needs are unique, they all share reliance on stable funding to maintain essential services,” Covington said. “We not only want them to survive — we want them to thrive.”
KBRW-AM/FM in Barrow, Alaska, is a former CSG recipient within NPM’s network. The station serves an area encompassing over 95,000 square miles and features Inupiaq-language programming. GM Jeff Seifert, who also serves on NPM’s Station Advisory Committee, said the partnership has given undersized tribal stations like KBRW the ability to continue serving their local Indigenous communities.
“It’s absolutely vital,” Seifert said. “They’re able to do the work to find the money. They have the staff that can be dedicated to that kind of work, and I think without NPM, a lot of these stations would probably be in very dire straits.”
Read the full article about sustaining tribal radio stations by Francisco Rodriguez at Current.