{"id":39165,"date":"2025-08-28T22:40:45","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T03:40:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/south-dakota-public-broadcasting-cuts-20-jobs-braces-for-leaner-future\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T22:40:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T03:40:45","slug":"south-dakota-public-broadcasting-cuts-20-jobs-braces-for-leaner-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/south-dakota-public-broadcasting-cuts-20-jobs-braces-for-leaner-future\/","title":{"rendered":"South Dakota Public Broadcasting cuts 20 jobs, braces for leaner future"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A quarter of South Dakota Public Broadcasting staff will soon be out of a job, but optimism remains that donors could help restore some services and positions before cuts take effect.<\/p>\n

SDPB Executive Director Julie Overgaard announced Thursday that 15 SDPB employees will be laid off and five vacant positions will remain unfilled \u2014 a 25 percent workforce reduction effective Friday, Oct. 31.<\/p>\n

The layoffs will touch every area of the organization: local journalism efforts will be scaled back, the radio show In the Moment and TV program South Dakota Focus will be eliminated, output on Dakota Life reduced, and educational resources from the Education Team terminated. Several support roles will also vanish, said Overgaard, who has headed the public broadcasting network since 1997.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the hardest decision we\u2019ve ever had to make,\u201d she said during a midday press briefing inside SDPB\u2019s studios in downtown Sioux Falls, telling reporters that the plan prioritizes open government access and continued live coverage of the South Dakota Legislature, SDHSAA athletic championships and fine arts events.<\/p>\n

All TV and radio transmitters will also be preserved to maintain nearly universal broadcast access.<\/p>\n

The reductions follow a funding rollback under President Trump\u2019s so-called \u201cBig Beautiful Bill\u201d \u2014 a rescission package passed by Congress and enacted in July \u2014 which eliminated $2.2 million in federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. <\/p>\n

The impact on SDPB takes effect Oct. 1.<\/p>\n

Ryan Howlett, CEO of Friends of SDPB, lamented the severity of the cuts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is simply not possible to absorb a $2.2 million cut in federal funding and not have it affect our programming and content,\u201d he said, adding that the abrupt reduction in federal funding is a professional crisis for him personally that is second only to being a campaign staffer for Sen. Tom Daschle on election night of 2004.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese cuts are significant, and they hurt. Local programming is the most expensive to produce because it requires personnel, time, equipment, travel, and engineering resources,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But hope remains. SDPB and Friends of SDPB are working with community partners to secure emergency donations and long-term solutions. Already, $1.1 million in donations has been raised \u2014 a figure that continues to climb.<\/p>\n

Overgaard said if gifts and donations accumulate to a level that offsets the federal funding cuts, some of the eliminated positions could be restored.<\/p>\n

Additionally, there is work underway to convince Congress to restore public broadcasting funding in the FY 2026 federal budget.<\/p>\n

Overgaard said that cannot be counted upon, however, and going forward, donors and the state of South Dakota will be SDPB\u2019s lifelines.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think as a public media system, if we want to continue to be viable and providing good services that the American people value and people in South Dakota value, we are going to have to reinvent ourselves,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

The post South Dakota Public Broadcasting cuts 20 jobs, braces for leaner future<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Visit Original Source<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/div>

A quarter of South Dakota Public Broadcasting staff will soon be out of a job, but optimism remains that donors could help restore some services and positions before cuts take effect. SDPB Executive Director Julie Overgaard announced Thursday that 15 SDPB employees will be laid off and five vacant positions <\/p>\n

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Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> August 28, 2025<\/p>\n

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