FAIRBANKS -- The public broadcasting stations in Fairbanks, faced with a $170,000 budget cut, plan to withdraw from the Alaska Public Radio Network at the end of August, KUAC Manager Keith Martin said.
"This is a move to minimize the overall impact to our programming lineup," he said, adding that one full-time position has been cut to half-time at the TV and radio stations. The stations are housed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, which is going through a series of budget cuts beginning in July.
The APRN fees are $33,256 a year and the network provides a daily half-hour news program, as well as morning news updates. Actions to deal with more than half of the $170,000 budget cut remain under review, Martin said.
Steve Lindbeck, general manager of Alaska Public Media in Anchorage, said he still hopes to keep "KUAC in the family" and that the loss of APRN for a Fairbanks audience would mean "less collaboration and unity in the system; the answer is, and must be, more of both."
Alaska Dispatch Publishing