Statement from Kenya Young, President & CEO of LPM:
July 18, 2025
Today, Congress passed the Rescissions Act of 2025, eliminating federal funding for public media. For Louisville Public Media, this means the immediate loss of $376,000 from our current budget and every year going forward. This was our single largest grant.
Let me be clear about what this means for our community.
This is not just about money. This is about the emergency alerts that keep you safe when storms roll through Jefferson County. This is about the investigations that hold institutions and systems accountable. This is about the local journalism that features our leaders, neighbors and community. This is about the music discovery that introduces you to your next favorite song on WFPK. This is about the classical programming on WUOL that connects you through education and arts.
This is about preserving what makes Louisville Public Media essential to our community’s civic life.
What we’ve lost
Federal funding represented about 5% of our operating budget, but its impact was outsized. That $376,000 could fund:
- almost the entire Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting
- a complete season of WFPK Waterfront Wednesday concerts
- all the hosts and programming on WUOL Classical
- about 1,000 local news stories from our newsroom
- 20 hours a day of music discovery on WFPK
More broadly, we’ve lost something that took nearly 60 years to build: a bipartisan consensus that public media serves an essential role in American democracy. Despite overwhelming public support for public broadcasting, Congress chose to dismantle a system that reaches 99% of Americans for about $1.60 per person per year.
What drives us
Our mission remains unwavering. Our commitment to Louisville is as strong as ever. And our community stands more determined than ever.
I came to Louisville because of the extraordinary civic engagement I witnessed here. In my first months, I’ve seen this community show up for what matters — at community events, neighborhood meetings and cultural gatherings across the city. Louisville doesn’t give up when something we value is threatened.
Our next steps
We moved into an emergency fundraising effort today to replace this lost funding. Our goal is $376,000, and we will stop when we reach it.
This isn’t charity we’re asking for. This is investment in local journalism, emergency preparedness and cultural programming that no one else provides. Local support is our most important source of funding. In fact, public media stations nationwide raise $7 locally for every federal dollar they receive. Louisville has always been generous in supporting what LPM does.
Our commitment
We will continue delivering the programming you depend on. WFPL will keep providing fearless local journalism. The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting will keep bringing vital accountability stories to light. WFPK will keep introducing you to new music and hosting Waterfront Wednesday. WUOL will keep connecting you to Louisville’s classical music scene and presenting New Lens concerts.
We’ll do this because Louisville deserves independent, community-focused media. We’ll do this because emergency preparedness isn’t optional. We’ll do this because cultural programming that brings people together matters now more than ever.
The word “public” in Louisville Public Media means something to us. You are the public in public media. You always have been, and especially now, you are what makes this work possible.
Congress may have ended federal support for public media, but they cannot end the community support that has always been our foundation.
A personal note
As a public media journalist for over 20 years, this is personal. I entered this profession because I believe in the sanctity and vital importance of a free press. I moved into media leadership because I believe deeply in the power of serving our audience with integrity and purpose.
We will not be silenced.
Our mission is to amplify a variety of perspectives, voices and lived experiences and to show how the news plays out in the real lives of Louisvillians. We uncover injustices and inequities, give voice to those who need to be heard and celebrate the resilience and extraordinary spirit that defines our community.
This is a difficult day, but it's not a day for despair. I've spent my career in public media because I believe in its power to inform, inspire and truly connect communities. That belief holds true today just as much as it did yesterday, if not more.
Thank you for standing with us, for us and by us.
With fervor and determination,
Kenya Young
President and CEO
Louisville Public Media
