Cascade PBS announced Monday it will lay off 16 employees and cease all long-form written journalism after losing $3.5 million in annual funding due to Congress’s elimination of Corporation for Public Broadcasting support.
The Seattle-based public media organization, formerly known as Crosscut, described the cuts as a 12% staff reduction affecting marketing, creative, and editorial departments. President and CEO Rob Dunlop characterized the federal defunding as having “devastating effects” on public media nationwide.
“This unprecedented federal decision has had devastating effects on more than 300 public television and radio outlets across the country, and we’re not immune here at home,” Dunlop said. “These are painful cuts to make. It has an impact both on our community and on the staff who’ve served this region with passion.”
The organization will provide severance pay and benefits to affected employees while restructuring operations to focus primarily on streaming and video programming rather than written content.
Cascade PBS serves western and central Washington plus parts of British Columbia, tracing its origins to 1954 as KCTS, which stood for “Community Television Service.” The organization acquired Crosscut in 2015, expanding its digital journalism capabilities.
Moving forward, the media outlet will concentrate on local video series including Mossback’s Northwest, The Nosh, Nick on the Rocks, Out & Back, and Art by Northwest. The news program The Newsfeed will expand from its current schedule to five days per week.
The elimination of written journalism represents a significant shift for an organization that built substantial readership through Crosscut’s coverage of Pacific Northwest politics, culture, and policy issues. The decision reflects broader challenges facing public media as federal support disappears.
“This is a tremendous loss all around, for our public media team here in the Northwest and for public media across the U.S.,” Dunlop stated, while affirming the organization’s continued commitment to serving the community through remaining programming.
The restructuring affects not only local staff but also reduces news coverage and analysis available to Seattle-area residents, potentially creating information gaps in regional journalism coverage.
Cascade PBS joins hundreds of public broadcasting stations nationwide grappling with budget shortfalls after the elimination of federal funding that traditionally supported local news operations, educational programming, and community services.
Despite the cuts, Dunlop emphasized maintaining program quality across news, science, history, culture, arts, and international content, though with significantly reduced resources and staffing levels.
