WBUR/Boston Hit With Budget Cuts
In other budget-cutting moves, WBUR will also stop producing the 27-year-old nationally syndicated sports show, Only A Game this fall. The show is carried by 260 stations but has been without a permanent host since founding host Bill Littlefield retired two years ago. The station shakeup also includes dropping the Kind World podcast, which is co-hosted by two women of color. “I really hope that, in this moment, they’re taking this diversity and inclusion problem very, very seriously,” said Andrea Asuaje, one of the hosts of Kind World. “The fact that my show is powered by minority women, and it’s gotten cut, you know, it’s not a great look.”
Staff reductions will help WBUR, one of the largest stations in public radio, reduce its operating budget by roughly 13%, to about $40 million, in the fiscal year that begins July 1. In an interview, Low said she hopes to avoid additional layoffs but cannot guarantee more cuts won’t be necessary. “One would be not smart to say anything’s impossible,” Low said. “The world as we know it changed, and changed again, overnight. I’m hopeful.”