Credit: Photo via CFPM/Facebook

After the passage of a federal plan to claw back funds for public media and foreign aid programs last week, public media in Central Florida has now become one of the latest casualties of budget cuts under the Trump administration. A casualty’s not a fatality, though, and Central Florida Public Media is asking the community to help them keep their full programming alive.

“Our mission is to empower and connect our community,” Judith Smelser, president and general manager of the station, told Orlando Weekly. “We have to operate right now under the assumption that we are on our own, and it’s up to the community to make the decision to invest in us.”

Central Florida Public Media, formerly known as WMFE, reaches nine counties across the region through stations 90.7 FM Orlando and 89.5 FM in The Villages. Although they are a member organization of NPR, an organization also facing budget cuts broadly, Smelser emphasized that the station itself is independent and locally owned.

“I think there’s a perception … that we have access to national resources that we don’t have access to,” she explained. The federal budget rescission package approved by U.S. Congress, signed into law by President Trump this week, clawed back $1.1 billion in already approved funds from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes funds to more than 1,500 public TV and radio stations, including local PBS and NPR member affiliates WUCF and Central Florida Public Media.

Central Florida Public Media, for its part, stands to lose $300,000 in federal funds this fiscal year, as a result of rescission, and $300,000 next fiscal year as well, according to Smelser. A funding veto from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis additionally cut the station off from $100,000 in state public media dollars.

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Altogether, Smelser said those government dollars represent about 11 percent of the station’s budget. “While that may or may not seem like a lot, anybody who’s run a nonprofit or a small business knows that you use every percent of your revenue.”

So far, the station has been forced to suspend its Emerging Journalism Fellowship program — a program first established last year to support early-career journalists in an increasingly struggling industry. They’ve also frozen two open job positions.

National programming they pay NPR for (yes, member stations pay NPR to use their content) could be on the chopping block next, Smelser confirms. While they haven’t decided which programs would be axed first, listeners could lose high-profile programming on 90.7-FM such as NPR’s “Fresh Air” (“one of the most expensive” and popular programs they air), “Reveal”’s investigative reporting program, “Hidden Brain” or the “TED Radio Hour.”

Preserving Central Florida Public Radio’s local journalism, documenting issues affecting local communities on the ground in the Orlando metro, she said, remains a priority. Their journalists have reported on everything from the local housing crisis to our lagging public transit system, efforts to quell protests on college campuses, how rising heat in Florida affects the operations of local food trucks and much more.

“A national outlet isn’t going to do that,” she pointed out. Boots-on-the-ground journalism in Orlando is “critical” but becoming rarer in a media environment that is crumbling and now increasingly targeted by politicians that view watchdog reporters as foes.

“We believe that access to reliable information and reporting on our communities is a fundamental right,” said Smelser. “And our journalism is available to everyone for free, without paywalls or subscription fees.” 

Central Florida Public Media — like many other stations around the U.S. — is launching a one-day funding drive on Friday, July 25, to help fill the $400,000 gap in the station’s budget.

They’ll be airing from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., sharing information about the importance of local journalism (i.e., how they’re kicking ass and could use some financial support now as they pivot from 87 percent community-funded to 100 percent).

Smelser told Orlando Weekly that the Ginsburg Family Foundation has generously agreed to match every donation dollar — dollar for dollar — up to $50,000 “in honor of Harriet Ginsburg, who was a dedicated listener.” 

Will’s Pub will also be hosting a Punks for Public Media benefit next month on Sunday, Aug. 10, where every dollar donated will directly support Central Florida Public Media. Tickets are $25 each and the event (all ages welcome) will feature eight bands playing from noon to 6 p.m.

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This article appears in Jul 23-29, 2025.

General news reporter for Orlando Weekly, with a focus on state and local government and workers' rights. You can find her bylines in Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, In These Times, and Facing South.