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WTJX warns federal funding cuts could force program cuts as station seeks $4.43 million
Summary
WTJX, the U.S. Virgin Islands public broadcasting system, told the Legislature’s budget committee it needs level funding of $4,431,902 plus contingency for rising costs and possible federal cuts; officials also described a failed Saint John parade broadcast, signal gaps on St. Croix and FEMA rebuild work above budget.
The Virgin Islands Public Broadcasting System (WTJX) told senators on July 15 that it needs continued government support as possible federal funding cuts and local budget pressures threaten services and long‑running programming.
Executive Director Tanya Marie Singh told the Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance that the system’s requested government ceiling for fiscal 2026 is $4,431,902. She told the committee WTJX is both the territory’s PBS member station and an NPR member station that provides “noncommercial, educational, cultural, public affairs programs” to the territory and surrounding islands.
The concern at the hearing centered on federal uncertainty. Singh and Chief Financial Officer Nedra Thomas said WTJX could lose roughly $1.3 million in funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) if Congressional action and an executive order are implemented. “We already received those monies,” Thomas told the committee of the station’s CPB award for the current fiscal year, but both she and Singh warned that future CPB support is uncertain and that any rescission or long‑term cut would be “catastrophic” for public media…
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