WUNC Radio president reacts to federal funds cut from public broadcasting

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- The House gave final approval to President Donald Trump's request to claw back about $9 billion for public broadcasting and foreign aid early Friday as Republicans intensified their efforts to target institutions and programs they view as bloated or out of step with their agenda.

The vote marked the first time in decades that a president has successfully submitted such a rescissions request to Congress, and the White House suggested it won't be the last.

Nearly $1.1 billion to Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) will be chopped over the next two years.

ABC11's Steve Daniels chatted with Paul Hunton, the president and general manager of North Carolina Public Radio WUNC, about the impact of losing federal funding.

The station gets $800,000 a year in funding from Washington, which is about 5 percent of its total revenue. Listeners contribute a generous 85 percent of the revenue, and Hunton says - they're really stepping up for the station right now.

"That has been one of the heartening things for myself and for our staff is that our listeners are, I can tell you this unequivocally, the best in the country. We are in a market that really supports public radio, and so we are very grateful for all of our listeners and supporters who have stepped up in this time and helped start to fill the gap."

Hunton responded to criticism from the Trump administration that the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary taxpayer expense.

"If you look at anything that WUNC does that is generated from our newsroom, you will see nothing but fair and objective journalism helping North Carolinians understand the communities that they live in, the state that they live in, and decisions that are being made at the legislature and other places on their behalf."

Although WUNC is owned by the UNC system, it does not get any state funding. In fact, Hunton says, the radio station pays the university every year for services they provide.

He also serves on the NPR board of directors in Washington. Hunton says he's concerned about the impact of the federal funding cuts on smaller stations across the country that do not have the robust listener support like WUNC has here in the Triangle.