KWBU 103.3 FM We Tell Stories. Waco's NPR

News Summary:

KWBU 103.3 FM continues its efforts to secure financial stability, a year after experiencing significant funding reductions. In summer 2025, Congress ended federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which followed Baylor University's decision several months earlier to cease $209,000 in cash contributions, although the university maintained its in-kind support including facilities, technology, and accounting services. Previously, on March 31, 2026, a federal judge blocked President Trump's order to stop NPR funding, with the White House indicating an appeal. KWBU's new president, Lydia Tate, spoke about this development. This judicial block came after a federal judge on April 14, 2026, found the Trump Administration's May 2025 executive order, which had ended federal funding for PBS and NPR citing them as "biased media," to be unconstitutional. These financial challenges were prominent as Director Joe Riley retired on January 5, 2026, after 16 years of leading KWBU, having spent his final year securing community support following the station's loss of half its budget from the combined cuts by Baylor University and the federal government.