PBS weekend newscasts shut down because of funding cuts, changed by single-topic packages | EUROtoday

PBS will premiere separate packages on science and overseas affairs subsequent weekend after shutting the doorways on its Saturday and Sunday breaking newscasts due to the federal authorities’s minimize of $1.1 billion in funding to public broadcasting.

“PBS News Weekend” signed off Sunday, “at least for the foreseeable future,” anchor John Yang stated. The weekend sister of “PBS NewsHour” started broadcasting in 2013 from New York, and moved to Washington in 2022.

Starting Saturday, PBS will air the weekly present “Horizons” on science and know-how points. The new present “Compass Points” will deal with overseas affairs Sunday. Both packages can be taped prematurely through the week, enabling PBS to save cash by chopping again on weekend employees, stated Sara Just, senior government producer for “NewsHour.”

The weekend newscast averaged 827,000 viewers per present, roughly 1 million lower than what “NewsHour” will get through the week, in response to the Nielsen firm.

The Republican-controlled Congress, responding to President Donald Trump’s needs, eradicated funding for PBS and NPR in July. The president has complained about information programming on public broadcasting being biased towards conservatives.

During Sunday’s finale, highlights aired by PBS illustrated vital information tales that broke over weekends — Hamas’ assault on Israel in October 2023, the assassination try on Donald Trump in summer season 2024, and Joe Biden’s exit from the presidential race on a Sunday just a few weeks later.

Asked if the weekend newscasts may return if a future authorities restores funding to PBS, Just stated, “I never say never, but this is not a temporary decision.”

Also in response to funding cuts, PBS shut down a bureau in Arizona that had enabled “NewsHour” to replace its broadcasts for West Coast viewers. But Just cautioned towards decoding the strikes as a sign the weekday newscast is in any hazard. Through TikTok and YouTube, the printed is seeing extra publicity for its journalism, she stated.

“I don’t see that program at risk in the near future,” she stated.

Both “Horizons” and “Compass Points” can be 30-minute broadcasts. William Brangham will host “Horizons,” which can deal with a single matter every week, resembling synthetic intelligence, local weather science or medical advances. Each episode of “Compass Points,” with Nick Schifrin as host, will even consider one matter, PBS stated.

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David Bauder writes concerning the intersection of media and leisure for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.