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PBS and public media have been in the spotlight lately — and not in a way anyone asked for. When federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was eliminated, NPR and PBS stations across the country faced sudden cuts and hard choices.
In this special live episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Ledger editor Tony Mecia sits down at The Sharon at SouthPark with Amy Burkett, general manager of PBS Charlotte, to talk about what that shift has meant locally — and what it’s forcing public media to do differently. Burkett, a former commercial TV reporter and anchor, shares how PBS Charlotte has rebuilt itself since nearly going dark in the early 2010s, how the station is adapting after losing $1.2 million overnight, and why she believes public media is more valuable in an era when trust is harder to come by.
In this conversation, they also discuss:
How PBS Charlotte nearly went off the air — and what saved it
The difference between commercial TV news and public media storytelling
What PBS Charlotte produces locally (and where to find it)
The immediate impact of losing $1.2 million tied to PBS dues and federal support
How community donors helped close the gap — and what comes next
Why data matters now more than ever (broadcast + streaming + YouTube)
How PBS thinks about “knowing your lane” in a world full of Netflix and TikTok
We hope you enjoy the conversation with Amy Burkett, recorded live Jan. 5, 2026, at The Sharon at SouthPark.
This episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast was produced by Lindsey Banks.
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