PBS' NewsHour Suffering from Major Budget Shortfall

A few weeks ago, facing the worst budget crunch of its 25-year history, PBS' "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" froze salaries at the show and put on hold company contributions to 401(K) retirement funds, according to a report today in the New York Times.

"The financial squeeze was precipitated last summer when Archer Daniels Midland ended its 14-year sponsorship of the program," reports the Times. "That sponsorship provided nearly $4 million (and some years as much as $7 million) of the program's yearly budget, which varies from $26 million to $28 million."

"'NewsHour' still has two corporate sponsors—Chevron and the Pacific Life Insurance Company—and it receives support from PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting," added the Times. "But only part of the Archer money has been replaced, leaving the budget several million dollars short."