FORT WAYNE, Ind., October 23, 2025 — Knight Foundation, in partnership with the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne, has awarded grants to Northeast Indiana Public Radio (WBOI) and PBS Fort Wayne to strengthen local public media. The support is part of a national philanthropic initiative to support local public media stations that have experienced funding cuts due to the recission of federal dollars for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
In August, Knight Foundation and several other national foundations committed funds to support at-risk local public media stations across the country. Knight Foundation is committing additional dollars to provide direct support to stations in “Knight communities” — cities where the Knight brothers once published newspapers.
“Local public media stations are trusted community anchors that connect people to vital news, culture and civic life. This is an urgent moment that calls for bold action,” said Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, president and CEO of Knight Foundation. “We are proud to stand with our fellow foundations and urge others to join us in securing the future of public media.”
As a Knight city, Fort Wayne benefits from this commitment, with the Community Foundation serving as a local partner to connect Knight’s resources to organizations and projects in the community.
Strengthening Local Journalism at WBOI
Northeast Indiana Public Radio will use its grant to expand news gathering and storytelling. Beginning in October, WBOI will launch expanded weekday features and produce three longform storytelling or investigative pieces each month across radio, livestream, WBOI.org and Instagram. The funding will also help sustain WBOI newscasts through the end of the fiscal year, despite recent cuts to federal funding, which went into affect last week.
“We look forward to putting these funds toward strengthening our reporting, distributing news in new ways, and continuing to build the home for information and inspiration that Northeast Indiana deserves,” said Travis Pope, president of Northeast Indiana Public Radio and general manager of WBOI.
Reviving Local Programming at PBS Fort Wayne
PBS Fort Wayne will use its grant to resume its local public affairs program, PrimeTime, in January — reviving a show that had gone dormant due to budget cuts. The grant will also support new local productions, including multiplatform news formats, lifestyle and culture programming, and documentary projects highlighting the region’s colorful history.
“At a time when public media is being forced to cut or scale back local content offerings, this grant will allow us to expand our storytelling, develop new formats, and continue our 50-year legacy of producing local content,” said Ed Leon, president and CEO of PBS Fort Wayne. “I can’t be more grateful.”
“The Community Foundation is proud to partner with Knight Foundation to bring this important funding to Fort Wayne,” said Brad Little, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne. “Local public media strengthens our democracy by keeping people informed, connected and engaged. Supporting WBOI and PBS Fort Wayne ensures our community continues to have access to trusted news and inspiring local storytelling.”
About Knight Foundation
We are social investors who support a more effective democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture, research on the areas of media and democracy and the success of American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once published newspapers. Learn more at kf.org.
About the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne
The Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne does three things: helps people make their charitable giving more impactful, connects resources to nonprofits through grantmaking and education, and provides leadership to address community needs. The organization connects people and resources daily to build a more vibrant community. As of December 31, 2024, the Community Foundation held charitable assets of approximately $247 million and awarded more than $11 million in charitable grants and scholarships throughout the same year. Since its formation in 1922, the Community Foundation has awarded more than $195 million in charitable grants. For more information, visit the Community Foundation’s website.
About WBOI
Since 1978, WBOI (89.1 FM), operated by Northeast Indiana Public Radio, is a nonprofit public media station serving Fort Wayne and the surrounding region. The station provides trusted local news, cultural programming, and national content from NPR and other networks, funded by community members, businesses, foundations, and grants. Learn more at wboi.org.
About PBS Fort Wayne
Celebrating 50 years in operation, PBS Fort Wayne is the northeast Indiana region’s only locally owned and operated, full power television service and only public television resource. PBS Fort Wayne broadcasts six channels, 24 hours a day: Our main channel on 39.1; PBS Kids on channel 39.2; Create TV on channel 39.3; Explore on channel 39.4 (local and Indiana-centric programs, international news, public affairs, and documentaries), PBS Fort Wayne WX on channel 39.5 (providing National Weather Service Doppler radar, weather warnings and National Weather Service audio), and 39.6 providing the live broadcast of the Allen County Public Library’s Audio Reading Service. PBS Fort Wayne also live streams its main channel (39.1) and its weather channel (39.5) plus Create TV and NHK World TV on its website, pbsfortwayne.org; at www.pbs.org and through the PBS App, as well as YouTube TV and Amazon Prime and the free PBS Fort Wayne App.
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