3 Oct 2007

Northern Marianas public radio faces change after budget cut

2:39 pm on 3 October 2007

The only public broadcaster in the Northern Marianas has stopped airing some programmes because of a budget cut.

The KRNM radio station mainly broadcast shows distributed by Public Radio International and produces ten percent of its shows locally through volunteers.

Among the shows it used to broadcast were BBC news and a number of U.S. current affairs programmes.

But its manager, Chris Pogue, says the station must now change its schedule.

"We need to receive our programming via a different method. What we are intending on doing is getting our MPR shows through an internet stream directly from [Washington] DC, pulling off some other programmes off internet feeds, and then complimenting that with a Radio Australia feed."

Chris Pogue says its budget has been cut by 30,000 US dollars but the planned saving measures will help a lot.