PBS Charlotte at a crossroads

Recorded live Jan. 5, 2026, at The Sharon at SouthPark.

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.

They also dig into what PBS does best (history, long-form storytelling, local documentaries), what it struggles to compete on (reality-style programming), and how the station is trying to reach viewers across platforms — from broadcast to Passport streaming to YouTube.

Today’s episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast is sponsored by Child Care Search, a service of Child Care Resources Inc. Looking for child care? Our team provides guidance every step of the way! Search online at www.FindChildCareNC.org or call 1-888-600-1685 for live assistance and free, customized referrals.

This episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast was produced by Lindsey Banks. For more information on The Charlotte Ledger, visit TheCharlotteLedger.com.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecharlotteledger.com/subscribe

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(204)

Charlotte's new political era

Charlotte's political landscape is shifting.Mayor Vi Lyles is preparing to leave office after nearly nine years, a new mayor is stepping in and City Council is wrestling with some of the biggest issue...

26 Jun 22min

Everybody's moving to Charlotte, with filmmaker Duvale Murchison

The Charlotte region adds roughly 150 new residents every day, but beyond the statistic are thousands of individual stories about why people choose to make the region home.In this episode of The Charl...

19 Jun 33min

Charlotte's moment at the table, with Kristen Wile of Unpretentious Palate

Kristen Wile has spent more than a decade documenting Charlotte’s restaurant scene, and in that time she’s watched the city transform from a place searching for its culinary identity into one drawing ...

12 Jun 36min

Charlotte through a developer’s eyes, with Adam McMichael and Paul Zarian

Charlotte’s growth has made it one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. But what does the city look like through the eyes of the developers betting millions of dollars on its future?In t...

5 Jun 37min

Reporters Roundtable: Charlotte's month of May in review

May was one of the busiest months Charlotte has seen in recent memory. Mayor Vi Lyles announced her resignation, city leaders reversed course on the controversial I-77 toll lane expansion, data center...

29 Mai 35min

Turning tragedy into support for Charlotte families, with Meg McElwain

After losing her 2-year-old son Mitchell to leukemia, Meg McElwain found herself navigating unimaginable grief while also trying to help her surviving son process the trauma that had reshaped their fa...

22 Mai 37min

The story behind Charlotte’s most talked-about restaurants, with Jamie Brown

Charlotte’s restaurant scene has changed dramatically over the past two decades, and few people have helped shape it more than Jamie Brown. Alongside her husband, Jeff Tonidandel, Brown has built some...

15 Mai 35min

Redefining the New South in Charlotte, with Richard Cooper

The Levine Museum of the New South is preparing for a major new chapter — one that museum leaders hope will help redefine how Charlotte engages with history, community and public conversation. After y...

8 Mai 24min