After just three months, WABE has ended “City Lights Collective,” its weekday arts and culture show that took the place of “City Lights with Lois Reitzes” in July.
The move comes after the U.S. government’s decision to roll back federal funding for public media, including NPR and all of its member stations, like WABE. According to WABE President and CEO Jennifer Dorian, WABE lost 13 percent of its budget due to the federal cuts.
NPR also announced today that it plans to trim $5 million from its budget.
“I’m really sad that we’re not able to continue a show that has been a signature. We have the legacy of 10 years of ‘City Lights with Lois Reitzes,’ and we had this new version of ‘City Lights Collective’ that’s been thoughtful programming for the last three months,” Dorian said. “But the new economics of public media don’t allow us to sustain that dedicated three/four person team for ‘City Lights.’”
Reitzes’ show originally started in 2015. “City Lights Collective,” which was hosted by Kim Drobes and Jon Goode, started on July 7 this year. The last show will be Sept. 25.
In addition to the four members of the “City Lights Collective” team, Dorian said that WABE also laid off three people working in marketing and events. These layoffs join multiple others over the past year.
With the end of “City Lights Collective,” WABE plans to take a different approach to arts and culture coverage. WABE Chief Marketing Officer Sherri Daye Scott will now serve as WABE’s arts and culture editor and correspondent. Daye Scott will also continue to curate “Sketchbook,” a weekly arts newsletter from Rough Draft Atlanta.
“We are going to try a new approach, which is one dedicated person as a WABE arts and culture editor and contributor,” Dorian said. “She will try to lead multi-platform content creation, not just radio.”
The position will have Daye Scott creating audio segments for peak driving hours, making weekly social media videos, writing a weekly newsletter, hosting public events, and more. While Daye Scott will collaborate with other WABE staff, she will be the only staff member dedicated to arts and culture, producing across multiple platforms.
This is not the first WABE program to go off the air in recent months. The weekly events-based show “How Do You Atlanta” has also ended. However, Dorian said she doesn’t think people should be “downhearted” about the future of WABE. She said she thinks WABE is set up for stability in fiscal year 2026 and that the organization is looking for ways to continue that stability outside of more cuts. WABE plans to have a large fundraising benefit in February and is also looking for more long-term corporate sponsors.
“There are always other risks, but we are doing our best to make reasonable plans,” she said.
Editor’s note: Rough Draft writers and editors have appeared on WABE programming through a content partnership between the two organizations. Associate Editor Sammie Purcell was the co-host of “How Do You Atlanta,” and Editor in Chief and Dining Editor Beth McKibben was a contributor to “City Lights Collective.”