WQLN has been broadcasting from its building in Summit Township since the 1960s, but it may not be for much longer.

Earlier this year, President Trump signed an executive order that called for the elimination of funding for public broadcasting.

That means WQLN has now lost $1.2 million a year.

The station provides both PBS and NPR programming to the Erie market. 

Alyson Amendola is the station’s vice president of advancement

She said that funding is irreplaceable. 

“When Congress voted in July to rescind federal funding for public media stations across the country, it really hurt WQLN,” she said. “It is our most challenging time in history. We lost 40% of our funding.”

They’ve been doing what they can to trim the budget, she said, but there’s only so much they can do.

There are no current plans to reduce staff, she said. 

One of the things they are doing is selling their building along Peach St. She said it’s just too big for the current size of their staff.

“We know the services we provide to the community are so important, and it doesn’t matter where we do that from,” she said. 

She said the station has gotten more donations over the last few months. They’re grateful for the support. 

“We appreciate all of the people [who] have called WQLN to express their concern and we hope they continue to support us, perhaps even increasing gifts to WQLN so we can help recover lost funding,” she said. 

The station is not closing, she said, so PBS and NPR shows will still be available to people in northwest Pennsylvania.