One of the longtime producers of NPR’s popular Tiny Desk concert series took to his Instagram Story over the weekend to assure fans that the popular stripped-down performance showcase will not go away in the wake of the shutdown of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
In the post, Tiny Desk host and series producer Bobby Carter reacted to rampant rumors last week that the show might be on the chopping block following the Trump administration’s announcement in May that it was cutting all federal funding for NPR and PBS via the shut down of the CPB by zeroing out the latter’s budget.
“I’ve heard from many friends, family, and audience members who are worried that NPR/Tiny Desk is shutting down,” Carter wrote. “It is not. Unfortunately, CPB is shutting down. I encourage everyone to support Public Media and donate. I appreciate all the calls, texts, and messages. They have been overwhelming and heartwarming.”
While fans of NPR have been fretting about the network’s future in light of the budget cuts, Tiny Desk has actually been expanding its reach lately, recently launching Tiny Desk Radio, a new weekly show co-hosted by Carter and Anamarie Sayre. The same cannot be said for CPB, a private, non-profit organization created by Congress in 1967 that oversaw the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting, acting as the largest single source of funds for public radio, TV And their respective online services. More than 70% of the CPB’s funds went to 1,500 locally owned public radio and TV stations, more than half of which were among the only sources of news and information in rural areas of the country.
The CPB is slated to shut down fully in September — though NPR has filed a lawsuit challenging both Trump’s original executive order and Congress’ rescission of the organization’s funds — at which point a number of local public media stations could face serious funding challenges, or shut down completely.
Tiny Desk was launched in 2008 by former All Things Considered host and music superfan Bob Boilen as a showcase for acts he, and the show’s staff, were excited to share with their listeners. To date, the show has hosted more than 1,200 acts and blossomed into a cultural touchstone thanks to landmark, roof-raising performances by the Clipse, T-Pain, Dua Lipa, Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals, Mac Miller, Sting and Shaggy, Adele, Tank and the Bangas, Mitski and Fred again… among many others.
At press time Billboard had not received a response from Tiny Desk on questions about the show’s future or Carter’s post.
