Two recent Buzzes called for the elimination of public support “for NPR,” presumably by ending the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. But trashing CPB to strike at National Public Radio would be a classic example of “ready, fire, aim.” The target might be NPR, but the casualty would be local public service radio.

As station manager of WHQR, I naturally have an interest in this topic. And since I’m soon to retire, I have an even greater interest as a citizen of this community and nation. You should too.

First, to clarify: President Trump has indeed called for the end of federal funding for CPB, which supports both public television and public radio. But NPR receives only a tiny fraction -- about 1 percent of its budget – from CPB. Well over 90 percent of CPB’s radio funds go directly to stations like WHQR, as Community Service Grants (CSGs). And make no mistake: the loss of our CSG would be a severe blow to the local services we provide.

WHQR’s sole reason for being is to serve the local community. We’re a non-profit, governed by a local board. As we’ve grown we have expanded local coverage to include more newscasts, a new 24-hour classical music station, in-depth, interactive and objective interviews on our CoastLine talk show, and truly essential services like emergency broadcasts during hurricanes or other natural disasters.

The partnership between stations and CPB is the best example I know of a public-private initiative that provides such real and lasting benefits locally. The amount of our CPB grant is directly tied to our ability to raise local dollars. This means it functions both as a reward for serving our listeners, and an incentive to keep doing it better.

In our case, out of our annual operating budget of $1.4 million, about 9 percent -- $130,000 -- comes from CPB. Everything else is raised locally and spent on programming that in our judgment best serves the community. Yes, that means we do spend money to buy programming from NPR. That’s not because CPB or anyone else tells us to. We do it because NPR journalism is the gold standard. It’s one of the best and most trusted sources of journalism in the country.

Of course our listeners want us to continue providing this. Many retirees to the area have even told me that they would not have considered this as their home if there had not been a public radio station here. For them, it’s a matter of quality of life just as much as climate, recreation, health care, arts and culture and the other benefits of life in this region.

It might be true that WHQR could keep going without CPB support. But the result would be a greatly diminished local program service, with more repeats and fewer original programs. And – worst of all – severe cutbacks in local reporting, election coverage, indepth interviews with local leaders, scientists, artists, educators and hundreds of other local citizens.

Round-the-clock broadcasting means we air 336 hours per week on our HQR News and Classical HQR channels. We’re lean and mean. The loss of $130,000 would not mean a loss of fat.

Some principled conservatives may object to funding public radio stations even in part because it could lead to government control of the media. In the current political climate, it seems that some object to NPR because it’s NOT controlled by the government, but operates independently. I rejoice that we are able to exercise that independent right to serve our local audience. The CPB grant helps us to do precisely that.

Cleve Callison is general manager of Wilmington public radio station WHQR. You can reach him at ccallison@whqr.org