NEA Is Said to Cut Aid to Arts Programs on PBS

The National Endowment for the Arts, a major supporter of PBS shows devoted to performing arts and independent documentaries, is proposing substantial cuts in their financing. Collectively, the cuts, which will not be official until April 25, would strip more than $1 million in federal production aid from PBS shows, which have been hard-pressed for financing in recent years.

The money falls under the NEA’s 2012 Arts in Media grant program. The NEA began notifying applicants by mail late last week of the grant amounts they could expect. Last year, the N.E.A. distributed $4 million in the Arts on Radio and Television category, about half of it to PBS shows. For 2012, the renamed category was opened to any media platform, including Web and mobile projects, content for theatrical release and digital games. Public television officials said they had been told the N.E.A. had about 350 applicants this year, compared with about 150 last year, but the amount of money did not change. The category is overseen by Alyce Myatt, a former PBS programming executive who is the NEA’s media arts director. Neal Shapiro, president and chief executive of New York public media provider WNET, which produces the biography program “American Masters” and the performing arts show “Great Performances,” called the loss of NEA money “damaging.” He said it was his understanding that the cuts were not definite. “We are hoping people will look at them and say they are way too severe,” he said. Public television “is the only place you see these things,” he said.