WHYY has acquired WPSU under an agreement finalized Wednesday, giving the central Pennsylvania public media station a path forward after it faced possible closure earlier this year.
The deal expands WHYY’s audience across State College and about two dozen counties while keeping WPSU on the air as a PBS and NPR affiliate. WHYY CEO Bill Marrazzo called the outcome a win for both organizations. “At ‘HYY, we believe in the fundamental right of any citizen in our country to have access to a free, trustworthy media experience,” he told WHYY News. “And WPSU fits that bill.”
Penn State Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Sara Thorndike said the university was relieved the station would remain open. “We are very pleased that the more than 1.5 million people across central and northern Pennsylvania will continue to benefit from this vital public media service,” she said in a statement.
It had 44 employees last year. More than a dozen left amid uncertainty about the station’s future. WHYY is retaining about 70% of those who remained, including newsroom staff and other content producers. Most others are retiring or moving to other university or outside jobs; a small number of positions were eliminated. WHYY plans to add staff, especially in fundraising and development.
Retained WPSU employees will work for WHYY but continue producing local content for central and northern Pennsylvania, Marrazzo said. He also said the station’s focus will broaden beyond the State College area. “As a member of a large university like Penn State, understandably a lot of WPSU’s focus has been in and around the State College zip code,” he said. “Our intention is to grow it in a more meaningful way up through the rest of central Pennsylvania and across northern Pennsylvania.”