Last words: What Washington is losing with the demise of Crosscut

People have been whispering “journalism is dying” for as long as I’ve been working in media over the past 40-plus years.

They were wrong and still are. But the model many were hoping would save the day — nonprofit news that depends on donations and grants instead of subscriptions and ads — is more fragile than expected. That proved true this week when Seattle-based Cascade PBS said it is shuttering its vibrant, award-winning newsroom. It marks the end of an 18-year run for the publication originally known as Crosscut, one of the early entrants into nonprofit news.

The organization’s leadership blames $3.5 million in cuts from the federal government after Congress signed off on President Donald Trump’s demands to stop supporting the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

About a dozen journalists and a handful of others from throughout the organization were given notice that their jobs were ending at Cascade PBS. Similar news is hitting public broadcasting stations around the nation or will be soon.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/09/24/last-words-what-washington-is-losing-with-the-demise-of-crosscut/