REVEALED: PUBLIC BROADCASTERS WHO RECEIVED PPP LOANS

Image courtesy of Forbes

Of course you have heard of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the program established by Congress in March to support small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The program has distributed $521 billion intended to be used for payroll, mortgage interest, rent and utilities. 

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is administrating the program.

The money allocated for PPP ran out quickly, in part, because the loans may be forgivable in certain situations. The SBA has says there will no new loans in the foreseeable future.

PPP has been controversial from the start because of alleged cronyism, wasted money and confusion. It is has been difficult to find out where the loans have gone.

According to Reuters [link], information became available when five news organizations filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in mid-May. That action led to disclosure of some of the people and entities that received the money.

Our friends at Inside Radio [link] did some digging and published the names and amounts of the PPP loans that broadcasters received. Two commercial radio corporations received big bucks. Emmis Communications got $4.753 million and Spanish Broadcasting System got $6.478 million.

Public broadcasters also received loans. Today we have the list of public radio and television organizations that received PPP loans. Specific numbers weren’t provided. Instead, the amounts are provided in “ranges that leave a lot of wiggle room.

Spark News organized the information into the charts below.”