WNIJ, a longtime local source for in-depth news and analysis, diverse music programming and cultural coverage, is bracing for the prospect of losing $270,000 a year in federal funding.

WNIJ, an NPR affiliate, has a wide coverage area spanning northern Illinois, from as far north as Rockford and southern Wisconsin to DeKalb and La Salle counties.

It all comes on the heels of a recent federal judicial ruling that permanently overturns a threat by President Donald Trump and his administration to pull federal funding from National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service stations.

WNIJ general manager Staci Hoste described the federal ruling as a win.

“It does reaffirm our First Amendment and an independent press certainly, and that’s important as we all continue to do our work here in the community and with our partners across the network,” Hoste said. “It’s important to have that reaffirmed.”

In the recent federal ruling, a judge found that Trump’s executive order to end funding for NPR and PBS was unlawful and unenforceable. They said the First Amendment right to free speech “does not tolerate viewpoint discrimination and retaliation of this type,” according to The Associated Press.

But the ruling does not restore any federal funding for public media.

Hoste said it’s too soon to say whether any of the damage done may be reversed.

“That part is a painful reminder of what took place last summer,” Hoste said. “I would say, you know, a tempered reaction in that ‘Yes, it’s a win in one way.’ The fact that the funding has been rescinded by Congress and is not likely to come back in any fashion [is] unfortunate and challenging.”

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the funding arm for NPR and PBS stations, began winding down its operations last summer, multiple reports show. That organization has since been dissolved.

Hoste said she is not optimistic about the federal funding being restored.

“It’s not likely at this point,” she said. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to be restored. The system that distributes the funding, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, wound down its operations and is completely closed. The sort of underpinnings of the system now are gone, as well. And it doesn’t seem to be at this point an appetite from Congress to reappropriate the funding.”

The federal funding in question is typically used by the station to pay for the programming they provide, whether it’s local news, arts or music.

WNIJ has been looking at different ways to fill the gap left by the federal funding cut.

Hoste said the cut has had a significant impact on the station and its operations.

“Certainly, we don’t have a large benefactor who’s able to step in and write a check for $270,000,” Hoste said. “We’re working with our community of listeners and donors to grow philanthropy there. We’re also working with community foundations, [which] are interested in preserving access to local news, ensuring that local newsrooms thrive and remain independent.”

Trump and his administration have long come under fire for attacking the media. The White House has said that the two media entities are counterproductive to American priorities.

Last year, Trump voiced his dissatisfaction with public media during a press conference, saying he would “love to” defund NPR and PBS because he believes they’re biased in favor of Democrats, The AP reported.

When asked if NPR and PBS stations have a bias, Hoste disputed the idea.

“I don’t believe that’s founded,” she said. “I think there is a perception in the administration that some of the coverage that’s unfavorable across the political spectrum ... that can be viewed as bias, I suppose, by somebody who’s the subject of it.”

Hoste acknowledged there’s a win to be realized from the federal judicial ruling, but said it’s important that no one becomes complacent.

“I think it’s incumbent on all of us as local newsrooms to figure out how do we balance the demands for news and information with the reality of operating a news organization,” Hoste said.

Hoste said she is proud of the work that the station produces.

“I look at the work that we do here in the local community, the over 800 stories that our journalists cover, and it just spans the spectrum – education reporting, arts and culture reporting, and environmental impact reporting,“ Hoste said. ”There’s so much there that really, like I said, spans the spectrum of coverage, from human interest to policy.”