PBS weekend news shows shut down

AP News -   PBS will premiere separate programs on science and foreign affairs next weekend after shutting the doors on its Saturday and Sunday breaking newscasts because of the federal government’s cut of $1.1 billion in funding to public broadcasting.

“PBS News Weekend” signed off Sunday, “at least for the foreseeable future,” anchor John Yang said. The weekend sister of “PBS NewsHour” began broadcasting in 2013 from New York, and moved to Washington in 2022.

Starting Saturday, PBS will air the weekly show “Horizons” on science and technology issues. The new show “Compass Points” will focus on foreign affairs Sunday. Both programs will be taped in advance during the week, enabling PBS to save money by cutting back on weekend staff, said Sara Just, senior executive producer for “NewsHour.”

The weekend newscast averaged 827,000 viewers per show, roughly 1 million less than what “NewsHour” gets during the week, according to the Nielsen company.

The Republican-controlled Congress, responding to President Donald Trump’s wishes, eliminated funding for PBS and NPR in July. The president has complained about news programming on public broadcasting being biased against conservatives.