The company is among the first casualties of a vote to strip roughly $500 million in federal funding from NPR, PBS and local stations across the country.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a cornerstone of American culture for three generations, announced Friday it would take steps toward its own closure after being defunded by Congress — marking the end of a nearly six-decade era in which it fueled the production of renowned educational programming,

PBS Charlotte is losing $1.2 million following federal funding cuts and will “continue to operate in the near term,” as it assesses the long-term impacts, a spokesperson told The Charlotte Observer.