Amid cuts across the board for one of New England’s largest media groups, the managing editor of news and familiar voice of the Cape and Island’s NPR station was laid off on Monday.
Steve Junker — known for hosting the “News Roundup” program every Friday that incorporates the top news stories from the Cape and Islands — has worked for the Woods Hole station, known as CAI, since 2007. Junker was the managing editor in the newsroom for six years, and also served as a longtime local host of the afternoon show “All Things Considered.”
“I’m incredibly grateful to have worked at WCAI since 2007,” Junker said in a statement to the Times. “I think of all the conversations I’ve had with people all around the region about issues that really matter to us here. Issues that affect our quality of life, yes — but also about Cape League baseball, and fishing, and what Cape Cod was like a hundred years ago.”
CAI falls under the umbrella of GBH, the Boston-based public media group that has produced award-winning programming like Frontline, Masterpiece, and NOVA. The nonprofit announced a seven percent reduction in staff on Monday.
According to GBH president and CEO Susan Goldberg, the layoffs were not their first choice. But federal funding cuts, the cost of business, and audience needs, she said, were the reasons for their ultimate decision to let go of staff.
“At a volatile time like this, we owe it to the public to reshape our work to meet the moment and to ensure long-term sustainability,” Goldberg said in a statement to the Times. “We’re sad to have to say goodbye to colleagues and grateful for their contributions … What will never change is how much we care – about our staff, our audiences, our work, and our community.”
Junker was the only CAI employee among the total 45 staff members who were part of the GBH layoffs. And in 2024, the news company conducted a prior round of staff cuts — that time, 31 employees totalling 4% of their workforce. GBH representatives cited a large budget deficit as the reason for the decision then.
While downsizing has been a possibility for PBS and NPR stations due to a targeted campaign by President Donald Trump and his administration, letting go of Junker also comes at a time when CAI’s decades-long station building was recently sold by GBH. The Woods Hole Community Association has since purchased the beloved historic home, even offering five years of free rent to GBH, but the Boston group decided instead to relocate the station to Falmouth and have indicated that they are building a studio.
And recent news that President Donald Trump formally requested that congress remove over $1 billion in federal funding from the budgets of PBS and NPR was reported Tuesday.
“It’s a hard time right now for journalists,” Junker pointed out. “But also for climate scientists, for people who care about human rights, for people in the arts.”
A letter written by CAI producer Amy Vince discussed Junker’s legacy and impact on his colleagues, stating that his work was the “cornerstone of WCAI’s local news service.”
“Steve Junker is a collaborator, an innovator, and a creator,” Vince wrote. “He also cares deeply about providing a regional news service to our community. It’s not common to have all those attributes rolled into one… especially when he also ticks the box of ‘best colleague and boss.’”
Junker, while most commonly known for his grounded tone during every Friday’s News Roundup segment and his weekly fishing column, is an award-winning journalist and editor.
Junker conceived and executed a program called “Falmouth to Falmouth” that connected the Cape Cod town with a coastal town in England by the same name, through interviews and reports from each area. The project won three prestigious National Edward R. Murrow awards for the England-to-Cape Cod segment in 2023. An article about older women diving for trash in local waters won another.
Those projects account for just four of the 35 awards that span Junker’s eighteen-year career with CAI.
“He sees the world in such a special ‘News Man’ way — with deep love for the place where he works,” Zuckoff said. “This region has benefited enormously from his news judgement.”
Many of Junker’s colleagues said he made them better writers, observers, and journalists. And Junker said he’s optimistic about his next chapter.
“I’m hopeful,” Junker said. “There are a lot of people energized right now — maybe people like me — thrown unexpectedly into a new chapter, but eager to work on something creative and good for the community. I believe something good can come out of it all.”
I agree PBS and NPR must be defunded from the bloated Federal Budget. Citizen listeners will gladly support this media by donations and advertising.
Steve is more of a neighbor than a media person. I feel wounded. No doubt he finds another opportunity hopefully in this market.
Another “freedom “ taken away by trump’s thoughtless government. Another way to separate the listening public from truth and helpful information! When will this destruction of information end?….
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