Mississippi Public Broadcasting is ending its daily 30-minute radio news program, “Mississippi Edition.”

Executives at the network said the change will make way for more news coverage throughout the day. 

The last broadcast of “Mississippi Edition” was Friday morning, according to a statement on MPB’s website. Starting Monday, MPB radio will air news segments at the beginning of every hour from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.

Anna Neel, MPB’s chief operating officer, said the new approach will allow for more coverage of news as it develops.

“We’re hoping the new format gives reporters more flexibility to tell quality stories throughout the day,” Neel told Mississippi Today. “They’re not going to be as rushed to try to put together a 30-minute package.”

In July, the Republican-controlled Congress approved President Donald Trump’s request to cancel $1.1 billion in federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the nonprofit organization that helped fund the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio. The corporation shut down when the federal budget year began Oct. 1. 

Mississippi Public Broadcasting is one of over 1,500 locally-owned radio and television stations that lost money. Neel estimated that MPB lost about 15% of its funding with the federal cuts. She said state funding and donors pay for MPB’s locally produced content, including state news coverage.

MPB continues to air emergency weather alerts along with local programming and will change its mix of PBS and NPR programming sometime next year, Neel said Friday.  She said MPB plans to add more local programming in the future.