The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced that it would be winding down and ceasing operations following Congress’s cuts to its funding.
President Donald Trump first targeted CPB in a May 1 executive order titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media.” He argued that, unlike its establishment in 1967, continuing government funding of media today was not only “outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence.” After Congress voted to claw back $1.1 billion in funding for the organization over two years, the cut proved to be crippling.
CPB announced in a Friday press release that it would be winding down operations, cutting most staffers by Sept. 30, and shutting down completely in January.
“Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,” CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a statement. “CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.”
“Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country,” Harrison added. “We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.”
The death of CPB could prove crippling for many of the 1,500 locally managed and operated public television and radio stations across the United States. PBS will be significantly affected, as 15% of its funding comes from CPB. NPR receives a significant amount of funding through the local stations subsidized by CPB.
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CPB’s end is almost sure to trigger the death knell of many local stations, including KCUW in Pendleton, Oregon; KUHB in St. Paul, Alaska; and WVLS in Monterey, Virginia, all of which receive over 90% of their funding from CPB, according to Axios.
Trump and Republicans argued that CPB had long since lost its purpose, engaging in heavily biased reporting and having discriminatory hiring practices.