The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has ceased operations and laid off staff as federal funding dried up at the end of the fiscal year on Tuesday, following a $1.1 billion rescission pushed by President Trump and congressional Republicans.
The cuts, enacted over the summer, have left local PBS and NPR affiliates scrambling, with many reducing staff, travel, and programming to manage budget shortfalls.
The impact varies by region. In Seattle, KCTS is scaling back long-form journalism. In Charlotte, WFAE is closing its community engagement hub. In State College, WPSU faces the potential shutdown of its radio station.
CPB CEO Patricia Harrison warns that rural stations, heavily reliant on federal funds, may not survive without government support. “The only solution for these stations is going to be government money,” board member Diane Kaplan emphasized, noting that market forces alone cannot sustain them.
CNN reports James Faulk, host of Headline Humboldt, urged his community to rally to keep the station alive, calling the cuts a threat from “forces of tyranny and ignorance.”
While larger stations like New York Public Radio are stepping in—offering programs like Radiolab and Science Friday for free to struggling affiliates—and NPR has provided fee relief, the loss of federal support has strained relations.
The CPB’s final act was allocating $7.1 million across stations and granting $57.9 million to a new nonprofit to manage station connections, sidelining NPR, which unsuccessfully sought a court injunction.
Advocates warn that the abrupt end to nearly 60 years of federal funding will erode public media’s ecosystem, with long-term, unpredictable consequences. Despite some increased viewer and foundation support, many stations, especially in remote areas, face an uncertain future.