PBS, NPR Stations Brace For Cutbacks

On Thursday night, President Trump signed an executive order instructing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) board to terminate federal funding for NPR and PBS, the nation’s leading public broadcasters, citing ideological bias. 

The order states, “Neither organization delivers a fair, accurate, or unbiased depiction of current events to taxpayers.” It directs the CPB board to halt all existing direct funding to the fullest extent permitted by law and to refrain from providing future funds. 

However, the president’s legal authority to issue such a directive to the CPB is uncertain. PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger denounced the move as a “clearly illegal Executive Order, issued under cover of night.”

Budget cuts would significantly impact local National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) stations across the United States. 

Rural and Small Stations at Greatest Risk: Local stations, especially in rural and remote areas, rely heavily on CPB funding, with some stations depending on it for up to 50% of their operating budgets.

For example, Alaska Public Media’s CEO, Ed Ulman, stated that many of the 26 stations in Alaska’s statewide news network could close without federal support, as these smaller outlets lack alternative revenue sources like listener donations or corporate sponsorships prevalent in urban markets. Similarly, KHNS in Alaska receives a third of its budget from CPB, and its loss could endanger operations.

Critical Infrastructure: Many stations, such as Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), serve as Primary Entry Point (PEP) stations for the Emergency Alert System, relaying lifesaving alerts during natural disasters, AMBER alerts, and other crises. Twenty-five stations reported that they could not maintain this infrastructure without CPB funding, potentially leaving communities vulnerable during emergencies.

Rural Impact: Rural stations, often the last locally operated media in their areas, are particularly critical for delivering these alerts where commercial media presence is minimal. The loss of funding could disrupt this essential public safety function.

General Financial Impact: On average, public radio stations receive about 8–10% of their budgets from CPB grants, while public television stations rely on CPB for approximately 15–17%. For some television stations, particularly those outside regional or statewide networks, federal funding constitutes 25% or more of their revenue, making them highly vulnerable to cuts. The loss of this funding could force stations to scale back services or shut down entirely, especially in areas with limited local fundraising capacity.

Reduction in Services and Programming:

• Local Journalism and Newsrooms: Cuts would likely lead to reduced local news coverage, as many stations would need to shrink newsrooms or eliminate local programming. NPR’s CEO, Katherine Maher, emphasized that the loss of federal funding could jeopardize the 50-state network’s ability to cover news deserts, where local newspapers have already closed. Stations like WWNO in New Orleans highlighted their critical role in disaster coverage (e.g., Hurricane Ida in 2021), noting that funding cuts would hinder their ability to provide emergency news via radio, a vital lifeline when power outages limit access to other media.
• Cultural and Educational Content: Beyond news, stations provide cultural preservation, community conversations, and educational programming, including children’s shows like Sesame Street and K-12 classroom materials. More than half of surveyed station leaders expressed concerns that these services would suffer without federal support, reducing access to free, high-quality content in underserved communities.

As Trump Targets NPR and PBS Funding, Local Stations Brace:

• NPR CEO Katherine Maher said that programming provided by NPR, which gets about 2% of its budget from the federal government through direct and indirect means, generates about 25% of local stations’ content and 50% of their listenership. Every $1 NPR receives in federal funding makes sevenfold in revenue from local sources, according to her statement.
• KUOW (Seattle): KUOW stated it would need to raise an additional $1 million annually to replace expected CPB funds, a significant challenge that could force spending cuts if fundraising falls short. The station underscored the broader ripple effects on smaller, rural stations within the public media system.
• San Francisco' KQED also receives CPB funding, which made up 7.6% of the organization’s 2024 budget, but smaller stations like KAZU in Monterey County and KZYX collected 13% and 22% of their revenue in 2023 from CPB, respectively, according to financial statements.
• Only six percent of the funding for WVTF, for example, comes from Washington, but General Manager Roger Duvall says about 80 public radio stations get more than half of their money from the federal government, and the executive order could shut them down.
• The General Manager of Blue Ridge Public Television, which covers about 42% of Virginia, says nearly a third of his money comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  Blue Ridge Public Radio (BPR): BPR, which provided extensive coverage of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina in 2024, warned that funding cuts could destabilize its emergency news capabilities, a “devastating loss” for communities reliant on its reporting during crises.
• WCTE (Rural Tennessee): This station, serving 14 counties without cable or broadband, relies on CPB for 40% of its $2 million budget. Cuts could eliminate access to educational and cultural programming for residents in these isolated areas.
• New England Public Media: This station receives about 10% of its budget from CPB, supplementing donor and sponsor contributions. Losing this funding would strain its ability to produce local content and air national programs.