CEO Is Confident NPR Will Survive Funding Challenges

NPR’s CEO, Katherine Maher says she optimistic about the challenges facing National Public Radio.

A Washington Post story details those challenges following the loss of federal funding. NPR’s Maher, who assumed the role in March 2024, expressed confidence in NPR’s ability to navigate this crisis, despite significant hurdles, particularly for its member stations. 

On July 18, 2025, Congress passed a $9 billion rescissions package, stripping $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which funds NPR, PBS, and their member stations for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. A Senate draft bill introduced on July 31 further eliminated future funding, leading to CPB’s announcement that it will shut down by September 30, 2025.

While NPR itself relies on federal funds for only about 1% of its budget, many of its roughly 1,000 member stations, especially in rural areas, depend on CPB for a significant portion of their budgets—some up to 50% or more. 

A study cited by Maher from Public Media Company indicated that 78 of 246 member stations are at risk of closing due to these cuts. This creates a ripple effect, as one-third of NPR’s budget comes from member stations licensing programs like All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition.

Maher outlined several strategies to mitigate the impact:

• NPR is providing $8 million in “fee relief” to support the neediest stations, particularly those where federal funding constituted over 10% of their budgets.
• NPR is negotiating with PBS to take over critical infrastructure services previously handled by CPB, such as music rights management and distribution, essential for both music and news programming.