Corporation for Public Broadcasting Shutting Down: Will PBS and NPR Survive?

By Gordon Hopkins The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CBP), which supports National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), announced Friday, August 1, that it will begin a “wind-down of its operations,” expecting most operations to be completed by the end of the fiscal year, September 30, 2025. A small transition team will stay on until January to complete any remaining work.CPB is a private, nonprofit corporation authorized by Congress in 1967 and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The corporation supports the operations of more than 1,500 locally managed and operated public television and radio stations nationwide.This announcement comes after the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a package of spending cuts that included rescinding $1.1 billion in funding for CPB. Reason for Defunding CBPPresident Donald Trump has accused NPR and PBS of biased reporting. On May 1, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order, “The CPB Board shall cease direct funding to NPR and PBS, consistent with my Administration’s policy to ensure that Federal funding does not support biased and partisan news coverage. The CPB Board shall cancel existing direct funding to the maximum extent allowed by law and shall decline to provide future funding.”The White House issued a statement that day, “Unlike in 1967, when the CPB was established, today the media landscape is filled with abundant, diverse, and innovative news options. Government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence.”Katherine Maher, President & CEO of NPR, disputes accusations of bias. In a statement issued Friday, Maher wrote, “As an independent, nonprofit news organization, NPR remains resolute in our pursuit of our mission: to create an informed and inspired public in partnership with our Member stations. We will continue to respond to this crisis by stepping up to support locally owned, nonprofit public radio stations and local journalism across the country, working to maintain public media's promise of universal service, and upholding the highest standards for independent journalism and cultural programming in service of our nation.” Statements from CBP, PBS and NPRCBP CEO Patricia Harrison said, “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,”PBS also released a statement, which read in part, “For over half a century, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has partnered with PBS and our member stations to serve communities large and small in every corner of the country.”Maher of NPR issued the following statement:“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has been a cornerstone of public broadcasting in the United States for more than half a century. It has served as a vital source of funding for local stations, a champion of educational and cultural programming, and a bulwark for independent journalism — enabling organizations like ours to deliver essential news and culture across the nation.“CPB upheld the core values of the Public Broadcasting Act, including support for diverse voices, promotion of excellence and creative risk, and advancing service for the unserved and underserved. It empowered countless journalists, producers, and educators to create programming that has enriched lives, fostered understanding, and held power accountable. The ripple effects of this closure will be felt across every public media organization and, more importantly, in every community across the country that relies on public broadcasting.” Impact on Local StationsApproximately 70 percent of CPB funding went directly to 330 PBS and 246 NPR stations across the United States. That includes nine NPR stations and nine PBS stations in Nebraska. It is unknown at this time how many of those stations will be able to remain in operation.Maher said in her statement that NPR would be “stepping up to support locally owned, nonprofit public radio stations and local journalism” nationwide amid the cuts in order to “maintain public media’s promise of universal service.”As a result of the cuts, Nebraska Public Media will lose up to 16 percent of its annual budget.Nebraska Public Media general manager and CEO Stacey Decker addressed Nebraska Public Media staff about the cuts, “And I wanted to reassure the staff that we're going to go into a phase now where we plan for the future. You know, we've been a very fiscally responsible organization, so it doesn't mean automatic layoffs here at the organization, but we'll go into a process now where we will spend a lot of time with staff and people outside of this organization to determine what the future of Nebraska Public Media looks like.”Decker said it was too soon to tell what Nebraska Public Media will look like in the future, althtouh he remained optimistic,“I look at this as a devastating blow to what we know and the tradition of public media as a service to the country. But I also look at the opportunity that comes from change, and media is definitely a changing environment, there's no question about it. And the people here at this organization prove to me every day that they've got the skills to navigate changing waters. I couldn't be more optimistic with the support that we generate from the community of Nebraska, and continued to receive from the community of Nebraska, and I thank them for that, that we have a bright future. We've been here for 70 years, and we're going to be here for 70 more.”

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