President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to eliminate federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), two of the most prominent publicly funded media organizations in the country. This move, titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media,” claims that these organizations promote “radical, woke propaganda” and that government funding of news media is “outdated and unnecessary” .
What Are PBS and NPR?
PBS and NPR are nonprofit organizations that produce educational, cultural, and news content for American audiences. The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a congressionally chartered independent nonprofit organization that partially funds NPR and PBS. PBS, founded in 1969, is known for programs such as “PBS NewsHour,” “Frontline,” “Sesame Street,” and “Nova.” NPR, founded in 1970, is a national syndicator of news and cultural programming such as “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered,” and “Planet Money”.
How Much Government Funding Do They Receive?
Federal funding provides about 1% of NPR’s total revenue. Its 246 member institutions, which operate over 1,300 stations, receive 8% to 10% of their funds from CPB. Federal funders account for about 15% of PBS’s total revenue, roughly $1.40 per taxpayer per year.
Why Is Trump Targeting Them?
The executive order claims that NPR and PBS are “fueling partisanship and left-wing propaganda” using taxpayer dollars. It criticizes NPR’s internal political demographics and editorial choices on issues like transgender rights, the COVID-19 pandemic, and Hunter Biden. Trump has long accused public broadcasting of bias and has sought to defund these organizations in previous budget proposals.
How Have NPR and PBS Responded?
Both NPR and PBS have pushed back against the executive order. NPR CEO Katherine Maher vowed to challenge the order by “all means available,” emphasizing the importance of an informed public to a functioning democracy. PBS CEO Paula Kerger called the order “blatantly unlawful” and stressed the importance of public broadcasting to underserved communities. The CPB also released a statement expressing “deep concern” about the order, warning that defunding public broadcasting could “cripple local stations and reduce access to free, high-quality media, especially for low-income and rural Americans”.
What’s Next?
The future of federal funding for NPR and PBS remains uncertain. The CPB is currently suing the Trump administration over its attempt to remove three of its board members, arguing that the president is exceeding his authority. Both NPR and PBS have indicated they will consider legal action to challenge the executive order. The outcome will likely depend on the courts and the response from Congress, which has historically supported public broadcasting despite similar efforts to defund it in the past.
This controversy highlights the ongoing debate over the role of public media in the United States and the extent to which it should be supported by taxpayer dollars.