On Thursday, Corporation for Public Broadcasting President and CEO Patricia Harrison delivered her final remarks during the organization’s last board meeting.

In remarks obtained by TV Tech sister brand NicRadio World, Harrison said that following Congress’ rescission of federal funding for public media, CPB realized it could no longer operate in the manner the American public has come to expect.

“In a profound irony, it is precisely because public media remains so essential to American civic life that CPB’s final act must be to dissolve for the greater good,” Harrison said.

Harrison, 87, became CEO of CPB in 2005.

CPB’s board of directors voted to dissolve the organization at the beginning of the month, after 58 years of operation.

On the Senate floor Thursday, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) honored Harrison in his remarks.

“Throughout her tenure, Harrison ensured that CPB’s investments strengthened service to local communities and delivered lasting public value,” he said.

Why?
In her remarks, Harrison attempted to address the exact reasoning behind the organization’s defunding.

“Was it a burden to the taxpayer?” she asked. “Was this a cost-saving move? No. Unlike in other countries where citizens are heavily taxed — for example, the BBC and the NHK — American public media outlets reflect the free-enterprise and volunteer ethic of our citizens.

“For $1.65 a year in taxes — less than the cost of a cup of coffee — every American has access to content that inspires independent thinking and understanding of the rights and responsibilities of Americans living in a vibrant democracy,” she said.

But in the wake of the federal rescission of funding for public media, CPB came to the realization that it had limited time to protect its legacy and the work it had done, Harrison said.

“The longer CPB tried to exist without funding, the higher the prospect that our remaining funds would never reach the public media system already reeling from the defunding,” she said.

The organization was also concerned that any remaining funding could become subject to content-based restrictions and compliance demands that would “further harm stations” and erode public trust.

“After all of the political attacks and congressional defunding, we recognized a hard truth: Without funding and independence, CPB risked becoming a liability to public media rather than a protector of it — something that looked intact from the outside but was hollow at its core,” she said.

Compliance
According to Harrison, CPB was the first organization to sue the Trump administration over “attacks” on public media’s independence and the withholding of appropriated funds. She said that the organization refused to comply with executive directives that violated its mission or the editorial independence of local stations, continuing to fund PBS and NPR until the end.

“We could have survived by complying with demands for political control over news coverage, by rewriting history, by limiting the stories and information shared with the American public, by abandoning diverse talent, or by supporting content that increases divisiveness through disinformation,” Harrison said.

“But that was never going to happen on our watch, and that is less than what the American people deserve.”

Since October, Harrison said that CPB has granted approximately $170 million to the public media system. It has also invested in the American Archive of Public Broadcasting and helped to fund national distribution of locally produced programming through American Public Television, she said.

Legacy
Harrison concluded her remarks by thanking CPB’s board, PBS’ CEO Paula Kerger and then she closed with a call to action.

“The future of public media and our nation depends on each of you. It depends on our collective ability to look upon the next evolution of media and ensure it is harnessed for the purpose of educating and connecting all people,” she said.

“Together, we will prove that a nation of neighbors will survive.”

WASHINGTON—The Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s board of directors has voted to dissolve the organization that oversaw the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting and media for 58 years.

The move came after a decades-long political fight by conservatives to end federal funding for public media that culminated in 2025 with President Donald Trump asking Congress to rescind previously appropriated money for public media and votes by the Republican-controlled Congress to end federal funding. Most of the staff was laid off last fall.

CPB’s board took the vote after determining that maintaining the corporation as a nonfunctional entity without funding would not serve the public interest or advance the goals of public media. “A dormant and defunded CPB could have become vulnerable to future political manipulation or misuse, threatening the independence of public media and the trust audiences place in it, and potentially subjecting staff and board members to legal exposure from bad-faith actors,” the CPB said in a press release.

As it moved to dissolve the CPB, board members also highlighted the organization's longstanding work to develop and strengthen public media in the U.S.

“For more than half a century, CPB existed to ensure that all Americans—regardless of geography, income, or background—had access to trusted news, educational programming, and local storytelling,” CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said. “When the Administration and Congress rescinded federal funding, our Board faced a profound responsibility: CPB’s final act would be to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving, rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks.”

“What has happened to public media is devastating,” CPB Chair Ruby Calvert said. “After nearly six decades of innovative, educational public television and radio service, Congress eliminated all funding for CPB, leaving the Board with no way to continue the organization or support the public media system that depends on it. Yet, even in this moment, I am convinced that public media will survive, and that a new Congress will address public media’s role in our country because it is critical to our children's education, our history, culture and democracy to do so.”

First authorized by Congress under the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, CPB helped build and sustain a nationwide public media system of more than 1,500 locally owned and operated public radio and television stations.

The board said CPB’s stewardship helped public media become a trusted civic resource, delivering educational programming, providing life-saving emergency alerts during natural disasters and crises and supporting rigorous, fact-based journalism that uncovers issues affecting people’s daily lives.

As part of the process of dissolving the organization, CPB will complete the responsible distribution of all remaining funds in accordance with Congress’s intent.

CPB will also provide support to the American Archive of Public Broadcasting to continue digitizing and preserving historic content, and CPB’s own archives—dating back to the organization’s founding in 1967—will be preserved in partnership with the University of Maryland and made accessible to the public.

“Public media remains essential to a healthy democracy,” Harrison said. “Our hope is that future leaders and generations will recognize its value, defend its independence, and continue the work of ensuring that trustworthy, educational, and community-centered media remains accessible to all Americans.”

In response to the vote, Kate Riley, president and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, said: “The winddown and now dissolution of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is the direct result of the rescission of public media funding last year. The consequences of that rescission continue to ripple throughout the public media system and the communities that depend on their local stations for lifesaving public safety services, exceptional education resources, and local storytelling that binds communities together and reflects their unique history, culture and aspirations for the future...The loss of CPB will be felt in every community large and small throughout this country."

“Local stations and the essential services they provide their communities continue to be at risk," Riley concluded. "We call on Congress to act now to restore some level of support for local stations in the final FY 2026 funding bills.”

WASHINGTON—The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has announced that it will distribute the remaining $7.1 million in obligated Community Service Grant (CSG) funds to eligible local public radio and television stations in the coming days.

In making the announcement, the CPB reported that unless new federal funding is appropriated to CPB, these payments will mark the final CSG payments to stations, ending the federal support that has sustained the operations of 1,500 local public media stations across the country for many decades.

Following the loss of Federal funding earlier this summer , the CPB announced that it would shut down at the end of September, with only a skeleton staff remaining to manage the end of its operations.

“Local public media stations are rooted in and responsive to the information and education needs of the communities they serve. Through unique local programming and reporting, civic engagement and volunteer opportunities, their viewers and listeners become a community of neighbors,” said Kathy Merritt, CPB chief operating officer. “But the public media neighborhood has been hard hit because of the loss of federal funding.”

Earlier this year CPB distributed $388.35 million in available funding for fiscal year (FY) 2025 CSG payments to local public media stations based on its established eligibility criteria and payment schedules. A small balance remained, largely from funds reserved for grantees that were not awarded or returned because of Inspector General audits.

Under normal circumstances, these funds would roll over and be distributed in FY 2026. However, the Rescissions Act of 2025 eliminated already appropriated funding for public broadcasting in FY 2026 and FY 2027. With no future federal funding available, CPB is winding down its operations and will now distribute the remaining $7.1 million to stations in the coming days, the agency said.

Each public television grantee will receive $15,680. Radio grantees will receive between $5,370 and $26,582, based on CPB’s established formulas that take into account station size, coverage, and service obligations. These formulas were developed in consultation with station representatives to ensure fairness and transparency.

These final payments represent only a fraction of the CSG funding that stations normally receive each year, the agency reported.

With no new Federal money in the pipeline, many stations are already reducing staff, cutting local programming, scaling back educational partnerships, and curtailing local journalism.

LOS ANGELES—The Television Academy has announced the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is the recipient of the 2025 Governors Award, recognizing the organization’s more than five decades of service in enriching America’s media landscape through funding and support for educational, cultural and public-interest programming.

The honor is a bitter-sweet one. The CPB, which lost its Federal funding this summer, is on the verge of being shut down, with most staff being laid off and operations ending on Sept. 30.

“The Governors Award recognizes and celebrates extraordinary contributions that transcend television and transform society,” said Television Academy chair Cris Abrego. “For more than half a century, CPB has been a steadfast champion of storytelling that informs, educates and unites us and ensures public media remains a vital space where diverse voices are heard and communities are served. With this award, we honor CPB’s enduring legacy and its extraordinary impact on the cultural and civic life of our nation.”

The Emmy statuette will be presented to Patricia de Stacy Harrison, the longest-serving president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Under Harrison’s leadership since 2005, CPB has guided public media through digital transformations to help stations adopt new technologies and leverage multimedia platforms to ensure high-quality content reached audiences across television, radio and online, the Academy reported. In 2011, CPB launched the longest-running public media initiative to successfully address the national high school dropout crisis, transforming educational access and graduation rates across the country.

The award will be presented during the 2025 Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 7.

The Governors Award is bestowed by the Television Academy’s Board of Governors and honors an individual, company or organization that has made a profound, transformational and long-lasting contribution to the arts and/or science of television.

Established in 1967 by the Public Broadcasting Act, CPB is a private, nonprofit corporation authorized by Congress to serve as the steward of the federal investment in public broadcasting and support more than 1,500 locally owned and operated public radio and television stations across the United States. CPB has supported independent filmmakers and innovations in storytelling, creating a cultural legacy for all Americans with iconic and Emmy-winning series, such as Sesame Street, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, The MacNeil/Lehrer Report and PBS NewsHour, NOVA, Finding Your Roots, Reading Rainbow, Molly of Denali, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, FRONTLINE, and Independent Lens.

Public media has a long and distinguished history of outstanding journalists, storytellers and documentary filmmakers who raised the bar for excellence, including Robert MacNeil, Jim Lehrer, Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff, William F. Buckley, Diane Rehm, Terry Gross, Ira Glass, Bill Moyers, Ken Burns, Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Stanley Nelson Jr. the Television Academy noted.

Since its establishment, CPB has built public media into a nationwide service, funding programs for all ages that educate, enlighten and entertain; supporting local and national newsrooms that provide fact-based information; and funding a technological infrastructure for content distribution and emergency alerts.

Today, public media connects the country, serving 99% of the U.S. population free of charge and commercial free, over the air and online in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and Native communities in American Samoa, and rural and urban areas. It is often the only media available to residents of remote areas, the Academy said.

CPB supported public media’s pioneering work in closed captioning, descriptive video services and radio technology for live-captioned and Braille radio programs to be more accessible to persons with disabilities.

In July, Congress voted to eliminate all funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, marking the end of nearly six decades of federal investment in America’s public media system.

Over the last 20 years, CPB’s funding has enabled stations to embrace new technologies and expand public media’s reach to new audiences. Through trusted content that amplifies public media’s uniquely American story across voices from all walks of life, CPB has consistently met the ever-changing needs of the communities that local public radio and television stations serve. “This is our legacy,” said Harrison. “CPB will serve as the foundation for the future of America’s public media.”

Previous recipients of the Governors Award, which was first presented in 1978, include LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization GLAAD, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, Debbie Allen, Greg Berlanti, Tyler Perry, Star Trek, American Idol, William S. Paley, Hallmark Cards Inc., Masterpiece Theatre, Comic Relief and PBS.

The 2025 Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be held over two consecutive nights, Saturday, Sept. 6, and Sunday, Sept. 7, at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE, helmed by executive producer Bob Bain and Bob Bain Productions. An edited presentation of the ceremonies will air Saturday, Sept. 13, at 8:00 PM PDT on FXX. Available to stream on Hulu through Oct. 7.

The 77th Emmy Awards will telecast live from the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, (8:00-11:00 PM EDT/5:00-8:00 PM PDT) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Following the passage of the Rescissions Act of 2025 that defunded the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and left the organization without operating funds for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2025, the CPB has announced that it is shutting down its Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) grant program because it can no longer absorb costs and manage the program.

The CPB is slated to shut down at the end of Sept. with only a small staff to manage the shutdown remaining in place through the end of 2025.

In making the announcement, the CPB said that Congress recognized the essential role of local public media stations in protecting public safety when it created the NGWS grant program in 2022 and appropriated $136 million over three years to support that mission. It also affirmed CPB’s role as a steward of federal public media funding by directing FEMA to partner with CPB to implement and administer the program in line with congressional intent.

“CPB has been fully invested in the NGWS program and its mission to protect the American public,” said Patricia Harrison, CPB President and CEO. “This is one more example of rescission consequences impacting local public media stations and the communities they serve—in this case, weakening the capacity of local public media stations to support the safety and preparedness of their communities.”

The CPB reported that under its administration, NGWS was built from the ground up, prioritizing rural and disaster-prone areas. CPB brought the specialized knowledge of local public media stations combined with decades of federal grant management and compliance experience needed to administer such a complex federal program. In one year, CPB hired a dedicated NGWS team, issued requests for applications, and provided technical assistance to stations nationwide.

From the first round of funding received in 2022, CPB awarded 44 grants totaling $21.6 million. Demand far exceeded available resources, with a second round of applications drawing more than $110 million in requests from 175 stations, the CPB said.

With CPB’s closure imminent, the CPB said that FEMA should assume responsibility for disbursing the funds as Congress intended. If it doesn't, most of the FY 2022 funding—and all funds from FY 2023 and FY 2024—will go undistributed, the CPB stressed.

If FEMA does not take control of the program, the CPB warned that critical emergency alerting equipment will not be purchased, leaving communities, especially those in rural and disaster-prone areas, without the upgrades Congress intended.

In response to the announcement Kate Riley, president and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, said that "today’s announcement by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) that CPB can no longer administer the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) grant program is yet another devastating result of the rescission of public media funding."

“Despite the claims during the rescission debate that emergency alerting and public safety services would not be affected by eliminating all public media funding, we are now seeing local stations forced to reduce staff, services and in some cases their coverage area - which will reduce the reach and effectiveness of emergency alerts," she noted. "“In addition, the ending of the Next Generation Warning System will make it even harder for the most at risk stations, particularly those in rural areas, to replace aging infrastructure and support enhancements to alert and warning and other public safety communications systems to ensure resilience and the ability to meet the evolving nature of public safety challenges."

Echoing the CPB, she also said that "with the closure of CPB, America’s Public Television Stations call on FEMA to establish a new process for delivering this funding to public broadcasters."

“In addition, America’s Public Television Stations urge Congress to restore essential direct funding to local stations throughout this country whose communities depend on them for lifesaving public safety services, proven educational resources and essential community connections.

"Public television is one of two technologically diverse pathways that FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) uses to send Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) messages from federal, state and local public officials to cell phone subscribers," she added. "The encrypted messages ride over the public television broadcast spectrum and infrastructure directly to cell phone providers who in turn send them to their subscribers. Sending these messages over the public broadcasting pathway ensures they can reach every corner of the country, even if internet service is compromised or unavailable. These geo-targeted messages can reach subscribers wherever they are in the event of an emergency."

“All of these services that ensure Americans’ safety are now at risk with the closure of CPB, the end of CPB’s administration of the NGWS program and the loss of federal funding for local stations," she said, concluding with a call for Congress to restore the funding for public media.

WASHINGTON—PBS has informed public stations that it plans to cut its budget by about 21% as part of an effort to deal with the elimination of Federal funding and previously announced plans to shut down the Corporation of Public Broadcasting at the end of the Sept.

The news was first reported by the New York Times in an article that described an email sent on August 13 by PBS chief executive, Paula Kerger to PBS station managers.

The cuts were approved by the PBS board, which also voted to reduce dues paid by local stations by $35 million.

The board reduced the fees because many local public stations face their own funding challenges.

“Local public media stations that are already cutting essential services and staff and, in some cases, planning for their closure as a result of the rescissions of public media funding,” said Kate Riley, president and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations when the funding cuts were announced.

The Public Media Company has said 78 public radio organizations and 37 TV organizations are at risk of going dark as a result of the cuts, the New York Times reported.

This map from U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) shows some of the stations most at risk of dramatic cuts or being shut down:

CPB funding is relatively small part of the federal budget, just $535 million in fiscal-year 2025. PBS and National Public Radio receive most of their funding from other sources. CPB’s demise is likely to have a major impact on smaller local stations, vendors of broadcast equipment and funding for emergency alert systems, which have traditionally been financed by the CPB. The layoffs will also cost the industry generations of experience in TV technologies, broadcasting and public media.

The head of a public TV advocacy group this week warned that threats to cut funding to public broadcasters could impact public safety.

In an address to the annual meeting of America’s Public Television Stations (APTS), the organization's president/CEO Kate Riley recalled the critical role public broadcasters have provided over the past year, citing numerous natural disasters.

“We have seen time and time again how local stations are a lifeline of local information and resources during emergencies,” Riley said. “That was evident during the hurricanes in Florida and the Southeast in the fall and the wildfires in Southern California earlier this year and the floods in Kentucky just last week, among many other examples your role as a local broadcaster some of the last in this country, and the critical role that all public television stations play in enabling PBS WARN [Warning Alert & Response Network] to deliver emergency alerts to our cell phones, makes you an essential public safety service provider.”

“Simply put, cuts to public broadcasting funding significantly jeopardize public safety,” Riley added.

This year’s APTS meeting is Riley’s first as president, succeeding long-time president Patrick Butler last year. And since public TV is no stranger to periodic funding threats, Riley was soberingly realistic when assessing the new political environment on Capitol Hill under the Trump administration.

“We face a new political landscape with significant uncertainty and growing threats, some predictable and many unpredictable,” she said. “Throughout our over 50 year history, the public television system has faced numerous challenges, and we have always overcome them.”

The most immediate concerns revolve around funding. In December, then President-elect Trump called for Congress to eliminate all funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has initiated an investigation into NPR and PBS to determine whether their underwriting announcements violate federal prohibitions against commercial advertising on public broadcasting stations.

Riley emphasized the value of public broadcasting, telling broadcasters that communicating with their Congressional representatives about how educational programs and initiatives impact local communities and help “build the echo chamber of positive information about the valuable services your stations provide and why federal funding is essential to that work.”

“We must say that federal funding is essential to the local services that each one of your station provides,” she added.

Threats to public broadcast funding are not new and nearly every Republican administration and/or Congress has called for curtailing or outright ending public broadcasting with opponents accusing the network of liberal bias. But the fervor threatens to reach a fever pitch this time given the intensity of the current administration towards removing such “biases” from media, in particular one that receives a portion of funding from Congress, which, through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, provided $525 million in FY 2023.

Riley said public broadcasters have an obligation to help bridge the political divide, which has become more polarizing in recent years.

“We have a responsibility and a long history of reflecting and serving the broad range of thought and experience in each of our communities,” she said. “People share many of the same goals, to be safe and healthy, to have opportunities for their family, but each person's own experiences, perspectives and priorities influence how they determine the best ways to achieve these goals for themselves and their families.

“Even though they share many of those goals, there is a real need for greater understanding of and appreciation for how and why people with similar goals draw different conclusions and take different actions,” Riley added. "Public television is uniquely positioned to reflect and share the broad range of views and experiences in each of our communities in a way that helps foster greater understanding of our neighbors and fellow Americans.”

After she explained the complexities of the looming Congressional budgeting timeline and process, Riley added that “we are tracking this process closely and working to ensure that it does not negatively impact public media.”

Riley concluded her address by citing recent surveys illustrating the support behind public broadcasting. “Seventy-six percent of Americans think that public television is a good investment; 88% of parents think PBS Kids is a safe and trusted place for their kids; 65% of people who voted for President Trump think PBS is either adequately funded or underfunded. And for the 22nd year in a row, public television is America's most trusted institution,” she said.

WASHINGTON—The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced today it has awarded 30 grants to date through the first round of the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) grant program, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Stations in Alabama, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia are the latest to receive funds to upgrade equipment for public safety.

“Public media stations play a vital role in emergency alerting in communities across the country,” CPB CEO Patricia Harrison said. “The Next Generation Warning System grant program helps public media organizations, especially in rural areas, to replace and upgrade their infrastructure so that they can continue to keep their communities safe.” 

The NGWS grant program, which prioritizes public stations, provides funding for media organizations to upgrade their equipment and for training to enhance alerting and warning capabilities, including the ability to use NextGen TV broadcast technology and comparable digital broadcast technology for radio stations.

“FEMA is committed to building resilience by rapidly disseminating emergency communications to the public through diverse integrated pathways,” FEMA IPAWS Director Manny Centeno said. “FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) provides a suite of tools and resources for local authorities to effectively send emergency communications to the public. We continue developing the Next Generation Warning System concept as we improve continuity and leverage new technologies, such as ATSC 3.0, that can reach the public wherever they are.”

Stations recently receiving NGWS funding are:

• Alabama A&M/WJAB-FM, Normal, Ala., up to $246,263 to replace a 30-year-old transmitter, providing a stronger signal that reaches more underserved communities with emergency alerts.
• Tri-State Public Media/WNIN, Evansville, Ind., up to $161,481 to replace and upgrade critical broadcasting infrastructure to ensure emergency alerts can be sent to rural and underserved communities.
• Smoky Hills Public Television/KOOD-TV, Bunker Hill, Kan., up to $1,761,843 to update the main transmitter tower to ATSC 3.0 so that central and western Kansans will have access to enhanced emergency communications when the market transitions to the newest broadcast standard.
• Red River Radio/KDAQ-FM, Shreveport, La., up to $80,642 to replace critical resiliency infrastructure, including three emergency generators, that will ensure rural and underserved communities have access to emergency communications.
• Mid-South Public Communications Foundation/WKNO-TV and WKNO-FM, Cordova, Tenn., up to $1,657,012 to replace a transmitter and two emergency generators to ensure the rural agricultural communities in Tennessee, Mississippi and eastern Arkansas receive timely emergency communications.
• Blue Ridge Public Television/WBRA-TV, Roanoke, Va., up to $1,122,074 to replace critical broadcast infrastructure that will strengthen their signal in the mountainous region to reach more rural communities with targeted emergency alerts.
• Last month, CPB received about 170 station applications totaling more than $109 million for the second round of NGWS funding. The total amount of NGWS grant funds available in Round 2 is $48 million, approved by Congress in fiscal year 2023.

FEMA has awarded CPB a total of $136 million in fiscal year 2022, 2023 and 2024-appropriated funds to establish and implement the NGWS grant program.

WASHINGTON—Alaska Public Media is the recipient of a $936,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to head a statewide collaboration of public media stations called the "Alaska Desk" that aims to strengthen and expand local news services, especially in rural communities, CPB said today.

“Alaska’s public media stations provide a critical lifeline for many rural and Alaska Native communities who depend on them as their sole source of news and public affairs,” said El Ulman, president of Alaska Public Media in Anchorage. “Roughly 80% of Alaska’s communities cannot be reached by road, which means that information access is critical to making everyday decisions in remote areas where resources can be costly to obtain.”

A governance committee consisting of representatives from public media stations in Alaska will determine editorial vision and strategic priorities, it said.

The two-year funding will help to pay for four reporters based at Alaska public media stations as well as three editors, travel and equipment. Together the new journalists will increase news creation capacity at the state’s public media radio and TV stations. The grant also will support a full-time development officer who will seek additional funding to sustain local journalism, it said.

The state’s public media stations have for years distributed the “Alaska News Nightly” newscast. They also share one of the state’s only full-time reporters based in Washington, D.C.

More information is available on the CPB and Alaska Public Media websites.

WASHINGTON—The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has named Evan Slavitt as Senior Vice President and General Counsel, effective March 11. As CPB’s chief legal officer, he will promote and defend the company’s legal interests, monitor compliance with federal and D.C. law, and ensure adherence to the highest standards of ethical conduct in CPB’s administration of the federal appropriation for public broadcasting, CPB said.

“Evan is an accomplished attorney with decades of experience who will be of great value to CPB as we steward the federal appropriation for public media,” said Patricia Harrison, CPB president and CEO.

Slavitt began his legal career in the United States Department of Justice, first in the Antitrust Division and then as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. He moved into private practice in 1987, working for three Massachusetts law firms before becoming a founding member of Bodoff and Slavitt, LLP. Slavitt is a graduate of Yale University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics and of the Harvard Law School, where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

“I am looking forward to working with the Board and senior management of CPB to achieve its important statutory mission. I view this position as the capstone of my career,” said Slavitt.

Slavitt most recently served as chief legal officer of Paper Excellence, where he led the multi-national legal department of the pulp and paper product manufacturer. Before that, he was Vice President for Business and Legal Affairs and then Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Kyocera AVX Corporation, an international manufacturing company.

Slavitt will replace Westwood Smithers Jr., CPB’s chief legal officer since 2005, who is retiring after a long and distinguished career.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has named Faisal Khan as executive director of the Next Generation Warning System, effective immediately. 

In the new post, he will lead CPB’s work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in implementing the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) grant program to create a more resilient and secure public alerting system in U.S.  public media.

“Faisal is a leader with deep passion for emergency relief and a proven ability to provide strategic and operational planning, project management, and international grant program implementation,” said Stacey Decker, CPB senior vice president, innovation and system strategies. “He is well-positioned to lead CPB as it administers funding for the Next Generation Warning System, in which public television and public radio stations will use emerging technologies to deliver an enhanced public alerting system.”

Khan will lead a staff of four to implement the NGWS grant program. This competitive grant program enables CPB-qualified community service grant recipients to procure, construct, and improve transmission and other public safety-related equipment, software, and services, including ATSC 3.0 and comparable digital broadcast technology for radio stations. This will result in enhanced alerting and warning capabilities that serve all Americans, the CPB said. 

Khan comes to CPB from the Islamic Relief USA Foundation, where he was executive director and implemented a program of grants serving more than 22 countries, overseeing all strategic planning, financial management, and board and donor communications for the organization. Before that, he was a regional vice president, PSF Investments, and a financial strategy manager for KPMG.

Khan holds a law degree from American University, an MBA from George Washington University, a bachelor’s degree in international relations and Spanish from West Virginia University, and a chartered financial analyst (CFA) certification.

WASHINGTON—The Corporation for Public Broadcasting named Brendan Daly as its vice president of communications, succeeding Shana Teehan.

“He will be responsible for the development and implementation of a multifaceted communications and messaging strategy to advance awareness of public media and its value to American society,” the organization said.

The announcement was made by Chief Operating Officer Michael Levy, who called Daly “a strategic communications leader with a proven ability to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders.”

Daly was for nine years the communications director for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and most recently was chief communications officer for the Recording Industry Association of America. He has also held posts with Save the Children Action Network, Ogilvy Public Relations, the Department of Energy, the U.S. Trade Representative and the Peace Corps. He began his career as a newspaper reporter in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

WASHINGTON—The Corporation of Public Broadcasting has announced it is providing each of the five public media organizations that make up the National Multicultural Alliance (NMCA) with a $500,000 increase in funding starting this fiscal year. The goal of these organizations is to provide content about diverse communities, by diverse filmmakers, for public TV systems and viewers.

The NMCA consists of Black Public Media (BPM), the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB), Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC) and Vision Maker Media (VMM). All of these organizations are nonprofits that fund, produce, distribute and exhibit works in media representing their communities.

With this new increase in funding, CPB’s annual total support for NMCA organizations surpasses $9 million, a 37% increase, CPB says.

“CPB’s commitment and funding for diverse filmmakers and storytellers spans decades and has resulted in content that educates, informs and inspires mutual understanding and respect,” said Pat Harrison, CPB president and CEO. “Our increased support for the National Multicultural Alliance will build on that foundation and ensure that public media’s content reflects the broadest range of cultural and social perspectives. The NMCA comprises individual organizations that encourage and fund diverse storytellers whose voices and experiences might never be heard without their support.”

WASHINGTON—The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will receive a $10 million increase in funding for fiscal year 2023 thanks to negotiations between the House and Senate. That will bring CPB’s funding for FY2023 to $475 million.

The funding increase was officially approved as part of a package of appropriations bill including in the omnibus spending bill that was passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate on Dec. 21.

According to Patrick Butler, president and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, the increase in funding helps restore what he says is nearly $100 million in lost purchasing power for public broadcasters due to frozen funding over the last decade.

Butler says that the additional funding will help CPB continue to provide and grow its services related to education, including crafting educational programming for at-home learning that bridges the digital divide; expand public safety and information services; and help with the rollout of the ATSC 3.0-based NextGen TV standard at public stations.

“This increase will enable public television stations to educate more children, protect more lives and property, and enable more well-informed citizens to guide the world’s most important democracy,” said Butler.

The legislation also provides level funding of $20 million for FY2021 for station interconnection, Butler says. In addition, $29.5 million, an increase of $500,000, is being provided for the Ready to Learn program focusing on early childhood education.

WASHINGTON—The Senate Appropriations Committee has recommended that the Corporation of Public Broadcasting be allotted $465 million in funds for Fiscal Year 2021 in its draft spending bill—the same amount it was provided in FY 2020. America’s Public Television Stations, however, would like to see a bit of an increase to that number.

APTS notes that the House of Representatives proposed a $50 million increase to CPB’s FY 2021 budget in July and hopes that will be included in the final appropriations package.

Still, APTS commended the Senate’s proposal to maintain level funding for CPB, particularly as stations deal with the pandemic. The organization also praised the Senate committee’s recommendation of $29 million for the Ready to Learn program and $20 million to continue investing in interconnection.

“Public television stations have dramatically demonstrated their essential role in public service this year, standing up remote learning services in all 50 states in response to the coronavirus pandemic and using our datacasting capability to provide educational resources to students without broadband connections,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO of APTS.

Butler said that public TV is ready to do more, including expanding public safety services, adopting the ATSC 3.0 next-gen standard and more investment into datacasting. “The greater the federal investment in this work, the more and better and faster we can do it,” he added.

More than 70% of funds committed to CPB go directly to local public TV and radio stations in the form of community service grants, according to APTS.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Corp. for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has promoted Kathryn Washington to vice president, Television Programming. In this role, Washington will help further CPB’s investments in TV and digital productions and its support of independent filmmakers and content creators.

“Kathryn has played a significant role in CPB’s work developing broadcast media, programs, and services that reflect a diverse and inclusive society,” said CPB Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Michael Levy.

Washington joined CPB in November 2009, and has held a number of positions, including director of diversity and innovation where she oversaw the funding of more than 20 new programs such as Stanley Nelson’s “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution.” Most recently, Washington was senior director of content strategy, where she established partnerships between PBS stations and independent producers to develop national content. Through her work with Henry Louis Gates’ production team, Firelight Media’s Documentary Lab, and iconic PBS series such as “American Masters,” “American Experience,” “Nature,” and “NOVA,” Washington has developed strategies to bring high-quality and innovative programming to all platforms with a focus on advancing new and diverse voices.

She began her career in public broadcasting as an independent radio producer for KQED’s nationally distributed series “Beyond Computers” and the online music magazine “Behind the Beat.” Moving from radio to documentary film, she managed the Diversity Development Fund for the Independent Television Service (ITVS) and aided producers in the development of films that have aired on Independent Lens, POV and screened at festivals worldwide.

Washington holds a bachelor’s degree in East Asian Studies from Oberlin College, a master’s in psychology from Antioch University and a certificate in strategic foresight from University of Houston.

WASHINGTON—The House Appropriations Committee has officially proposed $515 million in advanced funding for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting in Fiscal Year 2023, which would represent a $50 million increase from the $465 million in funding it received in 2020.

The proposal is included in the FY 2021 Departments of Labor, Health & Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill.

In addition to the increase for FY 2023, the proposal has recommended level funding of $20 million in FY 2021 for station interconnection, what American Public Television Stations (APTS)—which provided the proposal details via a press release—calls “the backbone of the public broadcasting system.”

The proposal also would commit $30 million in FY 2021 to Ready To Learn, a competitive grant program at the Department of Education that supports public television’s work in early childhood education. 

In addition to education, which public broadcast stations took on an increase role in during the COVID-19 pandemic with remote learning, public broadcasting funds also help with public safety services and providing platforms for state governments to produce programming regarding local affairs, elections and history, according to APTS.

“The federal investment in public broadcasting is essential to local public television stations’ public service missions of education, public safety and civic leadership, and to ensuring that everyone, everywhere, every day has access to these essential services,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO of APTS.

“We are encouraged that this bipartisan congressional support continues to grow year by year, and we will do our best to earn this support every day in service to America’s communities,” Butler added.

WASHINGTON—The Corporation of Public Broadcasting is seeking additional emergency relief funding from Congress in the amount of $175 million.

This is according to Current, which reported that Congress’ Public Broadcasting Caucus co-chair Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) shared the CPB’s request in a statement on May 7.

CPB initially received $75 million as part of the CARES Act in March, though it had requested $250 million, and the House was seeking sums of $300 million, per Current.

The $75 million was split evenly between public TV and radio stations, but this additional request of $175 million is being sought as state and university-run stations need funding to survive in this pandemic climate.

For more information, visit Current.org.

WASHINGTON—The proposed fiscal year 2021 budget from President Donald Trump calls for the elimination of federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting over a two-year period—a bit of news that has become somewhat of an annual tradition under his administration.

As detailed in the proposed budget, CPB would receive $30 million in FY 2021 for “agency close-out costs,” which would help fund facilities costs, personal liabilities and existing contracts. Over the proposed two-year close out, the White House estimates the total close-out costs will be $58 million.

The $30 million would be a decrease of $435 million that CPB received in federal funding in FY 2020.

“CPB funding comprises about 15% of the total amount spent on public broadcasting, with the remainder coming from non-Federal sources, with many large stations raising an even great share,” the budget reads. “This private fundraising has proven durable, negating the need for continued Federal subsidies.”

It claims that PBS and NPR, two of the most recognizable public networks supported by CPB, could makeup any shortfalls by increasing revenues from corporate sponsors, foundations and/or members. It also says that since alternative programming to PBS and NPR have grown over the years, the need for publicly funded programming options has decreased.

America’s Public Television Stations’ President and CEO Patrick Butler disagrees with the White House’s position and its attempts to slash CPB’s funding.

“We provide the only preschool education for more than half of America’s children,” Butler said. “We are the backbone of public safety communications networks at the local, state and national levels. And we do more than anyone else to equip America’s citizens for challenging and rewarding work of democracy.”

Butler says he hopes to continue to work with the White House to emphasize how important federal funding for public broadcasting is so that its services can remain free for the public.

Trump has previously proposed similar funding phase outs or entirely eliminating funding for CPB in his budget proposals. Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress came to the support of the CPB each time to continue providing its funding. In fact, in FY 2020, the $465 million approved for CPB was the first increase in funding the organization had seen in 10 years.

WASHINGTON—The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is seeing green this holiday season, but its not just the Christmas trees—more like cash in the expected form of a $20 million increase in funding for the 2020 fiscal year.

The House and Senate have negotiated the $20 million increase—the first funding increase the organization has seen in 10 years—with the House formally approving it in the appropriations bill for FY2020. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the funding package later this week.

With the increase, the CPB’s funding will increase from $445 million in recent years to $465 million.

“America’s Public Television Stations are grateful for this increase, which will begin to restore the nearly $100 million in purchasing power public broadcasting has lost in a decade of frozen funding,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO of APTS.

“While we have appreciated the steady funding through 10 years of budgetary austerity, we have been under increasing pressure to do more with less in recent years. Technology, viewer habits and our public service missions have changed dramatically during this time, and this increase in funding to $465 million will enable local public television stations to educate more children, protect more lives and property, and equip more well-informed citizens with the tools they need to guide the world’s most important democracy,” Butler added.

In addition, APTS says that the legislation will provide $20 million in funding for the public media interconnection systems that support public safety and homeland security missions and deliver national programs to rural and remote audiences. There was also an increase of more than $1.2 million, for a total of $29 million, for the FY 2020 Ready to Learn program, a Department of Education grant program that supports the creation of public TV’s early childhood educational content.

“The broad support for public media funding among both Republicans and Democrats in Congress reflects the overwhelming support the American people have for local public television stations’ service in communities across the country, and we couldn’t be more proud of this vote of enhanced confidence in our work,” said Butler.

Editor's Note: This story was updated to correct the amount of funding that CPB has been operating at for the last few years, $445 million.

WASHINGTON—Less than a week after the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $495 million budget for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting for Fiscal Year 2022, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) is reintroducing a bill that would cut off all federal funding for the organization.

Rep. Lamborn announced his intentions in a blog on The Daily Signal, where he cites his primary reason for the bill as the belief that PBS, which is funded by CPB, is attempting to indoctrinate children with programming that promotes “social liberalism to children.” This is in response to a recent episode of the animated series “Arthur” that featured a same-sex wedding and was opposed by many conservatives as well as the state of Alabama, which chose not to air the episode.

“Enough is enough,” wrote Lamborn. “It is time to stop sending our hard-earned tax money to support programming that is objectionable to many Americans.”

Lamborn argues that the federal funds granted to CPB make up about 15% of the organization’s annual budget, claiming that they are already successful without taxpayer support and that the federal funding is simply for “budget flexibility.”

“From a constitutional standpoint, there is no reason that a single dollar should be given to subsidize a public media company, even if its programming did not contain objectionable material.”

While Lamborn says that he supports President Donald Trump’s efforts to zero out federal funds over time for the CPB, he believes that “Congress should act decisively and pass into law a measure for removing federal funding for all media conglomerates.”

Patrick Butler, president and CEO of America's Public Television Stations, gave the following statement to TV Technology in regards to Rep. Lamborn's bill:

"Over 70% of CPB funding goes to local public media stations. This federal investment is essential to local public television stations' public service missions of education, public safety and civic leadership, and to ensuring that everyone, everywhere has access to these essential services.

"The broad support for public media funding among both Republicans and Democrats in Congress reflects the overwhelming support of the American people, across the ideological spectrum, for our service in hundreds of communities across the country." 

TV Technology has reached out to CPB for comment.

WASHINGTON—As he has done in each of his budget proposals, President Donald Trump is once again proposing to cut, and eventually eliminate, federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In his administration’s official proposal for Fiscal Year 2020, CPB’s federal fundings would be cut to $30 million for 2020 and 2021, a drop from the $465 million provided to the organization in 2019.

“CPB grants represent a small share of the total funding for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR), which primarily rely on private donations to fund their operations,” the proposal argues. “This private fundraising has proven durable, negating the need for continued Federal subsidies.”

“In addition,” the proposal continues, “alternatives to PBS and NPR programming have grown substantially since CPB was first established in 1967, greatly reducing the need for publicly funded programming options.”

President Trump had previously proposed to cut funding for CPB in his previous budgets, but Congress eventually passed appropriation bills that provided full funding to the organization.

“Federal funding is the foundation of the uniquely American, public-private partnership of the public media system,” reads a statement from Patricia de Stacy Harrison, president and CEO of CPB. “The support of Congress, combined with private funding, enables locally owned and operated public media stations to promote early learning, prepare young people for job opportunities, provide critical emergency alert services in partnership with public safety officials and tell authentic stories in ways that enhance our civil society.

“There is no viable alternative to the federal investment to accomplish the mission that Congress assigned to public media and that the American people overwhelmingly support. Without the federal investment, the entire public media system and the unique services and value provided to rural, small town and urban communities would be devastated.”

“American Public Television Stations are disappointed that President Trump’s FY 2020 budget proposal once again recommends elimination of federal funding for public media,” Patrick Butler, APTS president and CEO, wrote in a statement.

“We are grateful that Congress approved full funding for public broadcasting in FY 2019, and we are hopeful that Congress will increase funding for public media in the FY 2020 appropriations cycle and beyond,” Butler added.

“We live in hope that the administration will ultimately appreciate that federal funding is essential to local public television stations’ ability to pursue their critical public service missions of education, public safety and civic leadership, and to provide these services to everyone, everywhere every day, for free.”

WASHINGTON—The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) Dec. 20 named Maja Mrkoci Chief Content and Innovation Officer.

Mrkoci, who joined CPB in 2015 as VP for Content and Digital Media, will work with public media’s national organizations, local stations and independent content producers to advance a digital cultural transformation. She also will continue to lead CPB’s strategy for investing in programming for national public media audiences, CPB said.

Separately, CPB announced the same day that 17 public media stations have been named as round two participants in its Digital Culture Accelerator project.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has named Jan Schaffer as ombudsman for a three-year term, effective May 1. She succeeds former Washington Post Senior Editor Milton Coleman, whose term expired.

In this role, Schaffer will be responsible for reviewing and reporting on issues concerning public media programming.

Schaffer is a Pulitzer Prize winning former journalist who currently serves as founder and executive director of J-Lab, an organization that funds and researches innovative approaches to journalism. In her earlier career, she was a federal court reporter in Philadelphia.

Schaffer recently finished a journalism practitioner’s residency at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Italy. She has taught Social Journalism at CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism and Media Entrepreneurship at American University’s School of Communication and is a former fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University.

She currently serves on the Advisory Board of LION [Local Independent Online News] Publishers and has served as an advisor for the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation and SXSW Accelerator.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967. It helps support the operations of nearly 1,500 locally owned and operated public television and radio stations nationwide. In 2005, CPB established the Office of the Ombudsman in April 2005 as an independent office to help advance standards of journalistic integrity in public media.

WASHINGTON—The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) last week asked Congress to appropriate $455 million for fiscal year 2021—$10 million more than the annual funding its requested since 2015.

CPB also asked for $20 million in fiscal year 2019 for replacement of the public broadcasting interconnection system and $30 million for the Department of Education’s Ready To Learn program. Last month, Congress allocated $445 million to CPB for fiscal 2020 in its omnibus spending bill.

Patricia de Stacy Harrison, president and CEO of CPB, who made the request April 19 to the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, said 95 cents of every dollar the corporation receives supports local public stations and programs, thereby serving their local communities.

“Through the nearly 1,500 locally owned and operated public radio and television stations across the country, public media reaches 99 percent of the American people from big cities to small towns and rural communities,” said de Stacy Harrison. “At approximately $1.35 per citizen per year, it is one of America’s best infrastructure investments—paying huge dividends in education, public safety and civic leadership for millions of Americans and their families.”

She pointed to CPB’s collaboration with the Department of Education’s Ready To Learn program as an example of how public media combines “high-quality educational content” with the work happening on the ground in local communities.

Besides their work creating broadcast, Web and mobile content, local public broadcasters engage with “community partners” to extend their children’s content via Head Start centers, daycare facilities, local health centers and faith-based organizations, she said.

Referencing public media’s interconnection, de Stacy Harrison told the subcommittee how important the infrastructure is to public broadcasters. “Without it, there is no nationwide public media service,” she said.

Since fiscal year 1991, Congress has consistently funded the interconnection with a separate, periodic appropriation. Doing so gives CPB “the agility to contract for incremental upgrades as innovations in technology are realized and costs come down,” she said. 

WASHINGTON—What many believed would happen is now official with the release of President Trump’s budget proposal—funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is being zeroed out. The CPB provides nearly half a billion dollars in federal money for non-commercial media, but according to Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney the government is “ending federal involvement with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.”

TV Technology’s sister publication B&C has the complete story.