A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that the Trump administration’s executive order to end federal funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service was unconstitutional.

The ruling’s impact is unclear. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia noted that since Congress withdrew funding through last year’s Rescissions Act, and because the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has dissolved, no order can provide “meaningful relief” regarding that specific pool of money.

But Judge Randolph Moss repeatedly wrote in the Tuesday ruling that President Trump’s order crossed the line of the First Amendment. Moss was appointed to the D.C. district court in 2014 under President Obama’s administration.

Moss said that the order was issued without regard to nationwide interconnection systems, calling such distribution the “backbones” of public radio and TV.

Colorado Public Radio was a partner in the lawsuit challenging the executive order, along with NPR, Aspen Public Radio and KSUT. CPR said in a release that the ruling prevents the executive order from restricting CPR and other stations from using any federal funds for NPR content. In December, Radio World reported on the stations’ concerns.

NPR, according to its own reporting, said that it was not clear what the decision, which could be appealed by the Trump administration, would mean for the future of federal funding of public broadcasting. But the organization’s comments celebrated the decision.

“Today’s ruling is a decisive affirmation of the rights of a free and independent press — and a win for NPR, our network of stations and our tens of millions of listeners nationwide,” Katherine Maher, NPR’s president and CEO, said in a release.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement: “This is a ridiculous ruling by an activist judge attempting to undermine the law.”

Representatives from the three Colorado public radio stations, according to a release, said the stations remain prepared to defend the ruling should the Trump administration appeal.

Timeline
The executive order issued by President Trump last May ultimately clawed back $1.1 billion in funding that Congress had set aside for public media outlets. Later last year, it led to a dispute between CPB and NPR over public radio distribution.

CPB dissolved this past February.

The D.C. court acknowledged in its order that while the federal government may impose limits on grants or fund its own speech to promote specific perspectives, “the First Amendment draws a line, which the government may not cross, at efforts to use government power — including the power of the purse — ‘to punish or suppress disfavored expression’ by others.”

Although CPB has been dissolved, the court clarified that this does not render the case moot because the executive order “sweeps beyond the CPB.”

The court is also issuing a permanent injunction to prevent federal agencies from enforcing the executive order.

In a statement, PBS, said it was “thrilled with today’s decision,” calling the president’s order a “textbook unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination and retaliation, in violation of longstanding First Amendment principles.”

As the House of Representatives voted early Friday morning to eliminate federal funding for public broadcasting, advocates warned that the elimination of $1 billion to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would have its biggest impact on rural communities.

“This elimination of federal funding — over 70% would go to local stations — will decimate public media and force many local stations to go dark, cutting off essential service to communities that rely on them — many of which have no other access to free, locally controlled media — especially those communities in rural areas,” Americas Public TV Stations CEO Kate Riley said in a statement. “The proponents of this legislation were myopically focused on defunding NPR and PBS, but what this bill will actually do is devastate independent local stations — some of which are not even members of NPR and PBS and don't air their programming.”

PBS President Paula Kerger concurred. “These cuts will significantly impact all of our stations, but will be especially devastating to smaller stations and those serving large rural areas. Many of our stations which provide access to free unique local programming and emergency alerts will now be forced to make hard decisions in the weeks and months ahead,” she said.

In a 216-213 vote that mostly followed party lines, the House approved "H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025," which was passed by the Senate early Thursday morning. Two Republicans, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) and Michael R. Turner (Ohio) voted against it. The bill also eliminates $8 billion in foreign aid.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) hailed the vote. “We need to get back to fiscal sanity and this is an important step,” he said. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who opposed the measure said that “no one is buying the notion that Republicans are actually trying to improve wasteful spending.”

President Trump praised the vote to defund “atrocious NPR and public broadcasting, where billions of dollars a year were wasted,” adding that “Republicans have tried doing this for 40 years, and failed….but no more. This is big!!!”

One public broadcasting executive said elimination of CPB funding, which makes up approximately 15-18% of PBS’s annual operating budget, will force the network to make some hard decisions. Without CPB funding, PBS, which has 350 stations nationwide, estimates that roughly 15% of its stations will be unable to operate.

“We just don’t have a lot of fat to trim elsewhere,” Julie Overgaard, the executive director for South Dakota Public Broadcasting, told the New York Times on Thursday.

“On the PBS side of things, I can’t just start cherry-picking which national programs I want and only pay for those,” she added. “So it really leaves me and many others with little choice but to look at the local programming that we self-generate.”

Taiwo Gaynor, chief content officer for Mississippi Public Broadcasting lamented the potential loss of free educational content for rural communities. “This is important for families, to have access to content that they don’t have to pay for,” Gaynor told the AP. “That is a sad thought, to think that we ... might not be able to provide that for a generation of children.”

In an email on Thursday, Kevin Martin, president and CEO of IdeaStream, a public radio station serving northeast Ohio told supporters that “we may have lost this round, but the fight is far from over.”

Even before the House approved the Senate’s bill, Martin was unsure of its impact.

“As for the long-term implications, only time will tell. We are deeply disappointed by this funding decision, but we remain resolute and optimistic about our future. The entire public media ecosystem — PBS, NPR, and local stations like Ideastream — are built through collaborations and a shared infrastructure. The ripple effect of this funding loss will be felt throughout the system, particularly by smaller and rural stations that may face the real possibility of closure.”

In advance of the House vote, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez criticized the Senate’s approval, accusing the Trump administration of trying to stifle opposing viewpoints.

“This action is a key step in a coordinated campaign to silence public media, and the latest attempt by this Administration to censor and control speech,” she wrote. “We've yet to see any effort to probe, defund, or threaten news outlets that support the government's views, and there’s a reason for that. This has never been about saving money. It’s about silencing those who report the news accurately, without fear or favor.”

APTS's Riley said the association will continue to push for restoring the funds.

“Federal funding for public media is irreplaceable and essential to local public media stations and the existence of the public media system as a whole,” Riley said in a statement after the House vote. “This destructive rescission of Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) funding – the substantial majority of which goes to local stations – will result in the end of all federal funding to local stations starting October 1, 2025 and the total closure of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

“America’s Public Television Stations will do everything in our power to restore this critical funding, ensure the survival of local public media stations throughout the country and continue the federal investment in their essential missions of public safety, education and community connections.”

Early Thursday morning, the U.S. Senate voted to cut federal funding for PBS and NPR in a bill that also included cuts for foreign aid. In a 51-48 vote, the action to cut $9 billion in federal funding represents perhaps the biggest threat to public broadcasting in recent years and a moment of capitulation to President Trump from Congress, which normally has the final say in spending federal funds.

The bill will now go to the House, which is expected to approve it. Most of the funds—approximately $8 billion—targets foreign aid, while $1.1 billion was supposed to go to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS.

The Trump administration has been a long-time critic of public broadcasting, which he claims is "biased" against conservatives and ordered the elimination of funding earlier this year.

“Republicans must defund and totally disassociate themselves from NPR & PBS, the radical left ‘monsters’ that so badly hurt our country!” Trump posted on Truth Social on April 1.

The CPB funds about 2% of NPR’s budget and about 15% of PBS’s, so it’s unlikely that public broadcasting would cease; however, there is more concern over how the cuts will impact rural communities, who, in an age of declining local news outlets depend on public media more than ever. That was a major point of contention for Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), who voted against the measure. Murkowski criticized the bill on X, referring to an earthquake that struck her state on Wednesday.

“Some colleagues claim they are targeting ‘radical leftist organizations’ with these cuts, but in Alaska, these are simply organizations dedicated to their communities,” Murkowski wrote. “Their response to today’s earthquake is a perfect example of the incredible public service these stations provide. They deliver local news, weather updates, and, yes, emergency alerts that save human lives.”

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) was also initially opposed to the cuts, expressing concern that they would negatively impact the future of tribal radio stations. Although he was later assured that an agreement had been struck with the Trump administration that such cuts would not happen, the leader of Native Public Media warned that no such guarantee could be made.

“There is currently no clear path for redirecting these funds to tribal broadcasters without significant legislative and administrative changes,” said Loris Taylor, the president of Native Public Media.

Rounds’ colleague, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) defended the cuts.

“I think $9 billion is a very small amount of money—as I mentioned, one-tenth of 1% of all federal spending,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News on Wednesday night before the vote. “But we’ve got to look at all aspects of the federal budget and figure out where we can root out waste, fraud and abuse, to put this country on a more sustainable fiscal path. We just can’t sustain where we are.”

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a longtime advocate for public broadcasting, took issue with Thune’s description of calling funding for public media “waste, fraud and abuse.”

“Republicans are making a Clifford-sized mistake by choosing Donald Trump and multibillionaires over ‘Daniel Tiger’ and ‘Masterpiece Theater,’ ” the Senator said in a statement after the vote. “By eliminating public media funding, Republicans are silencing rural broadcasters. They are stripping communities of essential emergency alert infrastructure. They are taking away trusted educational programming from millions of children. And by gutting global public health programs, they’re abandoning vulnerable populations around the world.

“The consequences of this reckless package will be felt for years to come,” Markey added. “But I am committed to ensuring that characters like ‘Arthur’ and ‘Molly of Denali’ can continue to educate our children, and that public radio and television stations can continue to connect and protect people in every community across America.”

Kate Riley, President and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, the primary advocate for public broadcasting, said the association was “devastated” by the vote and noted that federal funding of public broadcasting amounts to about $1.60 per person per year and less than one 1/100th of a percent of the federal budget.

“This elimination of federal funding will decimate public media and put local stations at risk of going dark, cutting off service to communities that rely on them—many of which have no other access to locally controlled media,” Riley said. “After over 50 years of federal support for public broadcasting, the Senate has now voted to eliminate this exceptional public-private partnership that has educated generations of children, protected countless lives, and connected and celebrated communities large and small throughout this nation.

“As the rescissions package moves back to the House for its final consideration, we urge the House to oppose the package and the elimination of public media. If this package passes the House, all funding to local stations will be cut off starting October 1, 2025 and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will shut down."

WASHINGTON—As the U.S. Senate prepares to vote on the Rescissions Act of 2025 that would cancel $1.1 billion in already approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the CPB has released a new national survey finds that U.S. voters place more trust in public media than media overall and hold a more favorable opinion of public media than for-profit media.

The OPB commissioned survey also finds that 53% of U.S. voters oppose eliminating all federal funding for public media, compared with 44% in support.

The CPB poll of 1,000 likely voters conducted online by Peak Insights from June 29 to July 1 found that respondents place a high value on public media’s core services and programming such as emergency alerts (82%), children’s educational programming (66%), local programming (66%) and national news reporting (60%).

The Senate is expected to vote on the cuts, which have already been approved by the House on a narrow party-line vote sometime this week. Several Republican senators have expressed doubts about the bill.

The survey reveals voters trust public media more widely than media in general to report the news “fully, accurately and fairly.” Only 35% of voters trust media in general, but 53% of voters trust public media networks and local stations, the survey found.

“Public media is a trusted, vital part of American life, available free of charge and commercial-free,” Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, said. “It delivers early learning resources to families, life-saving emergency alerts to communities, and trusted local and national programming to keep citizens connected and informed.”

In addition, a majority of voters hold a favorable opinion of local public television and radio stations (65% favorable), PBS (61% favorable) and NPR (54% favorable)—while for-profit media is widely unpopular (61% unfavorable).

The CPB also noted that the survey showed strong support for public media benefits, including:

• 68% of respondents said public media serves as a lifeline for rural and underserved communities.
• 66% said public media provides quality educational programming for children.
• 62% said public media should remain available free of charge.

WASHINGTON—Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, has issued a report highlighting the critical role U.S. public broadcasters play in responding to weather emergencies.

The report found that in rural areas, public broadcasters may be the sole source or one of only a few sources of information during disasters, leaving them disproportionately impacted by federal funding cuts. That risk is illustrated in maps that accompany the report.

“Public television and radio aren’t just for quality children’s television and unique radio content,” said Cantwell said. “For millions of Americans, these stations are often their only source of emergency information during weather disasters. Last month, House Republicans approved President [Donald] Trump’s rescission request clawing back $1.1 billion in Congressionally-approved funding for public broadcasting. This report shows that if Senate Republicans allow this devastating cut to pass the Senate, nearly 13 million Americans could be left without access to their public media stations and the life-saving emergency alerts or information they need. As people prepare for potential hurricanes, wildfires and other extreme weather events, we should not be gutting our support for public media.”

As previously reported, on June 3, Trump submitted a rescission request to Congress for the CPB’s funding for fiscal 2026 and 2027, seeking to claw back nearly $1.1 billion in congressionally approved funding. On June 12, the House approved the president’s rescission request, and it is now before the Senate. If passed by the Senate, these cuts may leave millions of Americans without access to lifesaving alerts and emergency information, Cantwell said.

The Snapshot Report issued by Cantwell's office describes its key findings as follows:

• The operations of 79 public radio and 33 TV stations across 34 states and territories are considered vulnerable to federal funding cuts.
• Nearly 13 million Americans live in communities under threat of losing their local public broadcast stations. What’s worse, these stations serve large swaths of the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States at risk of wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes and other public safety emergencies. This double threat casts uncertainty on the ability of these stations to disseminate emergency alerts and information to residents when they need it most.
• More than 70% of federal funding goes directly to local public broadcasters for content, interconnection and support services. It would cost local public broadcasters more than double CPB’s current contribution to replace these critical services through alternative public or private means.

To access additional maps and the full report, click here.

After months of threats and speculation, the Trump administration has formally asked Congress to repeal $9.4 billion in previously approved funding, including $1.1 billion in cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which provides funding to NPR and PBS.

That amounts to about two years of funding for CPB, which provides funding to PBS, NPR and public media, according to NPR.

The Trump administration has separately issued proposals for the fiscal year 2026 budget that would get rid of all CPB funding except for $30 million to shut down the agency.

The rescissions package was been proposed in April but was not sent formally to Congress until June 3. Now that the process has formally be initiated, Congress has 45 days to repeal the previously approved funding.

The proposal drew immediate fire from executives at CPB, America’s Public Television Stations and others.

“Federal funding for the public broadcasting system is irreplaceable,“ CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said. “Public media serves all—families and individuals, in rural and urban communities—free of charge and commercial-free. American taxpayers rely upon and trust public media for high-quality educational content, information and life-saving alerts.”

“CPB is firmly committed to ensuring that funding for public media provides local communities with accurate, unbiased, and nonpartisan news and information, and we take seriously concerns about bias that have been raised,” she added. “The path to better public media is achievable only if funding is maintained. Otherwise, a vital lifeline that operates reliable emergency communications, supports early learning, and keeps local communities connected and informed will be cut off with regrettable and lasting consequences.”

Kate Riley, president and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, said: “Americans in every corner of this country rely on our local public television stations to provide lifesaving public safety and educational services and local community connections for free, every day,. “These services are only made possible by the federal funding for public media. We urge Congress to reject this destructive proposal to eliminate public media funding and public media itself.

“This proposed elimination of CPB funding—the substantial majority of which goes to local stations—will result in immediate and serious cuts of stations’ local services and in some cases the total closure of stations, particularly in rural communities,” she added. “Rescinding previously appropriated federal funding for public broadcasting defies the will of the American people and would devastate the public safety, educational and local service missions of public media stations. These services are essential for the American people and worthy of the federal investment, which amounts to about $1.60 per person per year and less than one 1/100th of a percent of the federal budget.”

President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to defund PBS and NPR, claiming that today’s media landscape has changed enough to warrant ending public funding for broadcasting. In addition, he used the executive order to criticize the broadcasters (established in 1967 when Congress created the CPB) over what he claims is “biased” reporting.

Congress has the final say on funding CPB but, as has been the case since his inauguration, Trump is attempting to sidestep Congress via executive order. The CPB is a private, nonprofit corporation established by federal law and governed by an independent board.

For decades, Republicans have attempted to defund CPB over what they perceive as political bias but, in recent years, they have added the “evolving media landscape” as further justification for their arguments, claiming that programming via public broadcasting is replicated elsewhere.

But critics of the administration say Trump has sought to quash media voices selectively and use the power of his office to strike at his critics as well as a free press. One month earlier Trump posted on the Truth Social site, in all caps, “Republicans must defund and totally disassociate themselves from NPR & PBS, the radical left ‘monsters’ that so badly hurt our country!”

According to news coverage by the BBC, more than 40 million Americans listen to NPR public radio each week, and 36 million watch a local television station from the PBS network each month, according to their estimates.

The order reads in part:

“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.

“At the very least, Americans have the right to expect that if their tax dollars fund public broadcasting at all, they fund only fair, accurate, unbiased, and nonpartisan news coverage. No media outlet has a constitutional right to taxpayer subsidies, and the Government is entitled to determine which categories of activities to subsidize. The CPB’s governing statute reflects principles of impartiality: the CPB may not “contribute to or otherwise support any political party.” 47 U.S.C. 396(f)(3); see also id. 396(e)(2).

“The CPB fails to abide by these principles to the extent it subsidizes NPR and PBS. Which viewpoints NPR and PBS promote does not matter. What does matter is that neither entity presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens.

“I therefore instruct the CPB Board of Directors (CPB Board) and all executive departments and agencies (agencies) to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS."

The CPB administers $535 million in taxpayer funds annually to PBS and NPR stations, who provide a range of free, accessible news, educational and entertainment programming, as well as emergency alerting. The service is particularly well-received in rural areas that lack access to broadband or multichannel video services.

At a Congressional hearing in March, Ed Ullman, president and CEO of Alaska Public Media, defended public broadcasting’s importance, especially in rural areas.

“In many parts of Alaska and communities throughout the country, public media is often the only locally operated, locally controlled broadcasting service. We are more than ‘nice to have.’ We are essential, especially in remote and rural places where commercial broadcasting cannot succeed.”

Patricia Harrison, President and CEO of CPB, issued the following statement:

“CPB is not a federal executive agency subject to the President’s authority. Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government.

“In creating CPB, Congress expressly forbade ‘any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over educational television or radio broadcasting, or over [CPB] or any of its grantees or contractors…’ 47 U.S.C. § 398(c).”

Katherine Maher, NPR President and CEO, also responded, saying "NPR stands by the excellence and commitment of our journalists, staff, and Member organizations to seek out stories that matter to the American public, that reflect every part of the diversity of our nation, and that bring affairs of the world to our audiences."

"We stand by our high standards and our colleagues in their pursuit of factual reporting, their work to present issues fairly and without bias, and our effort to seek the humanity and human consequence of every story," she added. "We will strongly defend our work and our editorial independence and will continue to tell the stories of our country and the world with accuracy, objectivity, and fairness.

Several weeks ago, the administration asked Congress for $1.1 billion in funding cuts to CPB. That request was made on April 15 and would have to be approved by Congress within 45 days (May 30) after it is formally proposed. This order appears to be an attempt to nullify that proposal and shut down federal funding to the broadcasters altogether without Congressional approval.

Earlier this week, the CPB filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from firing three of its board members, claiming the president has no power to do so.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr supports the moves to defund public broadcasting and has ordered an investigation into how sponsorships are handled.

“For my own part, I do not see a reason why Congress should continue sending taxpayer dollars to NPR and PBS given the changes in the media marketplace since the passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967,” the chairman said when issuing the order at the end of January.

MoveOn launched a petition calling on Congress to protect public broadcasting has surpassed 36,000 signatures by 3 p.m. ET on Friday, May 2. The petition is available here.

This is a developing story.

Radio World Editor in Chief Paul McLane contributed to this story.

WASHINGTON—The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from firing three of its board members, claiming the president has no power to do so.

The president does nominate CPB board members, who must be confirmed by the Senate.

On April 28, the Trump administration moved to fire three of five CPB board members, Tom Rothman, Diane Kaplan and Laura Ross. In response, on Tuesday, April 29, the CPB, its board of directors and the three board members filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to stop the terminations. The judge has issued a temporary restraining order stopping the firings until both sides have presented their legal arguments.

The firings escalate an ongoing dispute between the Trump administration and Republican members of Congress who have been attacking public media for political bias and attempting to cut all funding to the CPB and public media.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr has joined in the effort by calling for the end of funding to CPB. The regulatory agency has opened an investigation into PBS and NPR sponsorship revenues.

In the court brief, the plaintiffs cite extensive legal arguments that the CPB was created as an independent private company to protect it from partisan political interference.

“As set forth in the Act, government guidance, and well-established legal precedent, the CPB was created by Congress to expressly be ‘a private corporation [to] be created to facilitate the development of public telecommunications and to afford maximum protection from extraneous interference and control,’ ” the brief contended. “To ensure that CPB was insulated from partisan governmental interference and control and ensure its autonomy, Congress expressly provided various protections, including that: CPB is not a federal agency subject to the president’s authority, but rather a private corporation.”

The brief also argues that the legislation creating the CBP stipulates it “will not be an agency or establishment of the United States Government. The Corporation shall be subject to the provisions of this section, and, to the extent consistent with this section, to the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act.”

In addition, the plaintiffs argue, “CPB’s Board members are not officers of the United States, and thus are not within the removal provisions of Article II of the Constitution” and that the CPB board members and staff are not employees of the U.S. government. It also stressed that CPB is not listed as an agency of the U.S. government.

“Even the United States Government Manual, which has been published for over 80 years by the National Archives and Records Administration, itself being an executive agency, and which provides information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches, does not even mention the CPB anywhere among its listing of governmental and quasi-governmental agencies covering over 2,000 pages for the obvious reason that CPB is a private, non-profit corporation that is not subject to control by the Executive Branch,” the brief argued.

The full brief can be found here.

Leaders of the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio appeared before the “DOGE subcommittee” on Wednesday in a congressional hearing in which the public broadcasters were severely criticized over programming and reporting that Republicans criticized as no longer trustworthy.

Although not yet annual, congressional hearings over public broadcast funding happen periodically on Capitol Hill and give both sides of the aisle a chance to air the latest culture war attacks on the opposition. The most famous hearing on public broadcasting occurred just after its launch, when in 1969, Fred Rogers appeared before Congress and explained how his show helps children grow emotionally and intellectually. His testimony was so eloquently delivered that one of his staunchest opponents on the subcommittee reversed his position immediately after Rogers spoke.

Alas, there was no Fred Rogers—or even Big Bird—on Capitol Hill yesterday so the heads of NPR and PBS, along with the head of Alaska Public Media—were left to defend the current state of public broadcasting on their own.

'Child Abuse'
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) opened the hearing by attacking PBS for airing what she thinks is objectional content. After discussing a show about transgenderism that aired on PBS, Greene accused the network of “child abuse” and claimed that the public’s rejection of transgender issues played a major role in President Trump’s “landslide” election win in November.

“PBS is one of the founders of the trans child abuse industry, all while taking taxpayer money brainwashing,” she said. “Transient children is an issue so hated by parents across the country that it was a driving force in the landslide Republican and Trump victory in the 2024 election cycle and presidential race.”

She went on to say that “the news that these entities produced is either resented or increasingly tuned out and turned off by most of the hard working Americans who are forced to pay for it. They no longer view NPR and PBS as trusted news sources. As a matter of fact, to these people, they're a threat.”

To illustrate her point, Greene displayed several screenshots of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and several Democratic Congress members appearing to give hand gestures that could be interpreted as the Nazi “seig heil” salute, and compared them to news coverage when Elon Musk appeared to give the same salute at Trump’s inauguration.

“When Elon Musk put his hand over his heart and extended it and told the American people his heart goes out to them, PBS News posted the clip, calling it a fascist Nazi salute and described how it was similar to the Seig Heil used by Nazis at their victory rallies,” Greene said. “Not once did PBS or NPR report on the numerous accounts of Democrats making the same gesture. AOC, Kamala Harris, Barack Obama, Elizabeth Warren, somebody that lost a presidential race. Hillary Clinton, Tim Walz… why wasn't this treated exactly the same way? Well, is there not a standard in journalism today? Apparently, not.”

“I hear, respect and understand your concerns regarding bias,” responded Katherine Maher, Chief Executive Officer and President, National Public Radio, adding that “it is critical for [the] NPR newsroom to operate with the highest journalistic standards. That means that they do their jobs independently and as CEO, I have no editorial role at NPR.

“In other words, I do not decide what we cover or how we cover it,” Maher continued. “I lead NPR strategy ensuring we have resources and policies in place to serve all Americans, not just those with a specific point of view. I was brought into NPR to revive and reorient the organization and bring public media to a wider audience, a new generation and new platforms. We have a responsibility to serve Americans across the full political spectrum in a trustworthy, non partisan fashion.”

Changing Media Landscape
In addition to cultural issues, funding for public broadcasting was also brought into question in light of the rapid changes in how TV and radio are consumed by Americans today. With numerous streaming options and podcasts available on demand, questioning the value of public broadcasting in this new landscape is a legitimate concern.

Again, the arguments from both sides fell on predictable angles, with Democrats supporting the value of public television in strengthening local educational and community resources—particularly in rural areas—and Republicans questioning why taxpayer funds should be used to report what they consider “biased” news coverage and educational programming that is replicated elsewhere.

“PBS stations are focused on the needs and interests of the viewers they serve, especially in rural areas,” said PBS Paula Kerger, Chief Executive Officer and President for PBS. “PBS stations are the only outlet providing coverage of local events, for example, high school sports, local history and culture content, candidate debates at every level of the election, ballot and specialized agricultural news. Local stations also partner with other community organizations to address issues of concern, like Veterans Affairs and the opioid crisis. Finally, communities depend on the essential public safety information and emergency alerts our local stations provide. Our programming comes from our local stations.”

Maher noted that “the rise of podcasting has established a competitive free market for audio, news and information, and every day, I am honored to know that we have 43 million listeners from every state in the nation.

“Amidst this competition, local stations choose to become members of NPR for the value we provide,” Maher added. “For example, we are the only non pay walled news outlet with a dedicated reporter covering veterans issues. While NPR is only 25% of station programming on average, audiences for NPR bring the scale and revenue that subsidize essential local programming. Local public media journalism has never been more important to American families who consider it part of the fabric of their communities. It correlates with higher rates of civic engagement, greater civic cohesion and economic advantages, such as better municipal bond ratings. Recent independent polling found that more than 60% of all Americans and more than half of Republicans trust public broadcasting to deliver fact based news.”

Telling Conservatives to 'Get Lost'
Mike Gonzalez from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, excoriated public broadcasting for wasting money and being irrelevant in today’s fiscal environment. He prefaced his criticism by saying that his views were his own and didn’t represent those of his employer.

“For decades, they've asked for more money while telling conservatives to get lost,” Gonzales said. “But the nation today is in a very different place, with $36 trillion in debt. And more importantly, we're seeing not just a shift in our cultural vibe, but a shift in societal paradigms through their greatest bias; NPR and PBS have violated the public trust.”

Ed Ullman, president and CEO of Alaska Public Media defended public broadcasting’s importance, especially in rural areas.

“The people of Alaska rely on public media to provide free, universal access to essential services and public safety, education and community connections,” he told the committee. “This includes potentially life saving alerts, updates on community affairs, coverage of state and local government, proven educational content, engagement services and local and national news. In many parts of Alaska and communities throughout the country, public media is often the only locally operated, locally controlled broadcasting service. We are more than nice to have. We are essential, especially in remote and rural places where commercial broadcasting cannot succeed.”

NPR 'Not News'
Rep. Jim Comer (R-Ky.) spoke about how he used to listen to NPR decades ago when working on a farm in Kentucky, adding that now “I don't even recognize the station anymore.”

“It's not news, I feel like it's propaganda,” Comer said. “I feel like there's disinformation every time I listen to NPR. And, you know, a media entity like MSNBC or Huffington Post that, in my opinion, consistently spews disinformation; they can do that, they're a private company. But NPR gets federal funds and I have a problem with that, because if people in Alaska, if all they have is Public Radio, then all they know is what these headlines say, and they're wrong.”

In fiscal year 2025, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was appropriated $535 million from Congress to fund both PBS and NPR. Maher defended the value of public broadcasting and outlined where the money goes.

“The vast majority of federal dollars—more than $100 million of the $121 million annual appropriation for public radio goes directly to 386 local, non commercial stations across the nation,” Maher said. “This highly efficient investment enables your local stations to raise an average of $7 for every federal dollar.

“As a grantee of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, NPR received federal funding of $11.2 million last year,” Maher added. “These funds allow us to maintain the National Public Radio satellite system helping safeguard our national security, civil defense and disaster response and enabling public radio to reach every corner of America. Additionally, these funds help protect journalists covering our troops overseas and reverse the decline of local journalism.”

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr recently announced that the commission was opening an investigation into PBS and NPR running commercials, something that is prohibited by the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. When asked about this allegation, both public broadcast officials replied that their organizations are following the law.

“We are in full compliance with the FCC inquiry and will continue to cooperate,” said Ms Kerger.

“We are underwriting announcements, and we believe we are in full compliance with the FCC, and we look forward to delivering the material required in this part of this investigation,” replied Ms. Maher.

Is Elmo a 'Commie?'
In an attempt to inject some humor into the two-plus hour hearing, several members of the subcommittee peppered Ms. Kerger and Ms. Maher with rhetorical questions designed to illustrate what they considered the absurd allegations made by their opponents. One came from a Republican on the committee.

“Ms. Kerger, the American people want to know, is Elmo now, or has he ever been a member of the Communist Party of the United States? A yes or no. Now, are you sure, because he's obviously red,” asked Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.). “He also has a very dangerous message about sharing and helping each other. He's indoctrinating our kids that sharing is caring. Now maybe he's part of a major socialist plot, and maybe that's why the chairwoman is having this hearing today."

When asked about whether Health Secretary RFK Jr.'s campaign against fast food and baked goods is silencing Cookie Monster, Kerger replied that "cookies are a sometime food."

“I agree with you, and let's also talk about the most important character on Sesame Street, Big Bird," Garcia added. "Now, since Elon Musk actually fired USDA workers who have been working on the bird flu, does it make sense to also fire Big Bird? Yes or no?”

Mr. Kerger replied that “We would like to keep Big Bird.”

Rep. Gregorio Eduardo Casar, (D-Texas) complained that the subcommittee was wasting its time and instead should be investigating the man who created “DOGE.”

“The total funding for public broadcasting is just 1/6 the amount that Elon Musk's companies make off of the government every single year. But you will not see Elon Musk being grilled by this committee,” he said. “If we want to look into waste, fraud and abuse, why not look into that?

"Elon Musk, who's running cabinet meetings, who's running the White House, was trying to funnel money to himself," Casar added. "So let's stop investigating Cookie Monster and start investigating how the Trump administration lied about this and was trying to funnel money to their biggest political supporter. Maybe you're trying to defund NPR because they expose this kind of corruption.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement criticizing the committee's allegations. “Casting them as propaganda machines undeserving of taxpayer support is a dangerous mischaracterization that threatens to rob Americans of the vital reporting they need to make decisions about their lives,” said Jodie Ginsberg, the committee’s CEO.

WASHINGTON—Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr has sent a letter to the heads of PBS and NPR telling them the agency’s Enforcement Bureau is opening an investigation into the airing of sponsorships on public stations.

In an unprecedented move for an FCC chair, Carr also said he supported the elimination of Federal funding for public broadcasters, writing: “For my own part, I do not see a reason why Congress should continue sending taxpayer dollars to NPR and PBS given the changes in the media marketplace since the passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967.”

Congress actually funds the Corporation of Public Broadcasters, not PBS or NPR.

The letter was immediately attacked by the two Democratic commissioners. Commissioner Anna M. Gomez wrote: “This appears to be yet another Administration effort to weaponize the power of the FCC. The FCC has no business intimidating and silencing broadcast media.”

Commissioner Geoffrey Starks argued: “Public television and radio stations play a significant role in our media ecosystem. Any attempt to intimidate these local media outlets is a threat to the free flow of information and the marketplace of ideas. The announcement of this investigation gives me serious concern.”

Both PBS and NPR issued statements saying they are in compliance with existing underwriting regulations.

In a letter to the heads of PBS and NPR, Carr said he was “writing to inform you that I have asked the FCC's Enforcement Bureau to open an investigation regarding the airing of NPR and PBS programming across your broadcast member stations … As you know, NPR and PBS distribute their programming through a network of approximately 1,500 NPR and PBS member broadcast stations. The relevant broadcast stations, which are licensed to operate by the FCC, are limited by the terms of their federal authorizations to operating as noncommercial educational broadcast stations- or NCES. Federal law prohibits any NCE station from running commercial advertisements.”

“I am concerned that NPR and PBS broadcasts could be violating federal law by airing Commercials,” Carr wrote. “In particular, it is possible that NPR and PBS member stations are broadcasting underwriting announcements that cross the line into prohibited commercial advertisements. It is important to me, as chairman of the FCC, that NCE broadcast stations stay true to their important missions and refrain from operating as noncommercial in name only.”

In the letter, Carr also threatened that the sponsorships could lead to a cutoff of federal funding for the stations and said he supported cutting off funding for public broadcasting.

“I will be providing a copy of this letter to relevant Members of Congress because I believe this FCC investigation may prove relevant to an ongoing legislative debate,” he wrote. “In particular, Congress is actively considering whether to stop requiring taxpayers to subsidize NPR and PBS programming. For my own part, I do not see a reason why Congress should continue sending taxpayer dollars to NPR and PBS given the changes in the media marketplace since the passage ofthe Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. To the extent that these taxpayer dollars are being used to support a for profit endeavor or an entity that is airing commercial advertisements, then that would further undermine any case for continuing to fund NPR and PBS with taxpayer dollars.”

In a statement NPR president and CEO Katherine Maher insisted that "NPR programming and underwriting messaging complies with federal regulations, including the FCC guidelines on underwriting messages for noncommercial educational broadcasters, and Member stations are expected to be in compliance as well. We are confident any review of our programming and underwriting practices will confirm NPR's adherence to these rules. We have worked for decades with the FCC in support of noncommercial educational broadcasters who provide essential information, educational programming, and emergency alerts to local communities across the United States."

WASHINGTON—LPTV Channel 6 stations aren’t the monsters that NPR argued they were and should be allowed to remain operating on analog radio signals, says the Preserve Community Programming Coalition (PCPC) in a filing to the FCC.

The FCC Media Bureau had previously requested comments on whether analog LPTV stations should be able to continue to program an analog radio service on 87.7 FM after the final digital television conversion deadline, currently set for July 2021. NPR filed comments in which it said that these Franken FMs, as it referred to LPTV Channel 6 stations, caused “harmful interference to public radio stations operating in the immediately adjacent FM band.”

Now PCPC, a group of FM Channel 6 broadcasters, has submitted a filing of its own refuting NPR’s arguments, saying that “although many of these stations have been broadcasting analog audio carriers on 87.7 FM for more than a decade, the record does not include a single instance of actual, unresolved interference resulting from such operations. Furthermore, there is no dispute that the FCC can easily modify its rules to ensure that these existing services can continue after the digital transition.”

PCPC notes in its filing that NPR, a programmer, and the low power FM advocacy groups REC Networks and Common Frequency have been LPTV Channel 6 stations’ strongest opposition. It says only one full power FM licensee (California State University Long Beach Research Foundation and Educational Media Foundation) has commented, in which it says any concerns about interference to adjacent FM stations are unfounded or can be mitigated.

NPR also argued that the services provided by these LPTV stations don’t serve the public interest because the programming—sports, contemporary, religious and foreign-language broadcasts—are offered by other FM stations. 

“This is the equivalent of arguing that NPR-member station WNYC does not serve the public interest because it is one of five stations with news/talk format serving the New York area,” PCPC said. “Just as NPR-member stations provide unique programming and services to serve their communities in ways that other stations with similar formats do not, so too do analog channel 6 TV stations providing aural programming on 87.7 FM.”

PCPC believes that the FCC should authorize currently operating analog LPTV Channel 6 stations to continue transmissions at 87.7 MHz without interruption after the digital transition deadline passes.

The full filing can be found online. 

WASHINGTON—Insinuating a connection between Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, National Public Radio wants to see an end to low-power television Channel 6 stations from using analog FM radio services and has asked the FCC to refuse future authorization of such use of what are called “Franken FM” stations.

NPR filed its comments in response to the FCC Media Bureau’s request for feedback on whether analog LPTV stations should be able to continue to program an analog radio service—available on the FM dial (87.7)—after the final digital television conversion deadline.

NPR says that LPTVs’ use of radio airwaves can occupy 30x the spectrum a traditional FM station would use and would cause problems if permitted to continue to operate on analog.

“Franken FMs pose an ongoing threat of harmful interference to public radio stations operating in the immediately adjacent FM band reserved for noncommercial educational broadcast stations,” NPR’s comments to the FCC read. “Moreover, the grossly inefficient use of spectrum adjacent to the NCE reserved FM band ultimate prevents public radio stations from expanding their signal coverage or otherwise offering a multiplicity of additional public service programming for the American public.”

LPTVs believe that these concerns are exaggerated.

“There [are] currently over 20 LPTV stations transmitting analog audio carriers available on 87.7 FM, yet the LPTV-C is not aware of any outstanding (not resolved to satisfaction of the listener) complaints about actual interference between the audio signal transmitted by these analog LPTV stations and nearby FM stations on Channels 201 or 202,” the LPTV Group's Mike Gravino told the FCC. “However, if the commission chooses to be overly cautious, it can adopt both contour overlap restrictions and prohibitions on actual interference that would eliminate any theoretical risk of interference between 87.7 FM audio carrier and nearby NCE FM stations. In everyday, real-world operating conditions, the current or proposed expanded 87.7 FM services will not cause impermissible interference to other broadcast licensees in their markets.”

LPTVs also have argued that their stations benefit unserved or under-served audiences, though NPR counters that these stations typically offer country, contemporary, Spanish language, religious and sports programming, areas that it says are well served by FM radio stations.

This can all be traced back to the digital conversion of 2009. At that time, full power stations were required to go all digital, but the FCC allowed LPTVs to continue to broadcast in analog until 12 months after the completion of the post-incentive auction repack. The auction is currently scheduled to be completed on July 3, 2020, giving LPTVs until July 3, 2021, to switch completely to digital.

NPR, in its argument, says that its position of ending operation of Franken FMs is supported by the Communications Act, FCC regulations and federal communications and spectrum policy. If LPTVs were allowed to continue Franken FM operations, “[the FCC] would have to develop additional rules to govern these Franken FM services to avoid interference to adjacent reserved band NCE FM stations and to assure reception of the LPTV’s primary video service by DTV receivers.”

NPR concludes the commission would better serve the public by reaffirming the DTV conversion deadline.

WASHINGTON--Noncommercial educational (NCE) TV stations want the FCC to end the mandatory three-year satellite election of most-carry status by noncommercial TV stations, saying it is both unnecessary and that DBS providers have used it as a loophole through which to drop carriage.

That came in comments to the FCC on its ongoing effort to modernize media regs.

In those comments, PBS, NPR, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and America's Public Television Stations said that given that noncommercial TV stations can't, unlike commercial stations, elect retransmission consent--and obviously want DirecTV and Dish to carry them--the election is simply a rote process.

They point out that there is no similar three-year election for cable carriage, which simply continues indefinitely unless there is a change in circumstance that modifies the must-carry agreement.

"The DBS rules should be aligned with the cable rules to permit a one-time election that continues for as long as the station remains qualified for carriage," they said.

In addition, they argue that, in at least a "handful of cases, each three-year cycle, the requirements "turn out to be a trap for the unwary NCE-TV station, resulting in the loss of DBS carriage in the station’s market for the next three years."

Broadcasters and cable operators are on the same page when it comes to the FCC doing lots more looking before leaping into expanding terrestrial wireless access to the C Band spectrum.

That came in a joint filing that included the American Cable Association and NCTA-The Internet & Television Association, the National Association of Broadcasters and NPR.

They point out in a joint letter to the commission that video and audio programming delivered via the C Band serves 142 million Americans, representing what they called "the backbone of the infrastructure for delivering video content to American consumers.”

[Read: NAB, NTA Object To C Band Wireless Service Use]

The FCC sought input on the band as part of the MOBILE NOW Act requirement it produce a report on expanding access, as well as in its Notice of Inquiry on expanding use of midband spectrum.

To make the point that the FCC still has a lot of questions to answer, they listed more than 40 in their letter, including how interference risks would be mitigated if the band is repacked; how the FCC determines whether or not they will be effective; how big would the guard band between new wireless users and incumbent broadcast and cable users; how incumbents would be compensated if the band is repacked and spectrum auctioned to wireless; what costs would be reimbursed; and the veritable host of others.

The bottom line, they say, is that "much more information is required before the commission can make an informed decision."

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