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Funding cuts prompt warnings from local NPR station execs, but work will continue, they say
Trump's executive order instructed agencies to terminate all funding for NPR and PBS.
Local NPR station executives warn that President Donald Trump’s order to slash federal funding for NPR and PBS could gut essential news and education services for millions.
On Thursday, the Trump administration issued an executive order directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to cease funding PBS and NPR immediately. A statement from the White House accused the two organizations of being “entities that receive tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds each year to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.'”
However, it remains unclear if the president can make these orders to the CPB under the law. NPR says Congress allocates federal funding for CPB and specifies how agencies must spend it over two-year cycles. Congress has already approved financing for CPB through 2027.
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The loss of federal funding would be a “crippling blow” for those who rely on the station for news and education, especially children, wrote GBH President and CEO Susan Goldberg in a letter to donors on Friday.
Goldberg wrote that shows such as “Arthur,” “Work It Out Wombats!,” and “Molly of Denali” would be at risk, just as children are falling behind in math and reading, and more than half don’t have access to Pre-K education.
Goldberg added that, across the country, it would also eliminate vital local news outlets when newspapers close at a rate of one a week and social platforms don’t provide basic fact-checking.
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“We will fight to protect the right of current and future generations to enjoy, learn, and be informed through the free public access we provide to the highest quality programming, news and information,” Goldberg wrote.
Even if Trump successfully eliminates the funds, Goldberg said GBH will continue to create content and cover local news.
“There will still be GBH, of this I can assure you, and we are still going to create the programming that we create now and our fabulous local news operation,” she told Boston Public Radio on Friday.
Goldberg said, “We’ve got to keep doing the important work that is essential to our communities,” no matter what happens.
GBH produces local news and national programs such as “Frontline,” “American Experience,” and “Antiques Roadshow,” and was recently nominated for 18 Emmys.
“Our content is needed, it’s wanted, it’s indispensable, and I couldn’t be more proud,” Goldberg continued.
WBUR Chief Executive Margaret Low, in a letter to donors on Friday, said the implications are unfolding. Still, she wrote, it is clear that “the loss of federal funding could leave millions of people, in red states and blue, without access to public radio.”
According to WBUR, approximately 3% of the station’s annual budget, or $1.6 million, comes from CPB. Public radio stations in smaller markets rely more heavily on federal funds, typically around 10%. NPR receives only about 1% of its budget directly from CPB.
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However, member stations pay NPR fees to syndicate its programming, revenue that makes up about 30% of NPR’s budget. That funding could shrink if stations lose federal support or the executive order blocks them from sending money to NPR.
Low wrote that WBUR could see financial repercussions since it has two nationally distributed programs, “Here and Now” and “On Point.”
Without the federal funding, local stations that air the shows might no longer be able to afford them.
“This means we could lose millions of dollars more in syndication fees,” Low wrote.
In March, Goldberg wrote that about 8% of GBH’s annual revenue comes from CPB.
Although that might not seem like a lot, Goldberg wrote that the media system is interconnected. Federal defunding of CPB would “weaken the entire structure.”
Goldberg wrote that the annual federal appropriation to CPB is $535 million, equating to $1.60 per American per year.
“To my way of thinking, that’s a heck of a bargain for a system that, for the last 50 years, has reached essentially everyone in the country with stories that can make a difference — and help make the world a better place,” Goldberg wrote.
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