Corporation for Public Broadcasting announces shutdown following funding loss
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting said it will close following Congress’ decision to strip its current funding and foreclose on future appropriations.
CPB, established by the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, is a nonprofit set up to dole out congressionally appropriated funds to NPR, PBS, and public radio and TV stations around the United States. President Donald Trump launched a successful campaign to claw back the $1.1 billion allocated for the organization for the next two years, a measure he signed into law last month.
At the heart of the campaign was a critique that public media produce news that is biased and too liberal and should not be funded by taxpayer dollars. That argument, long held among many conservatives, finally prevailed thanks to unified Republican government during Trump’s second term.
“Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,” CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a statement. “CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.”
CPB not only served as a funding middleman between Congress and public media stations but also negotiated music rights and procured technical infrastructure on behalf of the stations. That leaves an open question as to what entity, if any, will fill that gap.
The closure was announced one day after the Senate Appropriations Committee released a bill that would zero out funding for CPB.
In a news release, CPB said it told its employees that most positions would be cut on Sept. 30, the final day of the fiscal year, and a small team will stay on to shut down the agency through January, in part because the music licenses they have negotiated expire at the end of December.
“The ripple effects of this closure will be felt across every public media organization and, more importantly, in every community across the country that relies on public broadcasting,” Katherine Maher, CEO of NPR, wrote in a statement.
“We will continue to respond to this crisis by stepping up to support locally owned, nonprofit public radio stations and local journalism across the country, working to maintain public media’s promise of universal service, and upholding the highest standards for independent journalism and cultural programming in service of our nation,” Maher said.
PBS suggested it would step up to fill the void. “As this remarkable institution winds down, PBS is committed to building on CPB’s legacy and maintaining our service to the American people for years to come,” a spokesperson said.