All that’s left now is the President’s signature, and the $1.1 billion set aside for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will be clawed back. This represents about 10 percent of the budget for local PBS stations and about 6 percent for local NPR radio stations. It’s obviously a huge blow, although stations in Boston, Chicago, and New York will survive — likely with some budget cuts.
Stations in large rural areas, however, may not, which means that children in these regions may no longer receive the educational programming from PBS, nor the local news and emergency alerts provided by NPR affiliates. “Nearly 3-in-4 Americans say they rely on their public radio stations for alerts and news for their public safety,” NPR CEO Katherine Maher said in a statement.
It’s something Republicans have been threatening to do for years, but the votes have always ultimately fallen short. This time, however, the President essentially threatened to primary any Republican Congressperson who didn’t vote for it, ultimately paving the way for its passage. (In addition to the $1.1 billion in funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, they’ve also withdrawn around $8 billion in foreign aid.)
These stations have already endured several rounds of budget cuts in recent years (KQED in San Francisco cut 15 percent of its workforce just this week), and NPR clearly made some efforts in its news coverage to appease the White House — all to no avail. Appeasement is impossible with this President, who believes these stations are biased against him because facts are biased against him, and NPR had a habit of reporting them.
I do hope that NPR, at least, will reconsider those efforts now that federal funding has been pulled. It may help with those funding drives. I, for one, would be more likely to overpay for one of those NPR tote bags if stations were more like the NPR of old.
It may also be worth noting that estimates, so far, to turn Alcatraz back into a workable prison are around $2 billion, which is obviously more than the federal government provided to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Julie Soto wrote a Harry Potter fanfiction then had it published as original. Romance fans are divided.
Kayleigh Donaldson |
Books |
July 17, 2025 |
