Defunding NPR and PBS passed the Senate — and it’s a direct hit to rural America

As feared, President Donald Trump, with the help of Congress, is making good on his threat to cut federal funding for NPR, PBS and other public broadcasting.

It’s a dark day for journalism, the free press and, perhaps most importantly, everyday Americans who are going to feel the effects of what happened Thursday.

OK, so what happened? My Poynter colleagues Angela Fu and Sophie Endrud have the details in “Senate advances deep cuts to public media funding.” (The House is expected to pass the bill, too, if they didn’t already overnight).

Essentially, the government is withdrawing nearly $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which represents two years worth of funding. The reason? Trump and Republicans believe there is a liberal bias when it comes to the programming and journalism provided by NPR and PBS.

Fu and Endrud wrote, “Republicans have long criticized the federal government’s support of public broadcasting, but this is an especially precarious moment for outlets. While federal funding makes up roughly 1% and 16% of NPR’s and PBS’ budgets respectively, many smaller local stations are heavily reliant on federal support. That is especially true in rural areas.”

So let’s start there.

The biggest impact is going to be on smaller stations in rural areas because the vast majority of CPB funding goes to those stations. As Fu and Endrud noted, “​​Alaska, for example, has two public radio stations that receive more than 90% of their funding from CPB.”

And here’s the irony of it all – while Republicans are complaining about a perceived liberal bias, the smaller stations most affected by the cuts aren’t doing the kind of national stories that conservatives are complaining about. They’re doing stories and covering topics about issues that affect their local communities. That’s why Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, in part, voted against the package even though they are both Republicans. They come from areas that rely on coverage from public broadcasting.

NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher told CBS News that “defunding this is a real risk to the public safety of the country.” She added, “Public media, public radio, public television, are a critical part of the emergency response plans of nearly half of the states in this nation. If these types of emergency alerting go away, you will have fewer outlets to be able to respond in real time.”

Some thought that the tragedy of the Texas floods was a very clear reminder to Congress of the need for properly functioning emergency alerts and local coverage.

In an email to Poynter, Maher said that nearly 75% of Americans report relying on their public radio stations for public safety information. She pointed to a 7.3 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Alaska on Wednesday as an example. Three nearby stations started broadcasting tsunami warnings, and local sirens included a voice message instructing residents to listen to local radio.

Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada told her colleagues on Wednesday, “For years, public broadcasting has been essential to keeping Americans informed during severe weather and environment threats, and broader public safety situations.”

She referenced a wildfire last year in Nevada. Though the local CBS affiliate lost its transmitter, local authorities used public broadcasting stations to keep residents informed.

Fu and Endrud wrote, “Without CPB funds, some local stations may go dark. Those closures would in turn affect NPR and PBS, which receive dues and fees from local stations within their network. At NPR, fees from member stations make up roughly 31% of the budget, and at PBS, that figure is 61%. Public broadcasters that survive CPB’s defunding, either national or local, may have to cut programming and execute layoffs.”

That could ultimately lead to non-news shows feeling the effects — such as kids shows, music programs and documentaries.

Now, about the Republican claim of liberal bias from NPR and PBS.

Can you find a story here or there on programs such as PBS’s “NewsHour” or NPR’s “All Things Considered” that could be perceived as skewing left? Perhaps. No news organization is perfect. But such stories are extremely rare and certainly not intentionally biased.

Now, do those news programs do stories that are completely fair and accurate in reporting the facts, which Trump and the right do not like? Absolutely. But an administration going after those networks because it doesn’t like their coverage and programming should be deeply concerning to the public. In fact, anything that targets a free and open press – a pillar of a functioning democracy — should be alarming.

To keep eliminating or suing or criticizing or defunding media outlets because you don’t like the coverage is the type of thing you see in places where the only media available is state run. In those places, the state media isn’t journalism. It’s propaganda.

Bill Siemering, 91, was a founding member of NPR’s board and a key figure in the network’s creation, wrote The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin. “This is an example of government trying to insert itself into the editorial process of independent journalism. Editors can’t wonder if some politician may not like coverage of a story, or story selection. This is why the Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding is allocated two years ahead. … This is a terrible attempt to try to wipe out a service based on various kinds of coverage.”

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Amber Phillips, author of the excellent Washington Post newsletter “The 5-Minute Fix,” made a strong point about the latest salvo in Trump’s never-ending war against the press.

Phillips wrote, “Trump has spent his entire time in national politics denigrating and trying to degrade the media. In his second term, he’s transforming his words into actions.”

Defunding public broadcasting follows up his various lawsuits against places such as ABC News and Paramount (CBS News), his dismantling of Voice of America and punishing the Associated Press because they call the body of water between Florida and Texas the “Gulf of Mexico.” And, of course, there are his constant verbal attacks, such as calling the media “fake news” and “enemy of the people,” all in an attempt to rally his base and sow distrust in the media.

Phillips wrote, “Press freedom is freedom. Experts say this type of interference is a big step toward the government controlling the flow of information and, in an authoritarian state, much of the rest of society.”

Stunning late night news

In a shocking announcement, CBS late night host Stephen Colbert announced Thursday that “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” will end next May. Not only is Colbert’s run as a CBS late-night host coming to an end after 10 years, but CBS also is retiring “The Late Show,” which started with David Letterman back in 1993.

Colbert made the announcement to his late-night audience on Thursday. Many in the crowd booed and yelled, “Nooooo.” Colbert paused and said, “Yeah, I share your feelings.”

The audience booed more when Colbert told them that he wouldn't be replaced. He then thanked CBS, the viewers, the audience, the band and all the staffers who worked on the show.

CBS executives said the decision was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.”

They added, “It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount. Our admiration, affection and respect for the talents of Stephen Colbert and his incredible team made this agonizing decision even more difficult.”

Still, the timing is rather suspicious. The decision, which Colbert said he learned about just Wednesday night, comes mere days after Colbert blasted CBS’s owners, Paramount, for settling its lawsuit with President Donald Trump. On his show Monday, Colbert said in his monologue, “I am offended. I don’t know if anything — anything — will repair my trust in this company. But, just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16 million would help.”

Sixteen million is the amount Paramount agreed to pay Trump — which Colbert called a “big, fat bribe.”

California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, who was a guest on Colbert’s show Thursday, tweeted, “Just finished taping with Stephen Colbert who announced his show was cancelled. If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.”

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted, “CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump – a deal that looks like bribery. America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.”

While the timing is curious, network late-night TV is long past the golden days of Letterman, Jay Leno and, before that, Johnny Carson.

The New York Times’ John Koblin wrote, “Mr. Colbert’s abrupt cancellation is the latest in a series of profound changes to the world of late-night television. The genre has been struggling as the majority of the country migrates in droves to streaming entertainment and away from traditional broadcast and cable television. Last month, streaming overtook broadcast and cable as the leading distribution method for video entertainment for the first time. The number of late-night shows has dwindled in recent years. So much so that earlier in the week the Emmys awarded only three nominations for best talk show because of a lack of submissions. Six years ago, the category had double the number of nominees. The genre has also experienced a sharp decline in advertising revenue in recent years.”

Still, there will be plenty more to talk about in the days and weeks ahead. For now, check out more from Variety’s Brian Steinberg.

Media news, tidbits and interesting links for your weekend review

• The Wall Street Journal’s Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo dropped this exclusive bombshell Thursday evening: “Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump.”
• CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski and Brian Stelter with “Top oversight Democrat sends letter to Fox News demanding answers on edits to Trump’s 2024 Epstein comments.”
• I love this Venn diagram and smartly-executed story in The New York Times from Karen Yourish and Lily Boyce: “Trump Insists the Epstein Case Is a Hoax. Here’s What His Supporters Say.”
• This is a really insightful and important column about the economic relationship between the U.S., Brazil and China by The New York Times’ Lydia Polgreen: “Trump Is Doing Something No One Wants.”
• The Washington Post’s Brianna Tucker and Niha Masih with “Barack and Michelle Obama address divorce rumors in podcast episode.” Michelle Obama said, “There hasn’t been one moment in our marriage where I’ve thought about quitting on my man. And we’ve had some really hard times and we’ve had a lot of fun times, a lot of adventures, and I have become a better person because of the man I’m married to.”
• Axios’ Sara Fischer with “Meta names Connor Hayes head of Threads.”
• Another major departure at The Washington Post as columnist Philip Bump announced on Bluesky that he has accepted a buyout. He said he isn’t sure what he’ll do next. Bump is really good, so this is another blow to the Post.
• After reports earlier this week that the sides were talking, Fox Sports has reached a deal with Barstool Sports. Barstool founder Dave Portnoy will appear on Fox’s college football pregame show, “Big Noon,” and Barstool is expected to have its own pregame show that will air before “Big Noon.”  In addition, and more interestingly, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand writes, “On weekdays, Portnoy and top personalities, like Portnoy and Dan (Big Cat) Katz, will part of a Barstool-produced daily show on FS1 that is expected to compete directly with ESPN’s ‘Get Up,’ hosted by Mike Greenberg, and Stephen A. Smith’s ‘First Take.’”
• David Cho has been named editor-in-chief of CNBC. Cho was most recently the editor-in-chief of Barron’s and head of editorial content for Dow Jones wealth and investing. He also spent two decades at The Washington Post. His resume also includes The Star-Ledger, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Korea Herald.
• The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin and Jessica Testa with “Substack Raises $100 Million, Betting on Subscriptions but Coming Around to Ads.”
• CNBC’s Dylan Butts with “AI-generated music is going viral. Should the music industry be worried?”
• Media Nation’s Dan Kennedy with “An assault on the First Amendment? Yes. But also a lesson in the ethics of reporting police news.”
• My Poynter colleague, Kristen Hare, with “Journalism changes. Good writing advice doesn’t.”
• And speaking of good writing, be sure to check out the latest episode of “The Poynter Report Podcast” and my conversation with longtime Poynter faculty member and “America’s Writing Coach” Roy Peter Clark.

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Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].
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