The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a long-standing pillar of American culture, announced on Friday its intention to initiate the process of shutting down due to being stripped of funding by Congress. This move signifies the conclusion of an era spanning nearly six decades during which CPB supported the creation of esteemed educational programs, cultural content, and emergency alerts.
Established in 1967, CPB’s impending closure is attributed to U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertions that public media disseminates political and cultural perspectives contradictory to American values. The closure of CPB is anticipated to have a significant impact on the journalistic and cultural landscape, particularly affecting public radio and TV stations in small communities nationwide.
CPB plays a crucial role in financing the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR), with the majority of its funding being channeled to over 1,500 local public radio and television stations across the U.S. The corporation has been intricately linked to numerous iconic programs, ranging from NPR’s All Things Considered to classics like Sesame Street, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and the documentaries by Ken Burns.
With its closure set to occur 58 years after its inception, CPB stated that the process would be carried out in an organized manner. The decision to wind down operations followed Congress passing a legislation rescinding CPB’s funding for the next two fiscal years, totaling approximately $1.1 billion US. The Senate appropriations committee solidified this change by excluding CPB funding for the first time in over five decades as part of a broader spending bill.
President and CEO Patricia Harrison expressed deep regret over the situation, acknowledging the efforts made by millions of Americans to preserve federal funding for CPB. Despite a final attempt by Democratic members of the appropriations committee to salvage CPB’s funding, the amendment proposed by Sen. Tammy Baldwin was eventually withdrawn.
CPB informed its employees that most staff positions would be terminated by the end of the fiscal year on September 30, with a small transition team remaining until January to conclude outstanding tasks. The organization highlighted the critical role of public media in American society, emphasizing the importance of educational opportunities, civil discourse, and cultural connections provided to communities nationwide.
The fallout from CPB’s closure is expected to be widespread, particularly impacting NPR stations that rely on federal funding for music licensing fees. This change will necessitate renegotiations of agreements and could notably affect stations focused on music discovery. NPR president and CEO Katherine Maher estimated that a significant portion of classical music broadcast in the U.S. is aired on public radio stations.
Historically, federal funding for public radio and television has been allocated to CPB, which then distributes it to NPR and PBS. A substantial portion of this funding directly supports the numerous PBS and NPR stations scattered across the country. President Trump’s criticisms of CPB as a “monstrosity” and his allegations of liberal bias in public broadcasting have fueled a movement against public media among his supporters in Congress and nationwide.
This shift is part of a broader initiative by the Trump administration to target institutions, especially those in the cultural sphere, deemed to produce content or promote ideologies deemed incompatible with American values.