PBS Slashes Budget by 21% After Federal Funding Cuts

nytimes.com · last updated August 15, 2025 – 12:10 PM

PBS is cutting its current budget by more than a fifth to deal with Congress’s recent decision to eliminate roughly $500 million in federal funding from public TV and radio, according to a memo from the organization’s chief executive, Paula Kerger.

The decision, announced on Wednesday by Ms. Kerger in an email to PBS station managers, is one of the biggest consequences to date of the congressional vote, which eliminated federal funding and doomed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

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