Why this is a pivotal week for public media and democracy
This is a huge week for PBS and NPR.
At some point this week, maybe even today, the Senate will vote on President Donald Trump’s request to take back more than $1 billion in funding for public broadcasting. That includes PBS and NPR.
As my colleague Angela Fu wrote last month when the House passed the bill, “Known formally as a rescissions package, the request targets the $1.07 billion Congress previously approved to fund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through September 2027. CPB, a private nonprofit, in turn distributes the money it receives to NPR, PBS and more than 1,500 local radio and television stations via grants. While CPB funding makes up a relatively small portion of NPR and PBS’ budgets, some local broadcast stations — especially those in rural areas — are heavily dependent on the funds.”
Related Knowledge Center: The White House vs. the press
Whether it’s the Des Moines Register’s publication of an unfavorable election poll, a routine edit of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, or the Associated Press’s decision in its authoritative stylebook to continue to use “Gulf of Mexico,” Donald Trump and the White House have used executive authority and legal reprisals in an effort to punish and suppress press coverage that runs contrary to the administration’s preferred narratives.
Democracy and politics | Signalgate | The CBS submission | Voiceless America
Related Knowledge Center: Free speech and public protest
The First Amendment is facing challenging times: Crackdowns on campus protests prompted both-sides claims of intolerance. Attempts to head off dangerous health misinformation have been characterized as violations of free speech. Donald Trump is publicly punishing news outlets that deviate from his administration’s version of events while privately suing some outlets into submission.
The White House vs. the press | Voiceless America
Related Knowledge Center: State of the business model
The traditional journalism business model has long since collapsed, and news organizations have shrunk or disappeared entirely. While a number of promising experiments are under way, the public has not shown a willingness to buy what news organizations are selling.