By Miriam Waldvogel, The Hill
Congressional Republicans voted to strip more than $1 billion in funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) this week, a move that could force local radio and television stations to consolidate, cut services, or shutter altogether, particularly in rural areas.
The CPB is a publicly funded nonprofit that subsidizes more than 1,500 NPR, PBS, and local radio and television stations across the country. Congress has typically earmarked $535 million annually for the corporation.
The rescissions bill headed to President Trump’s desk would claw back funding for the next two fiscal years.
Walt Gregg manages KUHB in St. Paul, Alaska, located on a small island in the Bering Sea, and KCUK in Chevak, Alaska. He said the stations will be forced to close by next summer if the CPB is shut down.
“Without them, that community doesn’t have anything,” he said. “There’s no local TV, there’s no local newspapers. Some of them barely even have internet, still to this day.”
Stations in major cities would also stand to lose millions, although federal funding accounts for a far smaller share of their budgets.
Here’s how the public media stations across the country stand to be impacted.
Rural stations hit hardest
In 2023, CPB funding accounted for nearly 97 percent of KUHB’s revenue, making it one of the most vulnerable in the country, according to analysis by Alex Curley, a former product manager for NPR who has been collecting data on public media stations on his Substack.
Other vulnerable stations include KCUW in Pendleton, Ore.; KSHI in Zuni Pueblo, N.M.; KNSA in Unalakleet, Alaska; KSDP in Sand Point, Alaska; and KGVA in Harlem, Mont. All these stations serve predominantly Native American communities and rely on CPB funds for at least 80 percent of their annual revenue.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who expressed concerns about how tribal stations would fare under the cuts, said he reached a deal with Trump’s budget office to redirect some unrelated funding to the outlets.
The average radio station in the African-American Public Radio Consortium, meanwhile, relies on the federal government for 28 percent of its budget, Curley estimated.
“The more revenue that you generate, the safer you are. That doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily completely safe, but most of the stations that are at risk, they’re not making a lot of money,” Curley said.
Related:
Here’s how WHYY and other Pa. stations will be impacted
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