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Trump plans order to cut funding for NPR and PBS
- Thread starter KilowattKat
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APTS responds to report of proposed rescission to CPB funding - Current
The New York Post first reported on a Trump administration pitch to “clawback” $1.1 billion appropriated to CPB.
current.org
A group representing public TV Stations responds to the proposed plan. However the current CPB Funding is supposed last up to fiscal year 2027. So whatever this is would get CPB sued for violating whatever funds is owed to the local affiliates of PBS and NPR between now to 2027.
We already have lots of threads on this topic. Do we really need more?
As I've said in other threads, CPB gets funding two years in advance specifically to prevent politicians from interfering. The system was created by republicans. The money goes to the states. There is no big bad top-down liberal government agency telling states what to do. It's all decentralized and decided by the states.
cpb.org
If Georgia Public Radio, which is owned and operated by the state government, thinks NPR programming is radical leftist, they can simply stop airing it. They don't need congress to blow the whole thing up for everyone. Just stop airing NPR programming. But that's not the goal here. The president and his party want to shut down the media. They're starting with CPB because of the funding. But that's not where it ends. He also has written he wants to shut down CBS. So they're next.
deadline.com
The attack isn't about saving money. It's about shutting down free speech. It's about government control of what the media says. They aren't hiding it or mincing words. They believe what the media is saying needs to be stopped by whatever means necessary.
As I've said in other threads, CPB gets funding two years in advance specifically to prevent politicians from interfering. The system was created by republicans. The money goes to the states. There is no big bad top-down liberal government agency telling states what to do. It's all decentralized and decided by the states.
Purpose of CPB’s Advance Appropriations
CPB’s two-year advance appropriation dates back to the Public Broadcasting Financing Act of 1975. The two-year advance means that Congress approved CPB’s 2025 funding level during the FY 2023 budget cycle, the 2026 funding during the FY 2024 budget cycle, and the 2027 funding during the FY 2025...
If Georgia Public Radio, which is owned and operated by the state government, thinks NPR programming is radical leftist, they can simply stop airing it. They don't need congress to blow the whole thing up for everyone. Just stop airing NPR programming. But that's not the goal here. The president and his party want to shut down the media. They're starting with CPB because of the funding. But that's not where it ends. He also has written he wants to shut down CBS. So they're next.
Donald Trump Again Lashes Out At CBS And ‘60 Minutes’ And Urges FCC Chair To “Impose The Maximum Fines And Punishment”
He urged his FCC chair to "impose the maximum fines and punishment."
deadline.com
The attack isn't about saving money. It's about shutting down free speech. It's about government control of what the media says. They aren't hiding it or mincing words. They believe what the media is saying needs to be stopped by whatever means necessary.
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True too and also the NPR News article mentioned that the White House put some loaded stuff in his rants about CPB. Everytime l hear that we had to dig between segments and articles the White House, certain allies in Congress and to a certain extent the states don’t want seen nationwide on PBS Newshour, NPR News, PBS Frontline and their local affiliates.We already have lots of threads on this topic. Do we really need more?
As I've said in other threads, CPB gets funding two years in advance specifically to prevent politicians from interfering. The system was created by republicans. The money goes to the states. There is no big bad top-down liberal government agency telling states what to do. It's all decentralized and decided by the states.
Purpose of CPB’s Advance Appropriations
CPB’s two-year advance appropriation dates back to the Public Broadcasting Financing Act of 1975. The two-year advance means that Congress approved CPB’s 2025 funding level during the FY 2023 budget cycle, the 2026 funding during the FY 2024 budget cycle, and the 2027 funding during the FY 2025...
If Georgia Public Radio, which is owned and operated by the state government, thinks NPR programming is radical leftist, they can simply stop airing it. They don't need congress to blow the whole thing up for everyone. Just stop airing NPR programming. But that's not the goal here. The president and his party want to shut down the media. They're starting with CPB because of the funding. But that's not where it ends. He also has written he wants to shut down CBS. So they're next.
Donald Trump Again Lashes Out At CBS And ‘60 Minutes’ And Urges FCC Chair To “Impose The Maximum Fines And Punishment”
He urged his FCC chair to "impose the maximum fines and punishment."
The attack isn't about saving money. It's about shutting down free speech. It's about government control of what the media says. They aren't hiding it or mincing words. They believe what the media is saying needs to be stopped by whatever means necessary.
This is starting to have some resemblance to stuff I seen about the last time TV Networks had their network license revoked due to stuff that administration didn’t want aired nationwide. I mean stuff like when the former President of the Philippines and his then congressional allies revoked a TV Networks license because of certain segments that the now former president of the Philippines did not want seen nationwide. However the revoking of a TV Networks license subsequently created the framework that country is in today like escalation of “Fake News and Propaganda” leading up to the 2025 midterm elections, the ICC Trial and Impeachment trial in the political environment the Philippines is in today even though they changed their president in 2022.
Philippine lawmakers block license bid for broadcaster that angered Duterte - https://www.reuters.com/article/wor...oadcaster-that-angered-duterte-idUSKBN24B1E8/
DICT cracks down vs. election 'troll armies,' ‘fake news’ online | Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has started a crackdown against fake news and organized ‘troll armies’ on social media to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process. In a news release on Wednesday, DICT Secretary Henry Aguda announced the…
www.pna.gov.ph
Part of the federal funding that goes to CPB is for the emergency warning system at local stations. Some of that money also comes from FEMA, and apparently that money is also tied up in the government's attempt to shut down FEMA:
www.insideradio.com
What the administration wants is to eliminate independent agencies and have all funding come directly from the president. He wants everyone to thank him for the money they receive. The problem with that is the constitution gives that power to congress. Like CPB, the FEMA money has already been appropriated. It's not his money. The money belongs to the people.
FEMA Faces Congressional Heat To Release Emergency Warning Grants To Public Broadcasters.
Following a court ruling that denied a request to release FEMA funds to public radio and TV stations, Sens. Edward Markey and Lisa Murkowski are urging the agency to lift
What the administration wants is to eliminate independent agencies and have all funding come directly from the president. He wants everyone to thank him for the money they receive. The problem with that is the constitution gives that power to congress. Like CPB, the FEMA money has already been appropriated. It's not his money. The money belongs to the people.
NPR's CEO was interviewed tonight on All Things Considered to discuss the threatened cut to funding:
She was asked: Why not just walk away from federal funding:
She was asked: Why not just walk away from federal funding:
White House starting new media policy sharply curtailing wire service access
The White House has put forward a new media policy that sharply curtails access to Donald Trump by the news agencies that serve media outlets around the world.
www.pbs.org
The White House is starting a new media policy that restricts wire services' access to the president
The White House has put forward a new media policy that sharply curtails access to Donald Trump by the news agencies that serve media outlets around the world.
apnews.com
While PBS and NPR were getting the brunt of the White House rantings. Here’s another one Wire Services like AP, Reuters and AFP were getting “limited access” from the White House Press Corp.
"I actually think public funding ensures that we hold tight to a mission that means reflecting all Americans. Most commercial outlets are able to target certain audiences that they want to reach, we have an actual obligation in our mission and in our funding model to try to serve everyone across the country. Now, we won't always be able to serve everyone, every belief set, every need, every interest, but we need to serve as broad an audience as possible. That's the point of public broadcasting, is to be able to put the public in conversation with one another and to operate off a shared set of conversations about what's going on in the world."
This woman is clearly a sanctimonious liar. Reflecting all Americans, my big toe. If they reflected "all Americans," there wouldn't be so many people who want to cut off taxpayer funding or otherwise shutdown public radio completely. They don't serve everyone, most notably all the people who don't listen to public radio. They are highly selective in the segments they do decide to serve, which is largely limited to the designated victim-entitlement groups. The viewpoints of such groups are not reported by outside, independent and objective journalists along with contrasting perspectives but by members of the group in question with the group's perspective presented as absolute truth. What she states as the goal of public radio they have clearly failed to meet - which is another reason to withdraw taxpayer funding. I am also troubled by employees interviewing their boss and calling it journalism. This is like Trump going on Fox News' morning show. It's PR, not reporting.
This woman is clearly a sanctimonious liar. Reflecting all Americans, my big toe. If they reflected "all Americans," there wouldn't be so many people who want to cut off taxpayer funding or otherwise shutdown public radio completely. They don't serve everyone, most notably all the people who don't listen to public radio. They are highly selective in the segments they do decide to serve, which is largely limited to the designated victim-entitlement groups. The viewpoints of such groups are not reported by outside, independent and objective journalists along with contrasting perspectives but by members of the group in question with the group's perspective presented as absolute truth. What she states as the goal of public radio they have clearly failed to meet - which is another reason to withdraw taxpayer funding. I am also troubled by employees interviewing their boss and calling it journalism. This is like Trump going on Fox News' morning show. It's PR, not reporting.
You misread what she said. She didn't say they reflect all Americans. She said that's the mission. And she's not speaking just about NPR, but the entirety of CPB funded broadcasting, which is a much broader thing. My view when I read that is: At least they're trying. They may not succeed, because nobody can be all things to all people. But they at least think about it. Instead of satisfying advertisers and stockholders.
This administration is only thinking about itself and its followers. In cutting funds, they make their base happy, and anger everyone else. There are better ways to handle this problem, but they don't care. The way Reagan and previous repubs have dealt with it was to try to make it better. That's how the current system was created. If they perceive problems in the way a government-funded agency is being run, they should address the problem, not just blow it up. The way they're handling this is how a 5 year old child handles difficult problems. That's not the mature way to handle it.
Me too, and they address that in the disclosure:
At least they make the effort. Fox News usually doesn't.
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Witholding the money is what impoundment is all about. That's why agencies are suing the Trump/Musk administration to get money Congress has approved. Impoundment is part of Project 2025.Part of the federal funding that goes to CPB is for the emergency warning system at local stations. Some of that money also comes from FEMA, and apparently that money is also tied up in the government's attempt to shut down FEMA:
FEMA Faces Congressional Heat To Release Emergency Warning Grants To Public Broadcasters.
Following a court ruling that denied a request to release FEMA funds to public radio and TV stations, Sens. Edward Markey and Lisa Murkowski are urging the agency to lift
What the administration wants is to eliminate independent agencies and have all funding come directly from the president. He wants everyone to thank him for the money they receive. The problem with that is the constitution gives that power to congress. Like CPB, the FEMA money has already been appropriated. It's not his money. The money belongs to the people.
If the Trump administration and his Republican Congress cut federal funding, then I think it's fair for NPR and those public stations to re-evaluate their mission. Ask the donors and the underwriters what audience they would like to see the stations serve, since they would be the only ones left paying for it.
A look at the Trump administration's efforts to slash public media funding
Trump administration plans to ask Congress to defund PBS, NPR
PBS issues their own response to the funding issues at CPB and its effects to the local stations around the country.
Trump administration plans to ask Congress to defund PBS, NPR
PBS issues their own response to the funding issues at CPB and its effects to the local stations around the country.
In my view, that's responding to a childish action with another childish action. The mission is the mission, regardless of the funding. You can ask any minister about that. The money is just the means to achieve the end. My view is that the mission of public broadcasting is a noble and correct vision in the context of what's being done in the commercial world. I would see the cut in government funding as simply another challenge towards achieving the goals set forth in 1967. But that's just my view.
To be clear, I support public broadcasting and agree with this assessment. The question is whether it's still public broadcasting without government funding, or is it just listener-supported broadcasting?
That may sound like semantics but there's actually a difference. We've heard it said time and again that corporations have an obligation to serve their shareholders. On a similar note, the NPR CEO points out that the organization has an obligation in its funding model to try to serve "everyone."
I would argue that under a listener-supported funding model without government support, the obligation shifts to serving the people who are paying for it and you can't just assume they still want to serve "everyone," including those who supported pulling their funding. They should really ask the remaining financial supporters what they want.
It's a good question to ask, and I think every public station already asks it when they do their on-air fundraising. But that's what makes this more complicated. The public broadcasting model is completely decentralized. That's the fallacy behind the defund movement. They think it's a centralized system driven by NPR. It isn't. It's driven by the local stations. Each station has its own set of supporters who come from the wide spectrum of the population.
The government money makes up a small part of NPR's budget, but it's also a very small part of each station's budget. The bulk of the money comes locally from members and sponsors. That local money is what determines how much they get from CPB. My take is that the stations already know the answer to the question because they're dependent on that answer. They're a lot more removed from the federal money. So my expectation is the loss of government money won't change a thing as far as the mission.
I think the people who should be asking questions are the people in congress. THEY should be asking their constituents what they think. Not just responding to a biased president who is responding to a biased small group of supporters who don't represent the country. The Public Broadcasting Act was a contract between the people and the government. It was written that way. The people of this country deserve better radio than what they're getting from iHeart and all the corporations. That was the thinking in 1967. That thinking is noble and correct, and shouldn't be affected by a small group of anarchists trying to destroy this country. I don't think the people should sit back and let this happen. I think the governors of these states that own these stations and receive this funding need to speak up. Especially the red states. I think there should be a long legal fight to preserve this system. The law was written very clearly and with a purpose. It was for the public good and it was a public trust. That's who and what is at stake here.
The good news is the people ARE speaking up and organizing. That's what it will take. Lisa Murkowski was at a meeting of non-profits in Alaska:
www.adn.com
‘We are all afraid’: Speaking to Alaska nonprofit leaders, Murkowski gets candid on upheaval in federal government
During a 45-minute discussion, the senator discussed a number of topics, ranging from protests to illegal withholding of funds to widespread anxiety.
Unfortunately I think the administration's goals are a great deal more nefarious than serving only their base. Two days ago, NPR ran a story about charges made by a whistleblower at the Department of Labor concerning the activities of Elon Musk and his DOGE crew. I won't go into more detail because it is off-topic but you can hear the details of that report on NPR's website.
There was a poll asking people how they feel about defunding public broadcasting, and only 25% were in favor. That's less than his base.
Less Than 1/4 of Americans Want to Defund NPR and PBS
President Donald Trump and his allies have railed against NPR and PBS for years, accusing them of bias, targeting them with investigations, and threatening to cut off taxpayer funding. But a new Pew Research Center poll shows that is not what a majority of Americans want, even among Republicans.
www.mediaite.com
PBS Newshour did the same thing and cover other parts related to covering the Administration. Some of the articles PBS Newshour and their affiliates has are from the Associated Press and their investigations on Trump Administration this in turn lead to Association Press getting hit directly from the White House with "Limited Access".
AP accuses Trump White House of defying court order restoring access
The Associated Press accused aides to President Donald Trump of defying a court order restoring its access to press events in the White House after a judge found the news agency had faced unlawful retaliation. In a court filing on Wednesday, lawyers for the AP accused the White House of...
www.aol.com
It doesn’t matter when his base blindly believes anything he says without any critical thinking whatsoever. I betcha not a single member of his base will connect the dots, or if they notice, they’ll blame anyone who is not a white male.There was a poll asking people how they feel about defunding public broadcasting, and only 25% were in favor. That's less than his base.
Less Than 1/4 of Americans Want to Defund NPR and PBS
President Donald Trump and his allies have railed against NPR and PBS for years, accusing them of bias, targeting them with investigations, and threatening to cut off taxpayer funding. But a new Pew Research Center poll shows that is not what a majority of Americans want, even among Republicans.
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