Court reaffirms CPB's independence

[TheBigA]

The president is now threatening congress that they must defund CPB or else.

Trump Issues Ultimatum to GOP: Defund NPR or Pay the Price - Radio Ink

Trump is pressuring Senate Republicans to defund NPR and PBS — and threatening to pull endorsements from those who don’t fall in line.

radioink.com

If anyone else threatened members of congress, they would be arrested.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

The president is now threatening congress that they must defund CPB or else.

Trump Issues Ultimatum to GOP: Defund NPR or Pay the Price - Radio Ink

Trump is pressuring Senate Republicans to defund NPR and PBS — and threatening to pull endorsements from those who don’t fall in line.

radioink.com

If anyone else threatened members of congress, they would be arrested.

Dang and this is while the White House is being sued by CPB, NPR, PBS and their affiliates for political interference and violating the 1st Amendment in three lawsuits.

 

[K.M. Richards]

The president is now threatening congress that they must defund CPB or else.

Trump Issues Ultimatum to GOP: Defund NPR or Pay the Price - Radio Ink

Trump is pressuring Senate Republicans to defund NPR and PBS — and threatening to pull endorsements from those who don’t fall in line.

radioink.com

If anyone else threatened members of congress, they would be arrested.

I don't think they realize that he turns on everyone sooner or later. The "settling of lawsuits" by the networks, only to still receive interference from him, should be proof enough ... but the Republicans in Congress are too focused on the power they think they have to come anywhere close to seeing clearly that they are replacing democracy with a form of government where they are -- at best -- puppets, and possibly forced from ever being able to hold any elected position.

If NPR and PBS lose enough funding to be at risk of shutting down, the commercial television and radio networks will be next, and reduced to carrying only that programming dictated by the government.

I am reminded of an old joke from the Cold War era that sadly resonates with me today:

A dictator outlawed all television other than the nationally-controlled Channel One. After hearing increasing sounds of dissatisfaction from his subjects, he grudgingly allowed Channel Two to operate, with entertainment programming approved by his government.
One evening, the dictator gave a speech to the country and everyone was ordered to watch it on Channel One. After he had droned on for close to two hours, one viewer had enough and switched over to Channel Two.
There on the screen was an officer of the state secret police, aiming a gun directly at the screen, ordering "Go back to Channel One".

I think that would please Trump very much.

 

[Delete My Account]

It's also the intimidation factor. You may not "directly" make someone do something but if you apply pressure from the government and its agencies, it's "nice network business/station you have here. Be a shame if something happened to it" time and rather than lose their business or livelihood you can get an awful lot of compliance out of that strategy.

 

[TheBigA]

If NPR and PBS lose enough funding to be at risk of shutting down, the commercial television and radio networks will be next

The fact is the loss of federal funding isn't enough to shut them down, but the president seems to think it is. So if they survive the loss of federal funding, he will go to the next step. This won't be over with the loss of federal funding. And I agree he will continue with CNN.

 

[Oldbones]

The president is now threatening congress that they must defund CPB or else.

Trump Issues Ultimatum to GOP: Defund NPR or Pay the Price - Radio Ink

Trump is pressuring Senate Republicans to defund NPR and PBS — and threatening to pull endorsements from those who don’t fall in line.

radioink.com

If anyone else threatened members of congress, they would be arrested.

I'm not sure that witholding/withdrawing his endorsements is necessarily a bad thing, especially as his own poll numbers continue to tank.

The fact is the loss of federal funding isn't enough to shut them down, but the president seems to think it is. So if they survive the loss of federal funding, he will go to the next step. This won't be over with the loss of federal funding. And I agree he will continue with CNN.

Good point. I read somewhere that PBS/NPR only get ~1% of its operating budget from federal sources, the figure was in the 8% vicinity for the stations themselves, so there seems to be a lot of wolf-crying here. Now making contributions non-tax deductable might make a difference but if listeners/viewers are really that upset it might spur them to increase their support.
Then again, there seems to be a lot of belt tightening that can be done. The NPR affiliate stations I've visited/worked with didn't seem to spare any expense on facilities or staffing.

Got no dog in this fight myself, rarely if ever listen/watch public broadcasting.

 

[TheBigA]

I read somewhere that PBS/NPR only get ~1% of its operating budget from federal sources, the figure was in the 8% vicinity for the stations themselves, so there seems to be a lot of wolf-crying here.

The confusing part is that the president is conflating NPR and CPB. There is no line item in the federal budget for NPR. So when people want to defund NPR, there's no way to do it. Blame or credit Ronald Reagan. He wanted to stop funding NPR 40 years ago. So the law was amended, and the federal money was given to the stations instead of NPR. That's the system we have now. What this rescission will do is remove federal money from radio & TV stations. For some rural areas, that could be more than 50% of their budget. They will likely either shut down or will have no local staff at all.

The president is mad at NPR News. He doesn't care about collateral damage. If a few hundred rural radio stations shut down, he doesn't care. But my point is that this rescission won't have the effect he wants. NPR News will still be there and may even get stronger as a result. That will infuriate him even more. He could then move on to rescinding tax-exempt status. But the recent Supreme Court ruling about churches making political endorsements would play a part in such a plan. If churches can get political, so can public media. They're both covered in the first amendment.

 

[Oldbones]

For some rural areas, that could be more than 50% of their budget. They will likely either shut down or will have no local staff at all.

Not sure what you consider "rural", but any public radio stations I'm aware of in rural areas are just repeaters of the mothership, usually based in one of the larger cities in a given state. No programming originates there.

 

[TheBigA]

Not sure what you consider "rural", but any public radio stations I'm aware of in rural areas are just repeaters of the mothership, usually based in one of the larger cities in a given state. No programming originates there.

Depends on the state. You should become acquainted with @SomeRadioGuy, who runs a public station in McGrath Alaska. He has said he will lose his job. Public radio in Alaska isn't centralized. So there is no "mother ship." While his station does air some NPR programming, most of it is local.

But CPB funds a lot of different non-commercial radio stations, including some based on Indian reservations, or AAA stations that carry no news at all. They would all lose federal funding as a result of this rescission.

 

[radiofan2023]

Not sure what you consider "rural", but any public radio stations I'm aware of in rural areas are just repeaters of the mothership, usually based in one of the larger cities in a given state. No programming originates there.

KSUI in Iowa City originates 2 talk shows, River to River and Talk of Iowa. Though Iowa City isn't rural, there are parts of Johnson County that are.

How many of these rural public radio stations and their local programming are you familiar with?

Resources - Alliance of Rural Public Media

ResourcesAlliance of Rural Public Media partner stations serve rural communities across the country. Below is a map of where our partner stations are located. Explore the map to find your nearest station.Explore Our Network Rural Radio CollaborationsPublic radio stations — as non-profit...

ruralpublic.org

 

[TheBigA]

Not sure what you consider "rural", but any public radio stations I'm aware of in rural areas are just repeaters of the mothership, usually based in one of the larger cities in a given state. No programming originates there.

The other thing I'll add is the way the public broadcasting act was written, stations need some staffing in order to qualify for the CPB funding. Those repeater stations you mention probably don't get individual federal aid. It likely all goes to the originating station.

The other part of the disinformation campaign is that this is just welfare for radio, and that these stations don't have to do anything to get the money. The republicans who amended the law in 1983 put lots of work requirements into the law, so stations have to do a lot to qualify. They're trying to circumvent a law their people wrote in order to appease a president who won't be satisfied even if they do what he wants.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Not sure what you consider "rural", but any public radio stations I'm aware of in rural areas are just repeaters of the mothership, usually based in one of the larger cities in a given state. No programming originates there.

@Oldbones @TheBigA
We ARE the mothership.. mcgrath, alaska... a community of 275 people. we used to be much bigger. we have FM repeater signals (stations, not translators) in 7 other communities. the other communities are even smaller than mcgrath and repeat KSKO, 24/7. for most of the 1200 people we serve across very remote, rural west central Alaska, we are the only signal they can hear and we run 7 hours a day of local programming

We have enough money to operate for awhile if we lose all funding, but if that funding isnt replaced somehow, I will eventually lose my job.

I've been on air at 11pm when a town is starting to flood and again 6am to 3pm when flooding is going on.

I've had wildfire info on at 1230am because well, it was needed.as wildfires coming close to communities we serve can be devastating.

I've had a mental health professional on air after 2 deaths in our community (one resident who was on the bering air crash and a 6 year old in questionable circumstances)

We broadcast river break up info when they begin flowing in the winter and threaten communities

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

I'm not sure that witholding/withdrawing his endorsements is necessarily a bad thing, especially as his own poll numbers continue to tank.

Good point. I read somewhere that PBS/NPR only get ~1% of its operating budget from federal sources, the figure was in the 8% vicinity for the stations themselves, so there seems to be a lot of wolf-crying here. Now making contributions non-tax deductable might make a difference but if listeners/viewers are really that upset it might spur them to increase their support.
Then again, there seems to be a lot of belt tightening that can be done. The NPR affiliate stations I've visited/worked with didn't seem to spare any expense on facilities or staffing.

Got no dog in this fight myself, rarely if ever listen/watch public broadcasting.

No, we cant get political, that will undermine our credibility.... and getting political isnt worth that.

for larger stations, its 7 to 15 percent of their budget from CPB funding, for medium sized stations like WTIP in Grand Marais, MN its about 25 percent of their budget (they ere quoted in a radio or news report)

For small stations like ours, its 60 to 70 percent of their operating budget

theres a fair amount of mis information about funding, how much and where it goes.. so dont assume.

We're not crying wolf. for some stations, @Oldbones .. it means elimination of their local news.. for some it means eliminating a specialty position, for some it would mean elimination of all local programming. while i cant speak officiallu for any station in alaska, i can tell you there are several others in the same position as my station.. i dont know what their cash reserves are compared to ours, but if they lose funding i can almost guarentee theyd have to cut all local progrmaming

 

[K.M. Richards]

I have said this before and I will say it again.

Paul Walker has been around long enough for me to have noticed as he has moved from station to station over the years, seeking new challenges every time.

He is extremely competent and professional, and -- most of all -- he cares about the listeners and the impact of good, accurate news reporting on their lives.

If KSKO and the rest of the stations in Alaska that are satellites of same go under, that will leave huge parts of the 49th state without access to that vital information. And it will leave a good broadcaster without a job.

Sadly, there is no convincing POTUS that CPB actually funds local public stations. In his addled mind, CPB=NPR and therefore his distaste for NPR obliterates any possibility of his seeing otherwise.

This is a terrible situation for public broadcasting to be in, and the fact that it all essentially started with Reagan tells me precisely which party is to blame. (Hint: It's not the one that shares the same first seven letters as the form of government that is being slowly dismantled.)

Paul, hang in there as long as you can. There are people out here giving you moral support.

 

[TheBigA]

This is a terrible situation for public broadcasting to be in, and the fact that it all essentially started with Reagan tells me precisely which party is to blame.

I'd rather not play the blame game. The 1983 amended law was better for everyone. It lasted 42 years. It made NPR more independent, That's why this rescission won't affect them. The only reason public broadcasting is in this situation is one man. Polls show the majority of the public supports federal funding. Polls show only a small minority support defunding. But those are the people who are running the government now.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Polls show only a small minority support defunding. But those are the people who are running the government now.

If you want to call the fact that Reagan and Trump are in the same party a coincidence, okay.

But I also note that the 1983 law was rooted in the same distaste by a President.

And all this proves is that we are heading down a path where the minority opinion rules based on party affiliation and the voters are being tricked into voting that government in based on promises that they not only do not intend to keep but instead implement policies that make life worse for the voters they bamboozled.

This is why I lament the severe lessening of fact-checking and why I further lament that the electorate has become so ignorant (in large part) that even if we do fact-check they will prefer to believe the lies.

 

[TheBigA]

If you want to call the fact that Reagan and Trump are in the same party a coincidence, okay.

They're very different. This rescission isn't coming from the party. If the senate could vote its conscience, this rescission would not pass. I know that because the public broadcasting appropriation passed in a bipartisan vote. The only thing that changed was the white house.

There are a lot of rules that come with federal funding. A lot of things CPB can't do (such as lobby congress) because of federal funding. Once that goes away, so go a lot of rules that constrain public broadcasting. There are some who don't see this as negatively as you do. Then again, their jobs don't depend on federal funding. So if this passes, the public will see the results. They will ask if they're better off without their local radio station or local news reporting. That may motivate them to act the next time they have an opportunity.

 

[K.M. Richards]

If you want to call the fact that Reagan and Trump are in the same party a coincidence, okay.

They're very different. This rescission isn't coming from the party. If the senate could vote its conscience, this rescission would not pass. I know that because the public broadcasting appropriation passed in a bipartisan vote. The only thing that changed was the white house.

Until POTUS starts bullying the party to pass legislation removing the funding permanently.

For that, we have to wait and see.

 

[TheBigA]

Until POTUS starts bullying the party to pass legislation removing the funding permanently.

They aren't actually removing the funding "permanently." In order to do that they need to repeal the public broadcasting act. That will take 60 votes.

All this does is rescind the already appropriated money for 2026 and 27. What happens after that is unclear.

You may wonder where is the NAB in all this. Because of federal funding, public broadcasters can't join the NAB because it's a lobbying organization. Remove federal funding, and public stations can join the NAB. That's another tool in the arsenal. My view is that this isn't an attack on just public broadcasting, but ALL of media. Anyone who works in the media business will be affected in some way.

 

[K.M. Richards]

They aren't actually removing the funding "permanently." In order to do that they need to repeal the public broadcasting act. That will take 60 votes.

All this does is rescind the already appropriated money for 2026 and 27. What happens after that is unclear.

That's what I was implying. And yes, it is indeed a murky view that far in the future.

You may wonder where is the NAB in all this. Because of federal funding, public broadcasters can't join the NAB because it's a lobbying organization. Remove federal funding, and public stations can join the NAB. That's another tool in the arsenal. My view is that this isn't an attack on just public broadcasting, but ALL of media. Anyone who works in the media business will be affected in some way.

Which is good reasoning for NAB to insert themselves into the conversation, and they should.

I'd rather see them lobbying to save public broadcasting in the name of protecting all media than their stupid insistence on killing ATSC 1.0 in favor of version 3.0, which would essentially allow television stations to encrypt programming that they presently provide to the public free of charge (but that's a different extant thread).