JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
And now some news that we knew was coming but is no less striking to hear. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is no more.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
On Monday, the CPB board of directors officially voted to shut down the organization. In a statement, president and CEO, Patricia Harrison, said, quote, "the CPB's final act would be to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks."
SUMMERS: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting was created by a law, the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. When President Lyndon B. Johnson signed it, he referred to the miracles of communication of modern life. He asked, how will man use his miracles? The answer just begins with public broadcasting.
KELLY: For over 57 years, Congress funded the CPB, which then distributed the majority of the money to more than 1,500 local public radio and TV stations. Much of the remaining money helped to create public media programs.
SUMMERS: That arrangement ended last year when, at the urging of President Trump, a Republican-led Congress voted to rescind $1.1 billion that Congress had previously approved to fund the CPB for 2026 and 2027. With no money, last summer, the organization announced it would begin to wind down operations.
KELLY: Now, yesterday's announcement does not further affect local stations across the U.S., but that's only because they were already facing a future without federal funding. Federal defunding spurred rounds of philanthropic aid. It spurred listener donations, but all of us still share a lot of unanswered questions about the long-term financial future of public media.
SUMMERS: An NPR corporate statement today expressed a deep gratitude for the many decades of support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It also pledged that, quote, "our commitment to serving the public with free, reliable and independent journalism is unwavering."
KELLY: It is correct. We share that commitment. The hosts and staff of this show share that resolve. For as long as we are able, we'll be here thanks to those miracles of communication. As always, we thank you for listening.
(SOUNDBITE OF BADBADNOTGOOD AND GHOSTFACE KILLAH SONG, "FOOD") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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