Thursday night, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to cease all federal funding for NPR and PBS.
This executive order targets the direct federal funding for NPR and PBS from the CPB. The order also targets the indirect federal funding for NPR and PBS from stations like WJCT. WJCT and the hundreds of other public media stations across the nation typically use federal funds to support the programming we receive from NPR and PBS.
In the official statement responding to the executive order, CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said:
“CPB is not a federal executive agency subject to the President’s authority. Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government.
“In creating CPB, Congress expressly forbade ‘any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over educational television or radio broadcasting, or over [CPB] or any of its grantees or contractors…’ 47 U.S.C. § 398(c).”
What happens next?
This executive order is likely to be challenged in court. Separate from the executive order, Congress is currently in the process of reconciliation and appropriation of the budget. There have been numerous threats for the removal of federal funding for CPB itself.
While many questions remain, we know that federal funding for public media will continue to be intensely threatened for some time and in various forms. For that reason, continued advocacy is paramount.
Advocate for the specific, unduplicated role WJCT plays in the local community and across the region. Make your voice heard about how the work of WJCT Public Media affects you personally. Click the button to “Send a message to Congress” and/or call your congressional representatives using the phone numbers listed at the bottom of that page.
Please share this page with your contacts and continue to check back for updates.
Here are links to some of the responses to this executive order:
Total 0 Votes
0