The non-profit charged with allocating funds to NPR, PBS and other US public radio and television stations has announced it is dissolving after massive federal funding cuts under Donald Trump.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) said on Monday that its board of directors had voted to dissolve the organisation after nearly 60 years. Patricia Harrison, president and CEO, said the board voted to dissolve to “protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values”.
The organisation was created by the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 to support NPR, PBS and 1,500 locally owned and operated public media stations, distributing $500m annually. Trump and his conservative allies have long criticised PBS and NPR, with cuts outlined in Project 2025 and a memo to Congress.
The Republican-controlled Congress cut $1.1bn in funding, forcing the CPB to shut down in August. Local stations are essential for news deserts; over half of the 544 funded stations are rural, giving 99% of Americans access. Donors sent $70m in “rage-giving” over the last year, but 15% of stations are at risk of closing within three years.
Ruby Calvert, chair of the CPB’s board of directors, said she is “convinced that public media will survive, and that a new Congress will address public media’s role in our country”.
