Latest news with #public broadcasting
Fox News
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
NPR CEO Katherine Maher vents 'deep frustration' over GOP cuts, says it will continue to operate
NPR CEO Katherine Maher expressed "deep frustration" in a new interview upon seeing the passage of the Trump administration's rescissions package that pulled her organization's federal funding, but she vowed NPR would continue to operate. Republicans in the Senate and House narrowly passed the rescissions package last week that yanked over $1 billion in federal broadcast funding for the fiscal year. "Throughout this process, the political rhetoric has been about punishing NPR (and PBS) for editorial and programming decisions. But the reality is that NPR receives less than half of one percent of all federal funds for public broadcasting. More than 70% goes directly to local stations," Maher told Status. "Meanwhile, lawmakers from both parties continuously acknowledge—in public and private—how important their local stations are to their constituents. In this sense, it's a bit like Congress itself," she continued. "The institution may have low approval ratings, but people generally approve of their local representatives. This eviscerates funding for those independent, community-based stations. And for what purpose? Scoring political points by saying you voted against NPR and PBS." Maher admitted the cuts are a "big hit" for NPR, and local member stations in rural areas will be rocked. "I expect you'll see nearly immediate loss of universal coverage in hard-to-reach parts of the country, as well as layoffs of journalists covering local and state news," Maher told Status. "The loss of funding may make it impossible for local stations in places like rural Alaska and Appalachia to continue to operate—stations that receive as much as 70% of their budget from federal funds. Stations like these are already pulling shutdown plans out of their desks," Maher added, adding NPR had committed to reduce its operating budget by $8 million. Trump's multibillion-dollar clawback package teed up cuts to "woke" spending on foreign aid programs and NPR and PBS, as Republicans finally yanked federal money from public news outlets in a move advocates said was long overdue. Maher, who has espoused liberal views and preferences in past remarks and social media postings, has repeatedly denied the notion that NPR is "woke" or biased and believes the vote was "about politics and power." "We can have real, substantive policy debates about federal funding for public media. I recognize that's a matter of legitimate political disagreement—how big the government should be, or what the government should and shouldn't fund," Maher told Status. "This argument about public media being 'biased' is a stalking horse. We report on soybean farmers and LGBTQ activism. We report on coal miners and eco-warriors," she continued. "Having non-White voices and perspectives on air does not make us woke. Covering the existence of disagreement and difference in our country does not make us biased. It makes us reflective of the complex, diverse nation we serve." Maher said NPR would "take a moment to mourn" and ultimately move forward. Ex-NPR editor Uri Berliner roasted the outlet last year over its biased coverage on such issues as COVID-19, Hunter Biden's laptop and the Russiagate saga. He soon after resigned and joined The Free Press.
Fox News
a day ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Former NPR CEO admits 'mixing journalism and federal funding' was a 'recipe for disaster'
Former NPR CEO Vivian Schiller was more optimistic about the outlet's future without federal funding on Saturday, adding that she's long felt that mixing journalism and federal funding was a "recipe for disaster." "Those of us that care about local journalism are going to help them," Schiller said on MSNBC's "The Weekend." "The fact is this is done. The money is gone. The rescission has happened. So my perspective now is let's move on." Congress successfully passed a $9 billion "rescissions package" which included approximately $1 billion in spending cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting – which funds PBS and NPR – for the remainder of the fiscal year. Though many liberal commentators and journalists have attacked the package as an infringement on the free press, Schiller argued that it could be seen as an opportunity. "Look, in many cases, I have long believed that mixing journalism and federal funding is just a recipe for disaster," Schiller said. "So in many ways, I think this is an opportunity for a reset. I think the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which was a very bureaucratic organization that was, still is today, doling out that money, will go away. Let's reset. Let's come up with a new governance structure. Let's get support for those rural stations from the communities, from philanthropies and find other ways to support them." She added, "I tend to look at the bright side of life and say let's just find a better way forward, because there were problems with the former system." Fox News Digital reached out to NPR for comment. Current NPR CEO Katherine Maher warned staff members on Thursday, before the package was officially passed by Congress, that the outlet would expect to see significant change with the loss of funding. "We are going to go through a tremendous amount of change," Maher said, adding that they would "continue pushing" until the end of the process. NPR has come under fire over the last few years by Republicans and conservative critics for pushing what they have argued was liberal bias in its reporting. Maher has repeatedly denied this.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Former NPR CEO says journalism and federal funding was 'recipe for disaster'
Former NPR CEO Vivian Schiller said on MSNBC that losing federal funding could be a good opportunity for the outlet to "reset" its governance structure.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate approves Trump-requested cuts to public broadcasting, AP Explains
The Senate has passed about $9 billion in federal spending cuts requested by President Donald Trump, including deep reductions to public broadcasting and foreign aid, moving forward on one of the president's top priorities despite concerns from several Republican senators.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate Vote Triggers Major Cuts to Media, Health Aid
In a tight 51 to 48 vote, Senate Republicans approved a package cutting nine billion dollars under a new government efficiency initiative. The plan wipes out federal support for public broadcasting and carves billions from foreign aid programs focused on disease control and tribal projects. Only Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joined Democrats in opposing the measure. Roughly eight billion dollars comes from global health and aid budgets covering malaria, polio and tribal community efforts. The remaining $1.1 billion funds the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which underwrites NPR and PBS stations. Opponents warn that slashing CPB's budget could force rural radio and television outlets off the air and disrupt emergency alerts. Senator Murkowski argued it makes no sense to gut public media without guarantees that disease?fighting work will continue. Senator Rounds said he'll shift climate dollars to keep tribal stations running without interruption. President Trump has signaled he may withdraw support from Republicans who vote to preserve CPB funding. The House is expected to weigh in later this week before sending the bill to the president's desk. Although CPB says it has funding secured through September 2027, these cuts mark a major shift in both domestic media policy and foreign assistance priorities. Local communities and global health partners will be watching how they adapt to leaner budgets. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
