Latest news with #publicbroadcasting
CNN
14 minutes ago
- Business
- CNN
Trump asked Congress to claw back funding for PBS and NPR. What now?
America's two big public broadcasters, PBS and NPR, have 45 days to salvage their federal funding — starting now. On Tuesday, the Trump administration sent Congress a long-awaited request for lawmakers to cancel more than $1 billion in federal funds earmarked for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the entity that disburses taxpayer funds to local NPR and PBS stations across the country. The request, known as a 'rescission package,' starts a 45-day clock for Congress to either approve or ignore the proposal. Rescinding the funds only requires a simple majority, which means in this case that no Democratic votes are needed. However, Republicans only have slim majorities in both the House and Senate, and public media executives are cautiously hopeful that they can convince some Republican moderates to ignore the White House's proposal, thereby killing it. Get THE Reliable Sources newsletter Sign up here to receive Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter in your inbox. White House budget director Russ Vought said on Fox News Tuesday afternoon that the House will be 'putting this on the floor next week.' Vought also warned, 'If it doesn't pass, we have to then release the funds and it has to be spent.' The 45-day period will end on July 18. Until then, PBS and NPR officials will be lobbying lawmakers and counting votes. NPR said its lobbying efforts will start on the House side, 'where we expect the memo to be first taken up,' CEO Katherine Maher said in a statement. 'During this fight we will demonstrate our value to Congress, as we have over the last 50 years, in providing educational, enriching programs and critical services to all Americans every day for free,' PBS CEO Paula Kerger said in a separate statement. The funds being targeted now were allocated by the Republican-controlled Congress in a bill that Trump signed into law earlier this spring but haven't been spent yet because the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is budgeted two years in advance. Trump, tapping into long-held conservative beliefs that NPR and PBS are biased in favor of liberals, is now trying to strip away the future funding and score a political win. Kerger said it would be a loss for the public at large. 'The proposed rescissions would have a devastating impact on PBS member stations and the essential role they play in communities,' she said, 'particularly smaller and rural stations that rely on federal funding for a larger portion of their budgets. Without PBS member stations, Americans will lose unique local programming and emergency services in times of crisis.' The Trump White House has targeted public media on multiple fronts in recent weeks. The president signed an executive order in early May directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to stop funding PBS and NPR. He also tried to fire three of the corporation's board members. The corporation has essentially ignored him, however, because it is a private nonprofit entity set up by Congress and historically insulated from presidential interference. The entity has filed suit with the hopes that a federal court will affirm its independence. Both NPR and PBS have also filed separate lawsuits accusing the administration of violating the First Amendment. All three cases have been assigned to Judge Randolph D. Moss. Furthermore, the Federal Communications Commission is conducting a probe into NPR and PBS member stations, citing concerns that public media underwriting messages may be violating federal law. But of all the attempts to target public media this year, Tuesday's proposal stands out. 'This rescission proposal is the most serious threat ever faced by public broadcasting,' Maher wrote in her statement. 'We urge Congress to act in the interest of their constituents and save public broadcasting.'
CNN
20 minutes ago
- Business
- CNN
Trump asked Congress to claw back funding for PBS and NPR. What now?
America's two big public broadcasters, PBS and NPR, have 45 days to salvage their federal funding — starting now. On Tuesday, the Trump administration sent Congress a long-awaited request for lawmakers to cancel more than $1 billion in federal funds earmarked for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the entity that disburses taxpayer funds to local NPR and PBS stations across the country. The request, known as a 'rescission package,' starts a 45-day clock for Congress to either approve or ignore the proposal. Rescinding the funds only requires a simple majority, which means in this case that no Democratic votes are needed. However, Republicans only have slim majorities in both the House and Senate, and public media executives are cautiously hopeful that they can convince some Republican moderates to ignore the White House's proposal, thereby killing it. Get THE Reliable Sources newsletter Sign up here to receive Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter in your inbox. White House budget director Russ Vought said on Fox News Tuesday afternoon that the House will be 'putting this on the floor next week.' Vought also warned, 'If it doesn't pass, we have to then release the funds and it has to be spent.' The 45-day period will end on July 18. Until then, PBS and NPR officials will be lobbying lawmakers and counting votes. NPR said its lobbying efforts will start on the House side, 'where we expect the memo to be first taken up,' CEO Katherine Maher said in a statement. 'During this fight we will demonstrate our value to Congress, as we have over the last 50 years, in providing educational, enriching programs and critical services to all Americans every day for free,' PBS CEO Paula Kerger said in a separate statement. The funds being targeted now were allocated by the Republican-controlled Congress in a bill that Trump signed into law earlier this spring, but haven't been spent yet because the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is budgeted two years in advance. Trump, tapping into long-held conservative beliefs that NPR and PBS are biased in favor of liberals, is now trying to strip away the future funding and score a political win. Kerger said it would be a loss for the public at large. 'The proposed rescissions would have a devastating impact on PBS member stations and the essential role they play in communities,' she said, 'particularly smaller and rural stations that rely on federal funding for a larger portion of their budgets. Without PBS member stations, Americans will lose unique local programming and emergency services in times of crisis.' The Trump White House has targeted public media on multiple fronts in recent weeks. The president signed an executive order in early May directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to stop funding PBS and NPR. He also tried to fire three of the corporation's board members. The corporation has essentially ignored him, however, because it is a private nonprofit entity set up by Congress and historically insulated from presidential interference. The entity has filed suit with the hopes that a federal court will affirm its independence. Both NPR and PBS have also filed separate lawsuits accusing the administration of violating the First Amendment. All three cases have been assigned to Judge Randolph D. Moss. Furthermore, the Federal Communications Commission is conducting a probe into NPR and PBS member stations, citing concerns that public media underwriting messages may be violating federal law. But of all the attempts to target public media this year, Tuesday's proposal stands out. 'This rescission proposal is the most serious threat ever faced by public broadcasting,' Maher wrote in her statement. 'We urge Congress to act in the interest of their constituents and save public broadcasting.'
Forbes
an hour ago
- Business
- Forbes
Trump's War On The Media Explained: White House Asks Congress To Cut $1.1 Billion From Corporation For Public Broadcasting
The White House asked Congress Tuesday to claw back $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as NPR and PBS—which receive federal funding via the CPB—have already sued to block Trump from a previous attempt to prevent the media organizations from receiving the public dollars. The White House asked Congress to rescind $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, part of a larger $9.4 billion 'rescissions' request to Congress that also asks lawmakers to retract $8.3 billion in funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development. The move is among a series by Trump and his administration targeting media he views unfavorably. Meanwhile, Trump and his companies have filed lawsuits against his media foes, his administration has elevated partisan right-wing voices in the White House press corps and sought to effectively shut down federally funded media outlets, including the international broadcaster Voice of America, among other tactics. Trump's new FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr also launched investigations into several outlets and warned publicly that a probe into CBS' interview with Harris last year could affect the network's pending multi-billion-dollar merger. Trump has also amped up his rhetoric to attack the press, calling pollsters for the New York Times, ABC News, the Washington Post and Fox News 'negative criminals' who should be 'investigated for ELECTION FRAUD' after the outlets have published surveys in the past week that show he has net negative approval ratings. Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We're launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day's headlines. Text 'Alerts' to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here. Trump—who has feuded with CBS for years—sued the network for $20 billion, claiming it deceptively edited its '60 Minutes' interview with Harris after the network in a preview of her interview aired a different version of Harris' answer to a question than the one shown in the full program. In the preview, Harris gave a longer answer in response to a question about the Israel-Hamas war than the one aired during the full show. The network later released a full transcript of the interview that showed it ran the first sentence of her answer in the preview and the last sentence during the show, though the meaning of her response was largely the same. Trump is suing CBS as its parent company, Paramount, is seeking the Federal Communications Commission's approval of a multi-billion-dollar merger with Skydance. Trump urged the FCC to revoke the network's broadcasting license last month over '60 Minutes' coverage of him, and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has warned that the deceptive-editing allegations against CBS could become a factor in the FCC review of the merger. Meanwhile, Paramount and Trump began mediation talks earlier this month as Paramount owner Shari Redstone wants to settle with Trump, The New York Times reported, citing unnamed sources. The lawsuit has led to accusations from journalists that Paramount leadership has meddled in coverage of Trump, compromising their integrity. Wendy McMahon, president of CBS News and Stations, said she would step down Monday following a 'challenging' few months in which she and the company did 'not agree on the path forward,' ostensibly referring to the settlement talks. Longtime '60 Minutes' producer Bill Owens also left his post in April, citing waning editorial independence. Trump reportedly wants $25 million or more and an apology to settle the lawsuit, the Wall street Journal reported this week, citing an unnamed source. The Federal Trade Commission opened a probe in May into the liberal advocacy group, Media Matters for America, and whether it coordinated with other watchdogs to deter companies from advertising on Elon Musk's X, according to multiple reports. Musk is also suing Media Matters for defamation over a report it published about antisemitic content on X. Media Matters president Angela Carusone told Forbes in response to the probe 'the Trump administration has been defined by naming right-wing media figures to key posts and abusing the power of the federal government to bully political opponents and silence critics. It's clear that's exactly what's happening here, given Media Matters' history of holding those same figures to account. These threats won't work; we remain steadfast to our mission." PBS sued Trump Friday to block him from cutting funding for the public television station, days after NPR also filed a lawsuit to stop the move. Trump signed an order May 2 directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to cease funding NPR and PBS. The FCC also said it's opened investigations into NPR and PBS and whether they aired 'announcements that cross the line into prohibited commercial advertisements,' Carr said in a letter to the organizations in January. Carr said the investigation could factor into Congress' decision on whether to continue funding the organizations. NPR said in a statement in a news article about the threat that the funding cut 'would have a devastating impact on American communities across the nation,' adding that 'locally owned public media stations represent a proud American tradition of public-private partnership for our shared common good.' PBS CEO and President Paual Kerger told NPR the move would 'disrupt the essential service PBS and local member stations provide to the American people.' On April 29, the CPB sought a temporary restraining order to prevent Trump from removing three board members—two appointed by Biden and one appointed by Trump during his first term then reappointed by Biden—arguing the law that established the organization allows Trump to appoint board members, but not fire them. Carr has opened numerous investigations into media organizations and has echoed Trump's critical rhetoric of news coverage. 'We must dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech rights for everyday Americans,' Carr tweeted prior to his appointment as FCC chair. He also warned that 'broadcast licenses are not sacred cows,' suggesting the commission could revoke licenses for companies that don't 'operate in the public interest,' and he threatened that the FCC could block merger proposals from companies that promote DEI. In addition to the NPR and PBS probes, Carr has announced investigations into Comcast's diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and a San Francisco-based radio station's coverage of an immigration raid. Comcast said in a statement to the New York Post in response to the probe that it would cooperate with the investigation and built the company 'on a foundation of integrity and respect for all of our employees and customers.' The FCC doesn't distribute and can't revoke licenses for entire networks and instead oversees licensing for their affiliated local broadcast channels. Cable networks, such as CNN and MSNBC, are not within its jurisdiction since they don't broadcast on public airwaves. Stations could fight any attempt to revoke their licenses in court, and laws that dictate their regulatory authority would make it highly unlikely, if not impossible, to pull a station's license. The FCC is prohibited, for example, from 'engaging in censorship or infringing on First Amendment rights of the press.' Licensing and merger decisions require the approval of the full commission, which is made up of the chair and four members appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate for five-year terms. One of the commission's two Democrats, Geoffrey Starks, announced last month he would resign this spring, and a third Republican seat is vacant. About one-third of Voice of America's workforce was terminated earlier this month, Kari Lake, senior adviser for the organization's parent company, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, told multiple outlets in a statement that said 'buckle up, there's more to come.' The move comes after Lake—a special adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, parent company for international broadcaster Voice of America—announced a 'partnership' earlier this month with the conservative One America News Network to broadcast its programs on USAGM networks, including the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Radio Martí and Voice of America. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth on April 22 ordered the Trump administration to restore funding for Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Network and rehire all staff, halting an executive order Trump signed in March to shut down the government-funded news organizations. Trump, claiming Voice of America was 'anti-Trump' and pushed 'radical propaganda,' revoked funding for the VOA and its parent company, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia, prompting the organizations to place more than 1,300 employees and hundreds of contractors on leave. Lamberth, who is overseeing six lawsuits opposing the shutdown, ruled the move was likely unconstitutional since the organization was created by and is funded by Congress. On April 29, Lamberth ordered the Trump administration to reinstate $12 million in funding that had previously been appropriated to Radio Free Europe, saying in the ruling the Trump administration cannot take away money that Congress allocated, the Associated Press reported. The VOA, which has a budget of about $260 million annually and was formed in 1942 as a counter to Nazi propaganda, broadcasts in more than 40 languages to an international audience of more than 350 million. Radio Free Asia was formed in 1994 by the International Broadcasting Act and has a budget of about $61 million, and the Middle East Broadcasting Network was founded in 2004 and has a $100 million budget. The White House has attempted to bar the Associated Press from accessing some spaces, such as the Oval Office and Air Force One, after it refused to rename the 'Gulf of Mexico' to the 'Gulf of America' in its style guide. The Associated Press then sued the Trump administration over the blockade, and Judge Trevor McFadden ruled in the AP's favor earlier this month, though Trump has appealed the ruling. The White House also eliminated a permanent spot in the press pool reserved for wire services and instead put the AP, Bloomberg and Reuters in a rotation for two 'print' slots, along with 31 other outlets. The Trump administration announced in February it would decide which journalists are allowed in the White House press pool, breaking a years-long tradition in which the independent White House Correspondents' Association coordinated the pool, made up of 13 journalists from a rotating group of outlets who travel with the president and share their reporting with other media outlets. The Trump administration has also set up a 'new media' seat in the briefing room that's offered to outlets that don't have a permanent spot, such as Forbes, though it often hosts non-traditional media such as podcast hosts and social media personalities. Trump and his companies have filed multiple lawsuits against media organizations prior to his winning a second term. Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company for Trump's Truth Social platform, filed a $1.5 billion lawsuit against 20 media organizations, including Forbes, The Guardian, Reuters, Axios and MSNBC, in November 2023, alleging they defamed him by incorrectly reporting that Truth Social lost $73 million from its launch in early 2022 through mid 2023. Many outlets, including Forbes, corrected their stories to say Truth Social had lost $31.6 million since its inception. In January 2023, Trump sued journalist Bob Woodward, publisher Simon & Schuster and parent company Paramount Global for nearly $50 million, claiming Woodward published recordings of his interviews with Trump for his book 'Rage' without Trump's permission. Trump in December also sued the Des Moines Register, its parent company, Gannett, and its former pollster, Ann Selzer, over a Selzer poll shortly before the election that found Trump would lose Iowa by three to four points, only for him to win the state by 13 points. Trump alleged the poll amounted to election interference and a violation of the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act. The paper and Selzer filed motions to dismiss the suit in February, and the Register alleged the law only applies to 'consumer merchandise,' and there's no evidence Trump ever purchased anything from the paper. Trump has had mixed results in his legal battles with the press. He settled with ABC News last year in a lawsuit Trump filed when anchor George Stephanopolos said Trump was found liable for 'rape' when a jury found him liable for sexually assaulting writer E. Jean Carroll. The network agreed to donate $15 million to Trump's presidential library and issue a statement of regret as part of the settlement. A judge in July 2023 dismissed a case he filed against CNN over its use of the term 'the big lie' to refer to his false claims he won the 2020 election and alleged comparisons between Trump and Hitler. F.C.C. Chair Orders Investigation Into NPR and PBS Sponsorships (New York Times) Which media companies has Donald Trump sued? (Reuters) '60 Minutes' Chief Resigns in Emotional Meeting: 'The Company Is Done With Me' (New York Times)
Bloomberg
2 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump Asks Congress to Slash Funds for NPR, PBS and Foreign Aid
President Donald Trump asked lawmakers to cut more than $9 billion in funding for the Public Broadcasting Service, National Public Radio and foreign aid from this year's budget, an attempt to write into law some of the so-called 'DOGE cuts' initiated by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. 'Now, Congress must act. They have 45 days to codify these massive cuts to woke, wasteful, and weaponized spending via a simple majority vote,' the White House's Office of Management and Budget said in a post on X on Tuesday.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
PBS Sues Trump Administration Over Executive Order to Cut Funding
Days after National Public Radio (NPR) sued the Trump administration over attempts to cut off its federal funding, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) has also filed a lawsuit, claiming that the proposed cuts violate the First Amendment. Trump signed an executive order earlier this month ordering the government 'to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS, alleging 'bias' in their reporting. Trump has also been looking to rescind federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). 'Americans have the right to expect that if their tax dollars fund public broadcasting at all, they fund only fair, accurate, unbiased, and nonpartisan news coverage,' the executive order read. On Tuesday, NPR and its member stations sued the Trump administration over the executive order, with PBS and a Minnesota public television station following Friday with a lawsuit filed at a federal court in Washington, D.C. The lawsuit objected to Trump's executive order that called PBS 'corrosive' as well as 'biased and partisan. 'PBS disputes those charged assertions in the strongest possible terms,' the lawsuit states. 'But regardless of any policy disagreements over the role of public television, our Constitution and laws forbid the President from serving as the arbiter of the content of PBS's programming, including by attempting to defund PBS.' The lawsuit continued, 'The [executive order] makes no attempt to hide the fact that it is cutting off the flow of funds to PBS because of the content of PBS programming and out of a desire to alter the content of speech. That is blatant viewpoint discrimination and an infringement of PBS and PBS Member Stations' private editorial discretion.' PBS said in a statement, 'After careful deliberation, PBS reached the conclusion that it was necessary to take legal action to safeguard public television's editorial independence, and to protect the autonomy of PBS member stations.' In response to the PBS lawsuit, a White House spokesperson accused the CPB of 'creating media to support a particular political party on the taxpayers' dime.' 'Therefore, the President is exercising his lawful authority to limit funding to NPR and PBS,' White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement (via NPR). 'The President was elected with a mandate to ensure efficient use of taxpayer dollars, and he will continue to use his lawful authority to achieve that objective.' NPR and PBS receive about $500 million annually through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private, publicly funded nonprofit created by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Trump has been attacking the CPB since taking office, including by trying to fire some of its board members, prompting a lawsuit. The administration has also been looking to cut the CBP's federal funding. Trump will reportedly formally request Congress in early June to rescind the next two years of CPB funding, or $1.1 billion. More from Rolling Stone NPR Sues Trump for Trying to Strip Its Funding Trump Pumped and Dumped His Crypto Backers With Dud Dinner Party 'He Is Working to Erase Us': A Trans Activist on the Real Reason Trump's Budget Bans Trans Care Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
