Trump's war on public broadcasting

German Lopze, NY Times - Congress is currently considering cutting federal funding for public media, including NPR, PBS and their affiliates. When this topic comes up, people often ask why. America has so many options for good journalism — does the federal government really need to support radio or television stations?

Today, The New York Times editorial board is making the case that yes, we do. You’ve probably heard in recent years about the decline of local media. It’s a real problem: The number of local journalists has declined by 75 percent since 2002, and a third of American counties don’t have a single full-time local journalist, a study last week found.

Public media offers a bulwark against that trend. NPR and PBS member stations focus on local and state issues. They broadcast local government meetings. They cover local courts and public transit. They alert people of events in their communities that no one else would tell them about otherwise.

Without federal funds, many of these stations would go the way of too many local newspapers in recent years. Nearly one in five NPR member stations could close down without federal funding, one analysis found. Others, like the station in Petersburg, Alaska, recently featured on an episode of “The Daily,” would have to lay off most of their staff. Rural places in the Midwest, South and West would lose vital sources of information.

What Would Funding Cuts Do to NPR and PBS?

NPR -  The Senate voted late yesterday to advance debate on a package of funding cuts requested by Trump... The vote was so close that Vice President JD Vance had to break a 50-50 tie, says NPR’s Scott Neuman. Republicans want to cut funds to NPR and PBS because of what they believe is political bias, which the networks deny. All Senate Democrats voted against the measure, and three prominent Republicans, Sens. Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, joined them. McConnell, Murkowski and Collins expressed concern about the White House Office of Management and Budget's unclear explanation of how the cuts would be applied. The Senate is expected to begin debating cuts to NPR, PBS and foreign aid this morning, which will be followed by a vote.