Yet a November Wall Street Journal op-ed written by DOGE co-chairs, Elon Musk and Vivek
Ramaswamy, outlines a much broader vision for the committee that targets programs they don鈥檛 seem to value in addition to ones they think are being badly run. While the editorial doesn鈥檛 name many specific programs, it does single out funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) as an example of 鈥渇ederal expenditures that are unauthorized by Congress or being used in ways that Congress never intended."
To be clear, funding for our nation鈥檚 public media system is authorized by statute through the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 with the goal of facilitating the growth and development of public radio and television and making it available to all Americans. Funding levels for CPB are determined in the federal budget process through an appropriation bill approved by Congress and signed by the President. Also by statute, 89% of CPB鈥檚 annual appropriation must be distributed to local stations through programming and operational grants with no more than 5% allowed to cover CPB鈥檚 overhead expenses.
We look forward to the effort that鈥檚 ahead to educate both Congressional representatives and the public about how funding for public broadcasting works. In this process, it鈥檚 important to understand several key aspects about how CPB funding contributes to the effectiveness and sustainability of public radio and television stations that serve communities around the country:
- Federal funding for public broadcasting currently totals $535 million per year, an amount that equals approximately $1.60 per American annually. Of this amount approximately .40 per citizen supports public radio annually.
- CPB provides very little funding to NPR, or any other national program producer, with the vast majority of its funds going to more than 1,400 local public television and radio stations like JPR. CPB administers grants, evaluates station effectiveness and ensures accountability to Congress and the President.
- Approximately 40% of CPB grantees are considered rural, based on population density. In recent years, CPB has prioritized resources to rural stations which face unique challenges and higher costs than urban stations because they often operate multiple transmitters and translators in order to reach remote sparsely populated areas. A reduction or elimination of funding for CPB would have the most negative impact on stations serving rural communities.
- CPB is a very small federally funded program amounting to .008% of the overall federal budget, has very few federal employees, and works on a public-private partnership model. The funding CPB provides to stations leverages over $6 in privately raised funds for every $1 of federal support.
As the issue of continued federal support for public broadcasting unfolds in the coming year, we鈥檒l keep you apprised so that you can share your views with your elected representatives when the time is right.
And while the future of federal funding for JPR may be uncertain, we do know that listener support is, and will remain, the essential ingredient that gives life to our service to the region. Thank you for supporting our work, now and in the year ahead.
