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QuickTake:
Trump says public media is "biased and partisan" in an executive order that threatens significant portions of KLCC and OPB budgets.
A new executive order from the Trump administration calling for an end to federal public media funding could mean substantial losses for public media stations in Oregon and Eugene.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order May 1 commanding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which allocates federal funds to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, to “cancel existing direct funding to the maximum extent allowed by law” to NPR and PBS stations.
In the order, Trump cited public media organizations’ “biased and partisan news coverage.”
If the order goes into effect, Eugene’s NPR member station KLCC’s budget would be reduced by about 10%, and Portland-based Oregon Public Broadcasting’s budget would decrease by about 9%.
KLCC General Manager Jim Rondeau wrote in a statement to Lookout Eugene-Springfield the executive order is concerning.
“Any loss of federal funding would be a serious risk to the investment our community has made in KLCC’s growth as a provider of local and national news,” Rondeau wrote.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting provides grant money to KLCC and pays for shared services, including music royalties, satellite distribution and digital services. Rondeau said the station estimates these services and direct funding total $600,000 annually. The order states that all funding toward public media organizations should stop by June 30.
KLCC has not made plans to change its services. Rondeau is optimistic that local support will keep the station afloat.
“Fortunately, Oregon readers and listeners have been generous,” Rondeau wrote. “Membership support is strong and we’re gratified by the level of concern that has been expressed about KLCC’s future. While reserve funds won’t last forever, strong community support does give us the ability to weather short-term funding challenges. We like to say, ‘built by Oregon, sustained by Oregonians.’”
He is also hopeful KLCC won’t face cuts because of the order.
In response to the Trump action, Patricia Harrison, chief executive of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, issued a statement that said the White House does not have the authority to determine what the organization funds, because it is not a federal executive agency.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a private nonprofit corporation, created by Congress, for the purpose of supporting public media organizations with federal funds while protecting them from “extraneous interference and control.” In creating the corporation, Congress forbade any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States from having any control over it.
Congress annually allocates $535 million of taxpayer dollars to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, regularly approving the money two years in advance. Lawmakers passed legislation in March that will fund the corporation through 2027. This does not, however, guarantee the money will get to stations like KLCC.
PBS and NPR said they are looking to take legal action against the administration.
“This is not about balancing the federal budget,” Katherine Maher, NPR president and chief executive officer, said in a statement following the executive order. “The appropriation for public broadcasting, including NPR and PBS, represents less than 0.0001% of the federal budget. The President’s order is an affront to the First Amendment rights of NPR and locally owned and operated stations throughout America to produce and air programming that meets the needs of their communities.”
