Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Shut Down After 60 Years
WASHINGTON – The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the primary conduit for federal funding to public media in the United States for nearly 60 years, has announced it will shut down its operations. The stunning decision follows the successful passage of legislation in July championed by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans to rescind all federal funding for the organization.
The closure marks the culmination of a decades-long political battle over the role of government-supported media and is expected to have a devastating impact on the American public media landscape. In a somber statement, CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison confirmed the "difficult reality" of the closure. While major entities like NPR and PBS may survive, hundreds of smaller, rural public radio and television stations that rely heavily on CPB grants could be forced to go off the air.
The Final Blow: A Political Victory for Defunding Advocates
The shutdown is the direct result of a rescission bill passed by Congress in July 2025, which clawed back approximately $1.1 billion in two-year advance appropriations that had already been allocated to the CPB. This move was spearheaded by President Donald Trump, who has long been a vocal critic of what he perceives as ideological bias in public media.
The President's argument was that government support for news media is "not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence." The shutdown will be methodical. The CPB announced that the majority of its staff positions will be eliminated on September 30, with a small transition team remaining through January 2026.
A Storied History: The CPB's Role in American Media
To understand the magnitude of this loss, it's essential to understand the CPB's central role in the American media ecosystem. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting was a cornerstone of President Lyndon B. Johnson's "Great Society" legislation, created by the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. It was established as a private, nonprofit corporation to act as a steward and a firewall, distributing congressional appropriations to public media stations and insulating them from direct political pressure.
The CPB was instrumental in the creation of both the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in 1969 and National Public Radio (NPR) in 1970. Over its nearly six decades, the CPB has been a key funding source for iconic programming like Sesame Street, PBS NewsHour, and Ken Burns' documentaries.
The Devastating Impact on Rural and Underserved Communities
While the defunding is often framed as a blow to national organizations, the most catastrophic impact will be felt at the local level, particularly in rural America. Hundreds of smaller stations rely on their annual CPB grant for a significant portion—sometimes more than 50 percent—of their entire operating budget.
PBS President Paula Kerger warned of this dire outcome, telling Scripps News that some of these rural public television stations could be forced to shut down entirely. This would create vast new "news deserts" and cut off a vital lifeline for the **Emergency Alert System (EAS)** in many remote areas.
A Decades-Long Political Battle
The 2025 defunding is the culmination of a political battle waged for over 50 years. Almost since its inception, the CPB has been a target for conservative politicians who have accused it of having a liberal bias, with past defunding attempts made during the Nixon, Reagan, and Gingrich years. However, in each of those instances, a broad, bipartisan coalition ultimately saved the funding.
In her final statement, CPB President Patricia Harrison acknowledged this long history of public support. “Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,” she said.