The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has indicated that it will soon shut down its operations after nearly 60 years due to the loss of federal funding.
Nearly $1.1 billion in funding will be lost, which prompted the shutdown, affecting PBS and NPR’s local member stations. These broadcasters rely on federal support to fund their operations.
“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,” Patricia Harrison, CPB president and CEO, said in a statement.
She added, “CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.”
CPB will begin an orderly shutdown of its operations, with the majority of its 100-member staff expected to see their terms of employment come to a close at the end of its fiscal year on September 30, 2025.
The corporation has indicated that a small number of staff will remain after the close of the fiscal year to ensure a responsible and orderly closeout of operations through January 2026.
At the behest of President Donald Trump, Congress recently passed the federal rescissions package and the release of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) appropriations bill, which saw the exclusion of CPB funding.
“Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country,” Harrison said. “We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.”