The Battle Over Public Broadcasting

31 snips

Jul 4, 2025

Guest

Sage Smiley

Guest

Mike Gonzalez

Mike Gonzalez, a Senior Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, argues against public broadcasting funding, calling for cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Sage Smiley, News Director at KYUK, highlights local public radio's critical role in providing essential information to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region. They discuss the ongoing political battles over funding amidst accusations of bias, the importance of local journalism for community accountability, and the necessity of public media during crises like wildfires and climate change.

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INSIGHT

Trump Targets Public Media Funding

President Trump's efforts to defund public media are part of a broader political battle accusing it of liberal bias.
This reflects ongoing partisan disputes over government support for NPR and PBS.

INSIGHT

Public Broadcasting's Political History

Despite longstanding political opposition, public broadcasting has sustained through shielding funding from immediate political influence.
Early conservative fears about bias and regional fund distribution persist but public broadcasting has endured.

INSIGHT

Local Stations Depend on CPB Grants

Over 70% of CPB funds go as community service grants, mostly benefiting rural stations and local programming.
Stations have funding flexibility but heavily rely on this support to maintain local services.

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President Trump is asking lawmakers to claw back over a billion dollars in federal funds for public broadcasting. On this week’s On the Media, the long history of efforts to save—and snuff out—public broadcasting. Plus, the role of public radio across the country, from keeping local governments in check to providing life-saving information during times of crisis.

[01:00] Hosts Brooke Gladstone and Micah Loewinger explore the history of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and break down its funding with Karen Everhart, managing editor of Current.

[07:59] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, a member of the Subcommittee which oversees the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, on his decades-long fight with Republican lawmakers to keep NPR and PBS alive.

[13:45] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation, who authored a part of the foundation’s Project 2025 chapter on ending CPB funding.

[26:15] Hosts Brooke Gladstone and Micah Loewinger on how public radio stations across the country work to hold local governments accountable, ft: Scott Franz of KUNC in Colorado, Matt Katz formerly of WNYC, and Lindsey Smith of Michigan Public.

[34:27] Host Micah Loewinger takes a deep dive into the role of public radio during crises, ft: Tom Michael, founder of Marfa Public Radio and Laura Lee, former news director for Blue Ridge Public Radio.

[41:28] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Sage Smiley, news director at KYUK in Bethel, Alaska, to talk about the station’s life-saving coverage of the Kuskokwim Ice Road in southwestern Alaska, and what the region would lose without public radio.