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Senate Votes to Strip $1.1 Billion From Public Media Funding

Executives warn that the rollback threatens news services in rural areas ahead of a House vote

KQED President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Isip and documentarian Ken Burns greet each other at a preview of Burns’ upcoming PBS limited series “The American Revolution” at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on Wednesday, July 16.
From left: Atlantic magazine editor Jeffrey Goldberg, documentarians Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and historian Christopher Brown discuss the upcoming PBS limited series “The American Revolution” at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on Wednesday, July 16.
Documentarian Ken Burns, right, makes a point as Atlantic magazine editor Jeffrey Goldberg looks on during a discussion about the upcoming PBS limited series “The American Revolution” at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on Wednesday, July 16.
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Overview

  • The Senate approved the 51–48 rescissions package to withdraw $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
  • The measure now moves to the House, where lawmakers are expected to pass it by Friday, imperiling grants to PBS, NPR and hundreds of local stations
  • KQED announced 15 percent workforce cuts after projecting a $12 million budget deficit tied to the potential loss of federal support
  • Filmmaker Ken Burns and PBS chief Paula Kerger have lobbied senators and criticized the reductions as shortsighted threats to democratic accountability
  • Smaller and rural stations face the greatest risk of programming cuts and lost emergency-alert capabilities if key CPB funding is rescinded