Particle.news

Download on the App Store

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

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rural stations face the greatest risk of programming cuts and lost emergency-alert capabilities if key CPB funding is rescinded