We want to share more information about how federal funding for public media works, as well as the current status of threats to public media funding. This first thing to know is that time is of the essence! If you oppose the reduction or elimination of funding for public media we encourage you to contact the South Dakota congressional delegation without delay. Contact information for Rep. Dusty Johnson, Sen. Mike Rounds, and Sen. John Thune is below.
What to know about federal public media
- The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 authorized federal funding for public radio and television broadcasting for instructional, educational, and cultural purposes. Today, 99% of the American public is served by public media (NPR and PBS stations), and the average cost per American for public broadcasting funding each year is $1.60.
- Approximately 20% of SDPB’s annual funding comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting - $ 2,197,764 in FY24.
- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an independent non-profit tasked with distributing appropriated federal funds to local stations. CPB prioritizes funding for public media organizations serving rural and remote communities. Nearly half of the 544 radio and television stations who receive CPB funding are considered rural. Radio stations that serve Native American Reservations also receive money from CPB.
- In addition to direct support for stations’ operating costs, CPB funds vital infrastructure for public media organizations including satellite interconnection, emergency alert systems, music licensing, educational program development, and more.
- CPB is funded on a two-year cycle. This cycle was originally established to insulate CPB from any political interference. CPB gets a little more than $500 million a year, a cost of about $1.60 per American.
What’s happening right now
On June 12, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025, which would rescind the previously appropriated FY 2026 and FY 2027 funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This legislation narrowly passed by a vote of 214-212. This request now moves to the Senate must be approved by a simple majority to become law. The Senate must vote on the rescission package no later than July 18.
Additionally, President Trump’s FY 2026 budget proposal eliminates all funding for public media except $30 million in closeout costs for CPB. These actions are in addition to President Trump’s May 1 executive order prohibiting federal funds in the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to go to NPR or PBS and from member stations (like SDPB) to fund these organizations.
Patricia Harrison, President and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, issued the following statement regarding the President’s proposed rescissions package:
Public media delivers unmatched value to the American taxpayer. It serves every family in every part of America. It’s available for families without access to reliable broadband, cable, or streaming services. Federal funding is essential to public media. Every dollar from CPB brings nearly seven more from state, local, and private donors – the kind of return any taxpayer would insist upon.
Cutting off federal funding to public media will not only damage local stations, it will be disruptive for millions of Americans who rely on it for news and information that helps them make decisions about their lives and participate in their communities
What happens if we lose this funding?
While SDPB would immediately seek to raise the $2 million in lost CPB funds from donors and business sponsors, the loss of federal funding would very likely result in immediate and significant impacts on our ability to provide essential services, including production of local news, documentaries, and music programming; and our ability to purchase national programming and maintain broadcast infrastructure.
In addition, stations across the country rely on pooled resources from CPB including satellite interconnection, emergency alert systems, the ability to license music, and to develop educational programs. The whole public broadcasting network would be impacted in ways that would also impact SDPB.
Why is public broadcasting needed when we can get news and content from so many sources?
Local public media stations provide critical information — always free of charge — to help citizens make informed decisions.
With the number of local journalists declining nationwide and increased division and isolation in our country, independent and nonprofit public media organizations like SDPB abides by rigorous ethical standards to ensure our content cannot be influenced by commercial interests. In a time where anyone can post their opinion to social media, journalism grounded in rigorous fact-checking is essential to inform decisions that affect our health and safety, our finances, our democracy, and our future.
What you can do to support SDPB and Public Media
Contact Your Legislators
- Sen. Mike Rounds: https://www.rounds.senate.gov/contact
- Sen. John Thune: https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact
- Protect My Public Media is an advocacy group dedicated to protecting local public television and radio stations. Their website has many suggestions for how individuals can organize to protect public media funding. SDPB encourages you to visit their site and sign up to receive more information.
- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has additional information and reporting on their distribution of funds and services for public media. You can also learn more in this overview PDF.
Make a Gift
The potential loss of CPB funding poses a very real threat. Consider becoming a SDPB member or upgrading your support.
To make an even greater impact, consider making a transformative gift to secure SDPB's future. Many people choose to give from their assets - stocks, gifts from their IRA, and grants from their Donor-Advised Fund - to see even larger tax savings.
Additional Coverage and Resources
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President Trump is asking lawmakers to claw back the $1.1 billion in federal subsidies for public broadcasting that Congress approved earlier this year. His request also includes cuts to foreign aid. -
As lawmakers return to Washington, they expect a rescission request from the White House to cut funding already passed by Congress. Among other cuts, President Trump’s request is expected to include the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the nonprofit through which NPR and PBS get federal funding. -
Issued by President Donald Trump on May 1, 2025. -
President Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's board of directors to "cease federal funding for NPR and PBS." -
NewsJulie Overgaard connects the dots between NPR and SDPB. We look at 50 years of NPR and the impact and future of public media in South Dakota. -
The Friends of SDPB support the mission of South Dakota Public Broadcasting through advocacy, leadership, and fundraising responsive to the needs of SDPB and all South Dakotans. -
With the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations process approaching, growing calls to defund public media and new threats emerging, now is a critical time to act. -
President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to ask Congress to rescind $1.1 billion, or about two years of funding, from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which helps support PBS and NPR. -
The U.S. House voted Thursday on a rescission bill to claw back money for foreign aid programs, along with the next two years of funding for the public media system. The measure now goes to the Senate.
