SDPB and Federal Funding for Public Media

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.

• 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.

Reports have surfaced that the White House will send a memo to Congress, asking that federal funds already appropriated to CPB be rescinded. “Rescission” is the revocation, cancellation, or repeal of a law, order, or agreement. In this case, it would immediately cancel all federal funds provided to CPB (and, thus, to local public broadcasters), and retrieve moneys previously allocated. 

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; coverage of high school sports and activities; 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.

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.

Contact Your Legislators

• Rep. Dusty Johnson: https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/contact 

• 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. 

While the potential loss of CPB funding poses a very real threat, the majority of SDPB’s funding still comes from individual contributors. Consider becoming a SDPB member or upgrading your support. If you donate annually, consider becoming a sustaining member. If you are a sustaining member, consider increasing your gift.

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.