What it means for WITF & local journalism if Congress kills public media funding
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Staff
Public media faces an uncertain future.
A number of news outlets (NPR, The New York Times and PBS News, among others) have reported that the White House intends to submit a rescission proposal soon, which would claw back more than $1 billion that Congress has previously appropriated for our nation’s public media system.
The elimination of these funds represents an existential crisis to WITF, as well as independent public radio stations around the country.
WITF is locally managed right here in Harrisburg: we make programming and service decisions in response to the unique needs of Central Pennsylvania … and we do so, in part, thanks to the funding we receive from the federal government via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Public media has always been supported by the communities it serves — and right now, that support matters more than ever.
In response to all of the questions we’ve received from listeners and members, here are a few frequently asked questions about how public media funding works, and what impact the absence of that funding may have on us.
What just happened?
The White House announced on April 14 its intention to submit a formal proposal to Congress to eliminate previously appropriated funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). While funding through 2027 for CPB had been approved by Congress, this executive action aims to undermine the expressed wishes of Congress and signals an unprecedented effort to end federal support for public media.
Public media funding makes up only a small fraction of the federal budget (less than 1/100th of 1%!), but its impact is enormous, particularly for rural, underserved and emergency-prone communities. WITF and other stations across the country are now facing a direct and immediate threat to our ability to serve the public. Your voice — right now — can help stop it.
How can I help?
Public media has always been supported by the communities it serves — and right now, that support matters more than ever.
We have partnered with the “Protect My Public Media” campaign to make it easy for you to tell your representatives in Congress that you oppose ending funding for South Central Pennsylvania’s public radio station. We urge you to send a message to your members of Congress by clicking here. Tell them you support federal funding for public media and ask them to reject this rescission proposal.
It will take only a minute, and your voice is a powerful defense against these cuts.
I will write to my members of Congress today, but would a financial contribution now be helpful as well?
Absolutely!
Local community support is our largest and most stable source of funding, and no matter how this shakes out, continuing our public service will require your ongoing support.
This is an excellent time to either join us or increase your current support for WITF.
How can I advocate for continued support of public media?
The biggest thing you can do is make your voice heard by your members of Congress, who control the appropriations process. To identify your representatives, just click here. You can use this same link to send a message to your representatives in Washington, and to share your commitment to WITF with your family and friends.
How much CPB funding does WITF receive?
Approximately 8% of our budgeted revenue comes from the CPB (about $1.3 million). That amount is calculated each year using a complex formula that takes into account our region’s population and how much support we raise locally through private donations and support from small businesses and organizations.
What will happen if WITF loses federal funding?
Loss of funding could mean a reduction in our local and state journalism, and changes to — or even elimination — of some of our programming on WITF.
How is WITF preparing for this?
We are preparing for this possibility on many fronts, including collaborations with fellow public radio and TV stations across the country, as well as with NPR.
We are planning a communications, programming and budget strategy to ensure that, even in the face of potential federal cuts, we can continue delivering the programming and news you rely on every day. But your assistance is vital right now.
And, unfortunately, we are developing a contingency plan for the potential loss of funding, which would begin to impact us almost immediately.
Why is public broadcasting needed when we can get news and content from so many sources?
Local public media outlets like WITF are focused specifically on the needs of the communities of Central Pennsylvania. We are here every day with news, information and entertainment that makes this region a better and stronger place to live – and our services are provided without charge: on-air, online and on your mobile phone and tablet.
On WITF, we provide trusted content that isn’t available from commercial media outlets.
- You won’t hear the politically skewed programming that is so common (and profitable!) in the world of commercial media. Our news and information services are focused on our local community and are worthy of your trust. 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 your health and safety, your finances, our democracy and our future.
- Programming available to everyone, regardless of where they live and their ability to pay for it.
So why does WITF need federal funding?
Even though member and local business support makes up the majority of our budget, a modest contribution of federal funding to our organization — an average of $1.60 per citizen per year — makes our work possible.
If federal funding is eliminated, public media stations could be forced to reduce or cut some of their current programming. And in some places — particularly in rural areas where public media stations are the only local sources of news — those services could be eliminated entirely.
What is the CPB’s role in public broadcasting?
CPB is not a broadcaster, but an independent, nonprofit organization created by Congress in 1967 with two primary functions: to serve as a firewall between partisan politics and public broadcasting, and to help fund programming, stations and technology.
Funding for CPB is established through the federal budget annual appropriations process two years in advance with the intention of insulating funding from political pressures. Its total appropriation is currently over $500 million. CPB is responsible for allocating its funds from the federal budget in any way that fulfills its mission: to ensure universal access, over-the-air and online, to high-quality content and telecommunications services that are commercial free and free of charge.
Most CPB funding goes directly to local stations so they can decide how best to program for their communities.
- Public media reaches 99% of the U.S. population and serves millions of Americans every day.
- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is an independent nonprofit that distributes federal funds to local stations. That money is used to invest in programming and services according to each community’s needs.
- CPB funding allows public media stations to pool resources towards satellite interconnection, emergency alert systems, music licensing and development of educational programs, all of which would be too expensive for stations to do on their own.
- Cuts to federal funding would negatively impact the ability of rural stations to serve the people who need it most.
You can learn more by clicking here.
A reminder of what you can do:
- Send a message to Congress – ProtectMyPublicMedia.org
- Learn about CPB’s role in public media – Corporation for Public Broadcasting
- Make a contribution of support to WITF.
Update: This article has been updated to reflect the accurate percent of WITF’s funding from CPB.
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