“For more than half a century, CPB existed to ensure that all Americans—regardless of geography, income, or background—had access to trusted news, educational programming, and local storytelling,” Patricia Harrison, President and CEO of CPB, says in a press statement. “When the Administration and Congress rescinded federal funding, our Board faced a profound responsibility: CPB’s final act would be to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving, rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks.”
“What has happened to public media is devastating,” Ruby Calvert, Chair of CPB’s Board Of Directors, continues in the same statement. “After nearly six decades of innovative, educational public television and radio service, Congress eliminated all funding for CPB, leaving the Board with no way to continue the organization or support the public media system that depends on it. Yet, even in this moment, I am convinced that public media will survive, and that a new Congress will address public media’s role in our country because it is critical to our children’s education, our history, culture and democracy to do so.”
The CPB was authorized by Congress in 1967 and helped build the network of about 1,500 locally owned and operated radio and television stations, many of which are also facing critical funding issues of their own. Per Variety, about 70% of the funding the corporation received was funneled straight into the local channels. Beyond creating news programs and shows like Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, the CPB was also behind crucial emergency alerts, often being the only thing to provide those alerts in more rural areas. According to its press release, the CPB will still distribute remaining funds and support the work of the American Archive of Public Broadcasting, which is digitizing content dating back to the corporation’s founding nearly 60 years ago. The CPB’s archive will be housed at the University Of Maryland.
Keep scrolling for more great stories from The A.V. Club.