UPDATE: Trump issues order to end federal funding to NPR and PBS. What could this mean for WPSU?

UPDATE MAY 2: President Trump signed an executive order Thursday prohibiting federal funding for NPR and PBS and calling their news coverage "partisan and biased."

The order directs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to stop funding to NPR and PBS "to the maximum extent allowed by law." It says to do that, the CPB board should revise its grant criteria to make that change by June 30. Trump had already said he was removing three of CPB's five board members, prompting a lawsuit by CPB challenging his authority to do that.

Trump's order also says that public radio and television stations can't use federal funds to pay for NPR and PBS programming.

CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison issued a statement Friday challenging Trump's authority to prohibit CPB funding from being directed to NPR and PBS.

“CPB is not a federal executive agency subject to the president’s authority. Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government," Harrison's statement says.

“In creating CPB, Congress expressly forbade ‘any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over educational television or radio broadcasting, or over [CPB] or any of its grantees or contractors…’ 47 U.S.C. § 398(c).”

Original story published April 23:
NPR, the New York Times and other news outlets had previously reported that the Trump administration had planned to ask Congress to rescind $1.1 billion in federal support to public media. That is funding for the next two years, already approved by Congress.

WPSU gets about 20% of its funding from CPB. The amount varies based on a number of factors, but this year WPSU is getting about $1.8 million.

Here is a look at what federal funding supports, and what it could mean for stations, including WPSU, if Congress does approve cutting or eliminating public media funding. You can also read what WPSU General Manager Isabel Reinert said about the proposed cuts in an interview with WPSU Reporter Anne Danahy.

The Trump administration plans to send a memo to Congress after the House gets back from recess on April 24. The administration is proposing that Congress claw back previously approved funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Congress will have 45 days to vote on the proposal if and when it is presented. Simple majority approval would be needed in both the House and Senate. Republicans control both chambers — 220-213 in the House and 53-47 in the Senate, including two independent Senators who caucus with Democrats.

If the proposal is made and Congress approves it, it would rescind CPB funding through 2027.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a nonprofit created by Congress in 1967. NPR gets about 1% of its funding and PBS gets about 15% directly from CPB. About 70% of CPB funding goes to member stations across the country. There are about 1,500 locally operated public radio and television stations nationwide.

NPR member stations receive an average of 8% - 10% of their funding from CPB, and PBS member stations receive an average of 15% of their funding from CPB. But WPSU receives about 20% of its funding from CPB, in part because it serves a rural area.

At WPSU, most of that funding goes to purchasing national programming for radio and TV, such as All Things Considered, News Hour and Masterpiece Theatre. WPSU uses some of the funding to support some salaries as well.

NPR and PBS reach 99% of the public. Local public broadcasting infrastructure ensures that all Americans have access to local public safety information and life-saving emergency alerts through the Emergency Alert System and as a pathway for delivering Wireless Emergency Alerts to cell phones.

WPSU is a PBS and NPR member station. It provides free programming and information to 1.3 million people in a largely rural part of Pennsylvania. Its television signal reaches 24 counties in central and northern Pennsylvania and radio reaches 13 counties. WPSU produces local radio, TV and online news and shows that complement national programming. WPSU also hosts educational community events and programs.

If CPB funding is eliminated in upcoming years, it could mean reducing or eliminating national programming, local programming and community engagement and events.

WPSU Executive Director and General Manager Isabel Reinert said because WPSU receives that federal money, it can use other funding to create local programming, hold community events and provide local news coverage.

"We can use other monies and other resources to hold those community engagement activities, the events, the children's family nights, where we have STEM education that is shared, where we do a lot of our local programming — our Keystone Stories, our Local Groove Presents, our Culinary Connections, our radio reporting," she said. "And if one of those sources of funding were to not be there, it would very much change the dynamics in ways that I can't even really anticipate today."

To learn more about being part of efforts to show support for WPSU and other public radio and television stations, visit Protect my Public Media at protectmypublicmedia.org.