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CURRENT THREATS TO PUBLIC MEDIA

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT.

As you’ve likely heard, public media currently faces multiple threats coming out of Washington, including bills to eliminate the federal funding we receive from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), an FCC investigation into public media’s longstanding sponsorship practices, and a call for public media leaders to testify before Congress. These moves signal a broader effort to not only take away critical funding, but to destabilize the very foundation of public broadcasting. It’s no exaggeration to say that the future of public media itself is at stake.

These new challenges are also unfolding against the backdrop of a decades-long crisis in local journalism, and a rapidly changing media landscape that has destabilized the news and information landscape—leading to an increase in partisan news, rampant mis- and disinformation, and financial headwinds for media outlets nationwide, including New York Public Radio (NYPR).

With so much going on in the world, now is a moment when public media has never been more valuable. It’s also a moment when public media has never been more vulnerable, and when we need your support.   

WHAT ARE THE CURRENT THREATS TO PUBLIC MEDIA? 

  • Legislative challenges to federal funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB): Lawmakers have introduced House and Senate versions of the “No Propaganda Act,” to prohibit federal funding for NPR and PBS. Public funding for public broadcasting has enjoyed bipartisan support for over 50 years. 
  • Investigation by the Federal Communications Communication (FCC): In January 2025, the FCC announced an investigation into the sponsorship practices of NPR and PBS stations. Sponsorship is one of the three revenue sources that make up New York Public Radio’s longstanding, diversified nonprofit business model, and a disruption in that funding would have a significant impact on our fiscal standing. 
  • Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) subcommittee hearing: A House DOGE subcommittee has called the heads of NPR and PBS, Katherine Maher and Paula Kerger, to testify about the integrity of public broadcasting’s content. The hearing is scheduled for March 26. 

WHAT CAN I DO TO STAND WITH NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO (COMPRISING WNYC, WQXR, NEW JERSEY PUBLIC RADIO, AND GOTHAMIST) AND PUBLIC BROADCASTERS NATIONWIDE? 

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND 

WHY IS NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO SO ESSENTIAL? WHAT ARE THE SERVICES YOU PROVIDE? 

The commercial model for local news has long been broken—at national, state and local levels. The US has lost fully one third of its print newspapers over the last 20 years, and 80% of those that remain are weeklies, not dailies. Even New York City—the largest media market in the country—has seen drastic cuts, leaving the city without enough journalists to cover key beats and issues. Into that growing void, New York Public Radio and peers in public media have become increasingly critical sources for rigorous journalism, civil conversation, and lively cultural programming.  

New York Public Radio (NYPR) is home to the largest public radio station group in the country (WNYC, WQXR, and New Jersey Public Radio), as well as local NYC news site Gothamist, pioneering podcast producer WNYC Studios, and event venue The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space. Together, these mission-driven entities form an essential community asset that provides incomparable service to our city and region: 

  • WNYC’s broadcast signals reach the five boroughs of New York City, the surrounding New York suburbs, and approximately 75% of the New Jersey population. 
  • WNYC is the nation’s #1 public radio station, and home to one of the most diverse legacy newsrooms in the country.
  • WNYC is the only Emergency Alert System on the FM dial in NYC—producing vital and even life-saving updates in times of crisis, from 9/11 to Hurricane Sandy to recent events like last year’s earthquake and the wildfire smoke crisis the year before. 
  • WNYC’s first-of-its-kind local daily news podcast NYC NOW has filled the gap for on-demand local news in NYC.
  • On his daily call-in show, Brian Lehrer serves as the moral compass of our city, bringing listeners, thinkers, experts, and lawmakers together in direct conversation.
  • A recent CPB grant allowed us to bring on a new Capitol reporter as part of the New York Public News Collaborative, through which our statehouse reporting from Albany is shared with public media outlets all across the state.  
  • WNYC Studios is home to beloved industry-leading podcasts and national radio shows, including Radiolab, The New Yorker Radio Hour, On The Media, and Terrestrials—an educational kids’ science podcast produced with free online learning materials and used by educators nationwide. 
  • On-air for almost 90 years, WQXR is the city’s only all-classical radio station, and the most accessible platform for audiences to experience the joy of classical music. 
  • WQXR broadcasts live concerts from New York’s iconic music and cultural institutions, magnifying their reach by an order of magnitude and opening their doors to those for whom a concert ticket may not be in the family budget. 

With such an enormous public service footprint, NYPR is an anchor in the civic life of our city and state, an amplifier of critical New York conversations for audiences across the country, and a central resource to keep New Yorkers and New Jerseyans inspired, informed and connected—to one another and to those who represent us. 

HOW DOES FEDERAL FUNDING FOR PUBLIC MEDIA WORK? WHAT EXACTLY IS THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (CPB)? 

Congress appropriates money biannually to support the CPB—an independent nonprofit organization authorized by Congress to manage the federal government’s investment in public media. The CPB then makes annual grants to public radio and television stations across the country.

CPB was established following the Public Broadcasting Act (1967), and has seen bipartisan support ever since. The American public broadcasting system has been a source of local news, civic conversation, and critical emergency broadcast services for Americans in all 50 states and in every type of community: urban, suburban, rural, and remote. It is a highly successful example of a private-public partnership, and federal funding for public media amounts to about 0.01% of federal spending—only about $1.60 per person per year. 

HOW DOES THE PUBLIC MEDIA SYSTEM FUNCTION? HOW DOES WNYC FIT IN? 

The public media system is unique within the American media landscape. Independent, nonprofit public radio stations nationwide (including WNYC) operate by programming a combination of original local content—produced in-house—and licensing content from NPR, the BBC, and other public media producers. Each station curates a unique programming slate to meet the needs of their local communities, united by a shared, non-partisan, public service ethos. Stations often collaborate on shared projects and programs, to bring in the perspectives of people across the nation. Collectively, stations rely on pooled resources from the CPB including satellite interconnection, emergency alert systems, music licensing, and the development of educational programs.

HOW MUCH OF NYPR’S FUNDING COMES FROM CPB? WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF FEDERAL FUNDING WAS CUT? 

Direct funding from the CPB accounts for about 4% of New York Public Radio’s annual budget (just under $3 million). This is a relatively modest, but still very meaningful revenue source. The loss of government funding would significantly impact our ability to serve our city and state, though we would act swiftly to marshall additional resources, in partnership with our community.

For smaller stations across the state and the nation, government funding can account for a much higher portion of their revenue base. In addition, in many of these communities, public media is the only remaining source for local news and critical emergency alerts. Eliminating CPB funding would create additional news deserts and exacerbate existing ones. It would also leave fewer stations left to bear the shared costs of nationally syndicated programming, harming NYPR, NPR, and all stations nationwide.

PUBLIC MEDIA HAS NEVER BEEN MORE VALUABLE. IT HAS ALSO NEVER BEEN MORE VULNERABLE. PLEASE STAND WITH US NOW. 

This is a challenging time for public media, journalism, and the arts. Moments like this underscore the fragility of our news and information landscape. They also demonstrate the critical importance of the work we do. 

Please show your support today: become an advocate for public media or support New York Public Radio and the essential public services we provide.