Statement from CPB on the President’s FY 2020 Budget Proposal Eliminating Funding for Public Media

WASHINGTON, DC (March 18, 2019) — Patricia de Stacy Harrison, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), made the following statement regarding the President’s proposed FY 2020 budget, which would rescind all but $30 million of each FY 2020 and FY 2021 funding for public media.   

“Federal funding is the foundation of the uniquely American, public-private partnership of the public media system. The support of Congress, combined with private funding, enables locally owned and operated public media stations to promote early learning, prepare young people for job opportunities, provide critical emergency alert services in partnership with public safety officials, and tell authentic stories in ways that enhance our civil society.

There is no viable alternative to the federal investment to accomplish the mission that Congress assigned to public media and that the American people overwhelmingly support. Without the federal investment, the entire public media system and the unique services and value provided to rural, small town and urban communities would be devastated.

As a trusted partner within communities and states, public media has covered issues before they became national concerns. For example, public media stations in all 50 states have produced thousands of hours of local broadcast and online coverage on the impact of opioid addiction and have hosted hundreds of town halls and other events with local community partners focusing on solutions. Through the CPB-supported American Graduate: Getting To Work initiative, stations are creating local content focused on the essential skills needed for students and workers to succeed in the job markets of today and tomorrow.

We will continue to raise awareness in Congress about the importance of federal funding in supporting local public media stations and the valued content and services they provide our communities and our Nation.”

About CPB
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,500 locally owned and operated public television and radio stations nationwide. CPB is also the largest single source of funding for research, technology and program development for public radio, television and related online services. For more information, visit cpb.org, follow us on Twitter @CPBmedia, Facebook and LinkedIn and subscribe for other updates.