Searching for pennies: With the cut in federal funding public broadcasters are looking to cope
July 17, 2025
In Alaska, a public radio station general manager took a moment from a busy day warning her community about a possible tsunami for a special task — sending a text message to Sen. Lisa Murkowski urging her to vote against a measure to strip federal funding of NPR and PBS. Murkowski voted against the bill, but not enough her colleagues did, leaving the nation’s public media system to cope with new holes in their budget moving forward. Congress eliminated almost $1.1 billion in funding over the next two years for public media. The systems’ leaders say the cuts threaten the survival of some of their stations, particularly those in rural areas.
