President Donald Trump’s May 1 order to halt federal funding of National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service jeopardizes news and other programming broadcast by Wyoming’s affiliate stations that serve about 95% of the state’s rural population.
The executive order ensures that “Federal funding does not support biased and partisan news coverage,” Trump wrote about the attack against the two national news nonprofits and their parent Corporation for Public Broadcasting. NPR distributes audio content to Wyoming Public Media, based in Laramie and PBS distributes video content to Wyoming Public Broadcasting, based in Riverton.
Trump’s order threatens radio programs broadcast in Wyoming from news shows like Morning Edition to niche broadcasts like Fiona Ritchie’s The Thistle & Shamrock. NPR programs account for about 9 hours of Wyoming Public Media fare enjoyed by listeners between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., General Manager Christina Kuzmych said.
“We don’t see that much of a dislike for public broadcasting in Wyoming.”
Christina Kuzmych
The attack against the media by Trump and other Beltway critics “has us rattled,” Kuzmych said in a recent interview. “We don’t see that much of a dislike for public broadcasting in Wyoming,” she said.
Trump’s order also threatens to upend programming at Wyoming Public Broadcasting in Riverton, which airs PBS News Hour and other PBS shows like Antiques Roadshow and Nature. Paula Kerger, the CEO of the nationwide PBS television service, told News Hour that defunding CPB would create “an existential crisis” for stations across the country. Only 10% of national PBS programming is news, she said.
At Wyoming Public Broadcasting in Riverton, CEO Joanna Kail said the station has not yet lost any funding. But, “we can’t send our dues to [national] PBS” because of Trump’s order.
Public broadcasting plays an outsized role in rural Wyoming, which Broadbandnow ranks 48th in the country for internet coverage, speed and availability. Wyoming’s public radio and television stations reach internet-poor communities and operate with considerable public and foundation support, as well as federal and state money.
There’s more (or less)
Trump’s order directs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation created by Congress, and all federal agencies to “cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS.” The order applies to direct and indirect payments.
The CPB has a FY’25 budget of $545 million, all of which is federal money or interest on it. In addition to supporting the two national broadcasting stations, CPB makes grants to individual stations around the country.
Wyoming Public Media gets 13% of its $3.4 million budget from the CPB, Kuzmych said in an email. All told, 32% of all airtime on Wyoming Public Media is dedicated to NPR programming, which the local station pays for, she said.
Trump’s order also states that “CPB shall cease indirect funding to NPR and PBS,” a clause that keeps Wyoming Public Broadcasting, and presumably Wyoming Public Media, from purchasing and broadcasting an NPR or PBS programs.
Wyoming Public Broadcasting gets about 33% of its approximately $5 million budget from the CPB. Fully 66% of its programming comes from national PBS sources, the television station said Wednesday. It just received a $2.2 million grant to upgrade emergency alerts to the Next Generation Warning System.
The nonprofit KHOL radio station in Jackson gets 20% of its budget from the CPB, which only gives money to stations that can show $275,000 in local support. All three nonprofits also produce local news stories and reports on cultural events and other topics.
CPB also supports NPR’s backbone infrastructure called the Public Radio Satellite System that distributes programming to Wyoming Public Media and more than 1,200 public radio stations across the country.
In addition to Trump’s order, public broadcasting faces financial uncertainty as Congress, members of which are hostile to the news organizations, sorts through a federal budget.
A suit against the suits
Trump’s attack against CPB began April 28 when Trent Morse, a deputy director of “presidential personnel,” emailed three of the five sitting CPB board members, on behalf of Trump, saying their positions were “terminated effective immediately.”
CPB is a private corporation and it sued Trump the next day, saying he didn’t have the authority to fire Laura Ross, Thomas Rothman and Diane Kaplan. The suit seeks a temporary restraining order halting the firings, a motion that remains on the table.
Two days after CPB filed the suit, Trump signed the order cutting funding. Government funding “is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence,” Trump wrote.
CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison rejected Trump’s attacks. “Congress expressly forbade ‘any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States to exercise any direction, supervision, or control’” over CPB and its affiliates, she said in a statement.
In an emergency hearing before federal District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington, D.C., a CPB attorney said replacing the board members could lead to DOGE “physically and forcefully” invading private CPB offices the way it did at the U.S. Institute for Peace. Consequently, Moss said if Trump wants to replace any CPB board member, he must inform the court two days in advance so the broadcasters have a chance to challenge the move.
On Tuesday, the government filed court papers saying that because Trump appoints the CPB board members, he can also fire them. The board includes Chair Ruby Calvert of Wyoming Public Broadcasting.
At the public television station in Riverton, CEO Kail said she believes dissatisfaction with national PBS grew when the newsroom stopped listening to complaints about perceived bias. “We were trying to make PBS understand our concerns,” she said.
“It’s just not addressed,” she said of worries that came from Wyoming and southern and midwestern states. Beltway broadcasters have forgotten the tenet that “we don’t know more than our viewers.”
On the public radio front, NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher said NPR “will vigorously defend our right to provide essential news, information and life-saving services to the American public … using all means available.”
About 65% of Wyoming Public Media’s fundraising pledges are made when Morning Edition and All Things Considered are on the air, Kuzmych said. “Removing these two NPR programs impacts WPM’s fundraising ability and begs the question: Replace them with what? CBC? BBC?”
Public service is an essential part of the public broadcasting sphere, broadcasters say. At KHOL, CPB support “has enabled our coverage of women’s health, the Teton Pass landslide, immigration and so much more,” the station said in a newsletter.Funding cuts could endanger not just news but off-beat shows that have cult followings. Public radio nerds might phrase the conflict in their own patois. Will Trump or Congress extract Darrell Brogdon — broadcaster of space age bachelor pad music, tiki tunes, private eye jazz and more — from his Retro Cocktail Hour underground martini bunker?
Did any of the contributing commenters here listen to the president and CEO of NPR in Congressional testimony? Katherine Maher told that there were NO Conservatives on her staff.. To me, that tesrimony shows the strong possibility of biased NPR news. When President Trump brokers Middle East peace and garners trillions in investments, maybe NPR will complain of all the fuel that Air Force One burned to pollute the world?
I am a supporter of WPR, NPR, AND PBS and Wyofile. It is my opinion that they are fair and unbiased in their reporting. Those who disagree are those who don’t listen or watch because they are FOX listeners. It’s as simple as that. But my biggest concern is losing the impressive range of programming these stations provide. Wonderful shows that provoke thought about a wide range of subjects is so refreshing. I believe there are many maga folks who just want to be told what to think. They aren’t readers and they don’t like outside ideas. Those of us who are more enlightened need to keep pushing. We can’t lose this fight. Stay strong and keep on saying what we believe. Put your money where your mouth is and be loud. I’ll double my support for Wyofile and public broadcasting if I have to. Everything else is rubbish. Wake up America.
I really enjoy PBS of Wyoming. They really cover the state in an unbiased manner. They’re very professional. Did anybody watch the legislature on PBS? They covered it better than anybody I like the NewsHour my granddaughters watch cartoons on PBS. Why does Maga hate everything? What is their bag?
I consume many sources of media including NPR, including some dailies outside the US that are available on-line. What is amazing to me, as well as many scholars of political thought, is that the average person cannot see the creeping Fascism slowly permeating our country. Obviously our aggregate knowledge of history thus general education has failed. We are watching political corruption all around us with only a minority of protest from those that will be hurt the worst. So much of this destructive activity likely originates with Trumps advisor Stephen Miller who is tracking the ideas of Joseph Goebbel’s play book that was so successful at corrupting the German masses during the Third Reich. The US congress has the power of the purse, they fund NPR and CPB, and we the people are sitting by and allowing the Trump administration defy our once great Constitution like it does not exist.
I agree but with the “average person cannot see…” in that we’re in trouble because they do see and choose not to care. Nice write up in all aspects. Cheers!
Ed’s been paying attention.
“look, you Americans, you are so naïve. You think evil is going to come into your houses wearing big black boots. It doesn’t come like that. Look at the language. It begins in the language…” – Poet Joseph Brodsky
If you’ve made campaign contributions to CPB ( Cynthia, Putin puppet’s protégé, or Barrasso) in past election cycles why not consider making a generous gift on their behalf to your local public broadcaster or favorite independent news outlet this time around…
Mr. Dexter. By Putins “puppet comment I assume you’re talking about Joe Biden. Correct? Trump is not the puppet. Trump is bringing UkraineRussia to the table. Putin did not invade Ukraine while DJT was in office. Trust me when I say it was out of fear he didn’t invade. If you now note today’s news of Iran and how #47 is bringing that threat to an end. Again. Out of fear for their lives. So sir. You are barking up wrong tree. Mr. Trump is doing exactly what us voters that voted for 47 asked him to do. I voted for the man and damn proud of job he has done in last 100 plus days. I support a 3rd term for 47 as well. Don’t laugh. It is an amendment that can be over turned. GO 47!!
further proof why the baby boomer generation is the worst generation in the history of our society.
boomers like Larry are gullible, easily manipulated, and not very intelligent.
Doesn’t this really cut into private sector of Radio? Radio been struggling anyway. I am sure something could be worked out for private sector to carry some of the programming. After all local radio hire local people.
I consume many sources of media including NPR, including some dailies outside the US that are available on-line. What is amazing to me, as well as many scholars of political thought, is that the average person cannot see the creeping Fascism slowly permeating our country. Obviously our aggregate knowledge of history thus general education has failed. We are watching political corruption all around us with only a minority of protest from those that will be hurt the worst. So much of this destructive activity likely originates with Trumps advisor Stephen Miller who is tracking the ideas of Joseph Goebbel’s play book that was so successful at corrupting the German masses during the Third Reich. The US congress has the power of the purse, they fund NPR and CPB, and we the people are sitting by and allowing the Trump administration defy our once great Constitution like it does not exist.
Oh golly.. TDS is STILL so pervasive. Stocks are up, inflation down, tax relief on the way, Middle Eastern peace accords and trillions of dollars going to the US from foreign investors and you are still parroting “fascist”, “magats”, and “orange man bad”.. Trump is STILL Putin’s boy? When the war is ended in Ukraine, come back and tell me who came out on top, and let’s see who really wins! Tariffs were only bargaining chips.. Pay attention! You lost the election, more people wanted Trump.. Please get over it!
Used to listen to and enjoy NPR. They broadcast some good stuff but have become terribly one-sided, left leaning. I don’t want my tax dollars supporting NPR anymore.
Cynthia, there’s a strong possibility NPR has stayed consistent in their reporting, and you have wandered to the far-right. Someone recently quipped “Sesame Street hasn’t gone woke, you just grew up to be a bad person.” I don’t want my taxpayer dollars flying a drunk SecDef around embarrassing us, no tax dollars deporting legal citizens, zero for arresting judges, and not one dime spent for a draft dodger to get a $90M military parade for his birthday. Maybe we can compromise?
Thank you… Is it possible that Fox Noise has pushed half of our nation to the toxic rights. Just sayin!
How original.. Fox Noise, Faux News? How about the Progressive Left comes up with some better plans instead of insults? What would you do to better for America that Trump has not done so far? When his term is half over, there be no more wars and the US us will be prosperous like never before, so then you need to come back and apologize for all the ridiculous rhetoric! Get over it!
Sorry you find honest reporting left leaning. I suggest you go to your local tire shop and get yourself rebalanced.
It’s not that I don’t think people can think for themselves but my internal radar is really tuned to figuring out where people get their news from. I can just tell. All those catch words and phrases end up in their speech. People’s internal biases guide them into listening to news sources that reinforce their own thoughts. It doesn’t hurt to listen to the other side’s opinion. It ain’t going to kill ya.
I agree with what you’re saying Rock. People do gravitate towards how they believe and feel. I’ll flip over to Fox occassionally to get their take on a certain subject. What I usually find is MAGA propaganda, not always but usually, and it depends on who is presenting it. As with MSNBC, depending who you’re watching, you’re going to get the same points, on the other end of the spectrum, hour after hour.
I find, out of all of the networks, PBS and NPR at least try to keep it somewhere towards the center where it should be. I don’t know how you feel but when I watch or listen to the “news”, I’d like to hear news, not some person’s opinion of it. You’re entirely right in saying that it doesn’t hurt to hear what the other side is thinking but when the distortions are so far removed from reality in regards to this president and this administration, especially on Fox, it might not kill ya but it sure is nauseating.
Just my two cents worth…
I recently sent a canned letter from AARP in regards to Trump’s executive order to our three representatives (in order to get their canned response back). All three responded in some form by repeating the claim of being concerned about political bias in the media with Hageman’s being the most angry and hostile in tone by far. They all spoke about standing up for their constituents rights and not having our tax dollars wasted….blah, blah, blah. I would wager that all three of them would be outraged if Fox News was under attack. Rather than my hard earned tax dollars being thrown away on a radical left media outlet, I’m more concerned about my “rights” to listen to and watch said radical left media outlet being taken away from me.
I hope the good people of Wyoming will stand up for PBS and NPR because, unlike or beloved congressional delegation, this particular media source is “fair and unbiased”. I’m pretty sure Walter Cronkite would agree (and be equally as appalled), that this administration is this far off the rails if he were still with us.
Pretty sure Fox News doesn’t depend on government subsidy.
FOX news doesn’t receive your tax dollars.
Fox Newz did pay out a $787M settlement for lying about the 2020 election. NPR’s annual budget is $535M, and they haven’t had to settle any lawsuits based on the blatant dishonestly of their reporting. Just math.
Hi Clifford and Cynthia. I realize that Fox doesn’t receive tax dollars.
My point was that Barrasso, Lummis, and Hageman are so obsessed with the MAGA talking points about the “radical left” and protecting Donald Trump, that if Fox News were being threatened, they wouldn’t be so cavalier in their attitude towards that as they are about defunding PBS and NPR. Sorry for the confusion.
Congress must recommend and approve any cuts to funding for PBS, not the President.
And the GOP controls the House and Senate..Your point is??
Appears to me to be in violation of Freedom of the Press and Executive Office overreach. I am a regular listener of NPR and viewer of PBS and appreciate the thoroughness of the news presented by both in addition to the many excellent and unique programs offered. I imagine our Wyoming Representatives will be in lockstep with the Administration, I hold little faith there. I appreciate the opportunity to listen to both conservative and liberal news streams. Let me be the judge!
This is EXACTLY what Wyoming voters voted for. Actions have consequences. We told you so. Neener neener!
As early as its 1971 initial national distribution of “All Things Considered”, NPR (Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) – partially funded) tended to place more importance on reporting events E of the Hudson River albeit with increasing exceptions such as Washington, D.C. and later, more populated areas outside the northeastern United States.
Sometimes, I think I still detect a U.S. northeastern “smugness” in NPR reporting.
Broadcast licensee “public responsibility” diminished significantly with the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Technological changes also reduced the comparative “public responsibility” obligations that dominated U.S. broadcasting since The Communications Act of 1934. This long-time regulatory keystone gave U.S. broadcast licensees access to the “broadcast spectrum,” a public resource (i.e., free dispersion in contrast to closed-circuit electronic media, such as Cable TV).
One major loss: Reduced local broadcast news origination and coverage which Wyoming Public Media (WPM) and precious-few community radio entities have fortunately continued to provide to the best of their (objective) ability. Wyoming PBS’ Wyoming-based and Wyoming-produced content also provide news and public affairs programming largely otherwise unavailable.
The recent national administrative decision to select a partisan subjective information source (One America News) to program the Voice of America may tell us how close formerly-respected electronic media is moving towards George Orwell’s “1984” and its “alternative reality.”
Well certainly, they must kill the messenger of the most effective and truthful news broadcasting service available to our populace. It might counter Fox and other far right news sources that feed daily lies to their listeners so that Trump can proceed with his authoritarian regime. We must fight like hell to keep PUBLIC broadcasting funded as our most unbiased source of information. Otherwise, Trump and Elon can continue to control media……just like Hitler did.
If like me you write Barrasso, Lummis, and Hageman expressing your outrage with cancelling funding for CPB, PBS, and NPR , you will recieve in return a boiler plate text message ( probably AI generated ) expressing our delegation’s belief that public media to their ears and eyes very liberally biased. Of course they staunchly support Trump and his cuts and DOGE blah blah, without wavering, no matter the damage done and lifestyles disrupted.
I conclude that Barrasso, Lummis, and Hageman never point their ears and eyes at National Public Radio and the PBS Newshour. If they think it’s liberal and biased, they obviously aren’t listening and looking. Their staff is too busy taking notes on talking points from Fox and Newsmax and the right wing regurgidrome and hate blogs.
Keep in mind that Trump exorcised the demonic Voice of America and Radio Free Europe for the same reasons” too left leaning propagandistic”. Which is a crime against humanity. VOA was America’s best spokesperson offshore all around the world. That move was unconscionable.
Trump retorted by appointing right wing hatemonger and failed candidaye Kari Lake to head the ‘ new and improved’ VOA franchise and she immediately announced its programming will be provided by right wing commercial propaganda networks … One America Network , Newsmax , ??? one of those. Deplorable.
The Bottom Line is it’s imperative Wyoming residents unload on our Congressional reps to make them hear the outrage of cancelling public broadcast funding. Have you listened to commercial FM radio , AM Talk radio , and the electronic vermin of low-power Christian FM stations lately ? THAT is where you find the propaganda and bias. But to Barrasso, Lummis, and Hagemen , in order for public media to get its funding back , it, too, has to become Republican media. Or nothing.
Of course it’s an authoritarian act to silence his critics. Can any of you Trump worshipers see that?
Coming soon- Trump will tell the MAGAs when they can take a dump.
Gordon. We will never be as programmed as you and demoncrats are.
gulf of america?
stolen election?
“lovefest” insurrection?
qanon?
no due process?
immigrants are murderers and rapists?
tax cuts for the wealthy?
chrump watches/steaks/university/coins/crypto/bibles/NFT’s
chrump serving another term?
tariffs?
mexico will pay for a wall?
didn’t have to think hard on examples. tell us again how you gullible boomers aren’t programmed. just click your heels together Larry and just keep repeating “big smile” like your boy elon.
You’re doing the Trump goose step and you don’t even know it.
BTW Larry .. its still the “Gulf of Mexico” China is laughing at us, and the Constitution makes no mention of masked guys scooping people off the streets. That’s what Russia, China, and Venezuela do.
For a long while, NPR especially has attempted to curry favor with the right wing by engaging in a nauseating amount of “both sides” coverage and featuring some insane and inane conservative voices. This approach was not only dishonest and cowardly, it was also stupid and irresponsible. The ideological fanatics in the GOP are hellbent on destroying every public institution that doesn’t praise Jesus and / or profit Trump. This was never about fairness and truth; it was always a power play to privatize and profit from every public institution in America. NPR enthusiastically dug its own grave.
Democracy dies in darkness. If you hate a free press, it’s because they are exposing your corruption and criminality. Arresting judges, burning books, shuttering institutions, and shutting down the free press are hallmarks of fascism. The brown shirts have arrived, with stiff armed salutes and dumb red hats.
We’ll be increasing our donations to public broadcasting. Encourage others to do the same. Instead of dinner at the local maga-burger, that money will go to causes such as this. For the 30% of WY not groveling on your knees with an orange smudge across your chins, vote with your wallet whenever and wherever you are able.
Support WyoFile. Support NPR, PBS and the various non-profits fighting for women’s healthcare and public lands.
silence those who aren’t in lockstep with chrump and his goons.
this is who the gullible “patriots” choose to worship. it’s nauseating
Agree. This is very troubling. We are financial supporters of both WyoFile and public radio. Independent news reporting is critical to maintaining a democracy ( informed citizenry ). It certainly appears that the POTUS is acting more like a dictator than a public servant. Very sad.