I want to offer some perspective on the news we woke up to this morning about an executive order aimed at stripping federal funding from NPR and PBS. The executive order directs the Corporation of Public Broadcasting (CPB) to block stations like NHPR from paying dues to NPR that sustain the national-local partnership that makes programs like Morning Edition and All Things Considered possible.
Here’s the bottom line: No President - not President Trump, nor any President - has the power to take the actions laid out in the executive order.
Pat Harrison, CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, issued a statement earlier today explaining the legal reality quite plainly:
“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.
“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).”
Katherine Maher, NPR’s CEO, said this independence guaranteed by Congress “has informed the role of public broadcasting in the American interest for more than half a century, and is core to our relentless commitment to editorial independence and integrity in our service today.”
The White House could not be any clearer about its disdain for public media. A few weeks ago, the Administration issued a statement declaring public media a “grift” that “has ripped us off for too long” and charging that public broadcasters “spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.’ ”
The fact that the President believes that doesn’t make it so. The same is true for his assertion in this new executive order that he can tell the CPB to bar stations from using federal funds to pay fees to NPR. As a practical matter, I suspect this could end up in court, just as the CPB filed suit earlier this week to block the President’s attempt to fire three of its board members.
This move by the White House comes as its threat to ask Congress to zero out the CPB’s funding for the next two years has failed to materialize. NPR’s advocacy team in Washington is hearing that there aren’t the votes - yet - to support what’s called a “rescission” of funding through this mechanism. There’s talk that the Administration may instead try to achieve the same aim through the budget reconciliation process, which could keep this attack on public media funding up in the air till July 4.
I encourage everyone to reflect on the value that NHPR represents in the Granite State.
All this is why we need to take today’s developments seriously, if not literally. They are part of the Administration’s campaign against press freedom - against all independent reporting, whether by for-profit or nonprofit newsrooms, that asks uncomfortable questions or tries to dig out uncomfortable facts. The Administration is intent on finding some way to strip away federal support from public media, despite the fact that twice as many Americans favor taxpayer investment in public radio and TV than oppose it. If they can’t defund public media one way, they’ll keep trying to find another way.
I encourage everyone to reflect on the value that NHPR represents in the Granite State. You rely on New Hampshire Public Radio for in-depth, independent local news and information. Our journalists - your neighbors - report in the public interest, holding the powerful to account without fear or favor. That’s why NHPR just earned the first Peabody Award nomination in our 44-year history for Failures to Act, an investigation of six decades of abuse and neglect in New Hampshire’s juvenile justice system. It’s why the readers of New Hampshire Magazine just selected NHPR as the state’s best radio station. We tell your community’s stories. Whether it’s sunny or snowy, our weather forecasts from the Mount Washington Observatory get you ready for your day. Our local, national, and global news is always free for everyone, never behind a paywall.
I’m writing this note from the 2025 By Degrees Climate Summit at St. Anselm College, where NHPR, with our partners at NHPBS, has gathered 200 people in community to learn about efforts to combat climate change. Our keynote speaker, Dr. Joya Ajibade, a climate scientist from Emory University, shared this photo to illustrate our choices in responding to environmental change:
I invite you to choose courage over fear and make your support for independent local news known to your friends, neighbors, and networks.
To stay abreast of developments and raise your voice to defend public media, sign up at protectmypublicmedia.org. If you have questions, or concerns, write to me. I’m [email protected].
