NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting clash as federal funding declines

"NPR asked a federal judge to block the Corporation for Public Broadcasting from awarding a $57.9 million grant to a new consortium of public media institutions to operate the satellite that connects the public radio system for the next five years. NPR's submission, filed Friday afternoon, gives insight into the behind-the-scenes tensions within public media this year as congressional Republicans successfully moved, at President Trump's insistence, to strip public broadcasting of all funding they had already approved for the next two years."

"It enables hundreds of public radio stations and other outside producers to air and share programming, including many shows and stations with no affiliation with NPR itself. CPB is the congressionally funded private corporation through which federal money is funneled to public radio and TV stations, PBS and, to a lesser extent, NPR. The money at issue is not part of the money NPR receives toward its own annual operations, which has typically represented 1% to 2% of its operating budget."

NPR filed a court request asking a federal judge to block the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) from awarding a $57.9 million grant to a new consortium that would operate the satellite linking the public radio system for five years. NPR has operated the satellite-based distribution system for more than four decades and provides connections for hundreds of public radio stations and independent producers. CPB is the congressionally funded private corporation that channels federal money to public radio and TV stations and PBS. Congressional Republicans, at President Trump's insistence, removed previously approved federal subsidies for public broadcasting starting in the new fiscal year. CPB initially indicated funding for NPR to continue running the service but then reversed, alleging a board decision precluding NPR involvement.

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