Last week, we learned that the White House plans to call on Congress to rescind $1.1 billion in Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding. Once this request is formally submitted, Congress will have 45 days to adopt or reject the request.
Here’s why that matters…
Funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is 24% of KCAW’s budget this year. That’s $178,595. This funding is essential to our mission of community service. Funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting supports every aspect of our work: from our emergency alert system and broadcast equipment, to local journalism through salaries and equipment for our three-person newsroom.
We raise nearly $300,000 annual from our listeners (thank you!) which is our largest source of annual revenue, at 40%. CPB funding is our next-largest source of revenue. As a rural station, we receive more funding from CPB than stations in larger communities. This is a recognition of the importance of public media in rural communities like Sitka and Southeast Alaska. It also means that the impact of a loss of federal funding will be more damaging in rural communities like ours across the country.
The loss of these funds would have a devastating impact on KCAW’s ability to deliver public services to Sitka and all of Alaska.
What can I do now?
We are encouraging our community to call and write to our federal representatives and express your desire to protect public media in your community. You can contact them directly at the links below or go to Protect My Public Media for templates.
This is a critical moment for our democracy. Local information, storytelling, and fact-based news are the foundation of a strong community.
You can also support the station by making a donation today to help protect these essential services.
So how does the rescission process work?
It allows the President to propose canceling previously approved federal funds, but Congress must approve it within 45 days. If Congress takes no action, the funds remain available. For public media, this means that while the Administration has proposed cutting CPB’s funding, it cannot do so unilaterally—Congress must agree.
What happens if KCAW loses CPB support?
You will hear and experience cuts to our service. We cannot provide the same level of service, emergency preparedness, and community responsiveness with 24% less funding. KCAW would work diligently to increase funding from other sources, but it would be very difficult to raise an additional $178,000+ a year locally.
What is CPB’s role in public broadcasting?
KCAW is part of a larger public media network that includes over 1,500 locally and independently managed radio and television stations, all funded in part by the CPB. Through the network of independent stations, CPB funding provides support for free and accessible programs and community service across the entire country regardless of population density, income, or geographic challenges.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a private, nonprofit corporation authorized by Congress in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. CPB’s mission is to ensure access to non-commercial, high quality content, and telecommunications services.
The CPB is distinct from NPR and PBS. CPB does not produce programming or manage stations. As the steward for the federal appropriation for public media, CPB invests taxpayer dollars in a strong public media system, allocating more than 70% of its annual funds directly to locally operated public media stations like KCAW. The CPB retains less than 5% of the annual federal allocation to sustain its own operations.
How much does this cost me?
Federal funding of public broadcasting costs each American taxpayer about $1.60 annually.
Why is the CPB important in Alaska and elsewhere?
The CPB plays a critical role in sustaining Alaskan stations where local fundraising can be limited by population density and/or geographic challenges.
Public stations are also the backbone of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) through which the President of the United States can alert people to national emergencies. Many public stations, like KCAW, serve as a local primary EAS hub for severe weather and AMBER alerts. In Alaska, we’re prone to disasters like landslides, earthquakes, and flooding, making this a critical component of the federal government’s investment.
What else does the CPB do?
CPB’s investment directly supports local, independent, non-profit stations like KCAW across the country and enables them to provide essential programs and services. As we know in Alaska, public media stations are sometimes the only source of local news and information available.
The CPB also negotiates music licensing for all public stations — including KCAW — saving them millions in costs — and offers administrative support that enables stations to collaborate efficiently by sharing information, research and services in a cost-effective manner.
The CPB also supports the public media interconnection system which connects stations, program distributors, and provides a backbone to the EAS system in the United States. No matter where you live, interconnection ensures that local public media stations can provide programming and lifesaving emergency communications. It’s the only system that reaches nearly 99 percent of our nation for free – virtually every American household.
