Led by Reporters without Borders (RSF), a coalition of 22 media organizations sent this letter to Congress urging it to protect funding for public media after Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said he would attempt to rescind two years’ worth of funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
“Make no mistake: these proposed cuts to the CPB will result in the shutdown of dozens, if not hundreds of local, independent radio and television stations serving Americans in every corner of the country,” the coalition letter says.
“The harm of these cuts will disproportionately affect rural American communities. Less densely populated parts of the country tend to have fewer options for reliable news sources. These markets are often less viable for commercial media, making it unlikely that the gap left by shuttered public media stations will be adequately filled.”