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May 2 Update: Just before midnight last night, The White House issued an Executive Order calling on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to stop funding NPR and PBS. The CPB is a private nonprofit (not a government agency) that was created by Congress in 1967. It partially funds PBS, NPR and Member stations like ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý. For nearly 60 years, Congress has provided funding for public broadcasting â€� with bipartisan support. The Executive Order accuses NPR and PBS of biased coverage and says the CPB must cancel existing and future support.

As reported by NPR, it is not clear that the president has the authority to make such orders to CPB under the law. The order is likely to be challenged in court.

"We will vigorously defend our right to provide essential news, information and life-saving services to the American public," NPR said in a . "We will challenge this Executive Order using all means available."

In a , the CPB wrote that it "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."

The CPB noted that the statute Congress passed to create it "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."

This comes on top of the White House’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request to Congress this morning, which proposes completely defunding CPB for Fiscal Year 2026, and a pending rescissions package that would claw back $1.1 billion in federal funding for public media.

Federal funding for public broadcasting is appropriated by Congress, and distributed to more than 1,300 locally and independently managed stations across the country â€� including ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý. Congress allocated $535 million for the CPB for the current fiscal year. in a stop-gap bill passed by the Republican-controlled U.S. House and Senate in March.

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¿ªÔÆÌåÓý has proudly served the people of our region for nearly 60 years, through changing technologies and political climates alike. This executive order presents real challenges, but our commitment to providing all Vermonters and Vermonters-at-heart with trusted local content and experiences, opportunities for lifelong learning, and deep community connections is unwavering. We will continue to stand with—and report to—the people of Vermont, ensuring that everyone is seen, heard, valued, and informed.

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý will continue to post updates as additional information becomes available. Thank you for standing with us. We need and appreciate you, always.

• Public media reaches 99% of the U.S. population and serves millions of Americans every day.
• The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an independent nonprofit that distributes federal dollars (an average of $1.60 per American annually) to local stations. That money is used to invest in programming and services according to each community’s needs.
• About 10% of ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý's annual funding comes from the CPB.
• CPB funding allows public media stations to pool resources towards satellite interconnection, emergency alert systems, music licensing and development of educational programs, all of which would be too expensive for stations to do on their own.
• Cuts to federal funding would negatively impact the ability for rural stations, like ours, to serve the people who need it most. Learn more at .

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý is an NPR and PBS member station, part of a nationwide public media network that serves millions of Americans. This network reaches nearly 99% of the population with free and accessible programs, regardless of population density, income or geographic challenges.

Public media stations are partially funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Each station is locally managed and makes programming and service decisions to address unique community needs and interests. At ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý, these programs and services include the national shows you enjoy, like Morning Edition and All Things Considered, as well local favorites such as Vermont Edition, Vermont This Week, My Place and ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý Classical, along with award-winning podcasts like Brave Little State and But Why.

Public media’s service also includes things like lifesaving emergency alerts through its management and operation of the Public Radio Satellite System.

The need for and value of federal funding for public media has become a common topic, so we’ve put together these frequently asked questions about how public media funding works, and what impact the absence of that funding may have on public radio and television here and across the country. If you have other questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].

The CPB is distinct from both NPR and PBS. It is not a broadcaster, but an independent, nonprofit organization created by Congress in 1967 with two primary functions: to serve as a firewall between partisan politics and public broadcasting, and to help fund programming, stations and technology.

Funding for CPB is established through the federal budget annual appropriations process two years in advance with the intention of insulating funding from political pressures. Its total appropriation is currently over $500 million. The CPB is responsible for allocating their funds from the federal budget in any way that fulfills their mission: to ensure universal access, over-the-air and online, to high-quality content and telecommunications services that are commercial free and free of charge. 

NPR and PBS don’t receive direct support from the CPB; the funding goes directly to local stations so they can decide how best to program for their communities.

Approximately 10 percent of ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý’s budgeted revenue comes from the CPB, about $2 million. That amount is calculated using a complex formula that takes into account our region’s population and how much funding we are able to raise locally from donations by individuals and support from small businesses and organizations.

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý is one of 1,300 locally and independently managed stations that are funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through an annual Community Service Grant.

Even though member and local business support makes up the bulk of ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý’s funding, federal funding â€� which costs an average of â€� makes public media as you currently know it possible.

CPB’s investment directly supports local stations across the country and enables them to provide essential programs and services. If federal funding is eliminated, public media stations could be forced to cut some or all of the following:

• Signature educational content as set forth in the
• Important public safety communications during natural disasters
• Professional development and resources for teachers
• Music and cultural programming
• Local newsrooms and personnel providing information essential to the well-being of local communities

Some stations, particularly those in rural areas securing a larger percentage of their revenue from the CPB, could even be forced off the air. In many rural communities, public media stations are the only local sources of news.

Stable funding from the CPB and other sources have made it possible for ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý to establish a strong system of local news reporting which Vermonters can rely upon over a long period of time. It also makes it possible to maintain radio and television transmitters to serve a mountainous state with essential services that provide the public with local, national and world news as well as daily weather forecasts, alerts and warnings.

In addition, stations across the country, including ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý, rely on pooled resources from CPB including satellite interconnection, emergency alert systems, the ability to license music, and to develop educational programs. The whole network would be impacted in ways that would also impact ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý.

While ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý would immediately seek to raise the $2 million in lost CPB funds from donors and business sponsors, the loss of federal funding would very likely result in immediate and significant impacts on our ability to provide essential services, including production of local news and music programming, our ability to purchase national programming, maintain broadcast infrastructure and our membership in the New England News Collaborative, which serves Vermonters along with millions more people in the Northeast.

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý is preparing for this possibility on many fronts. We are in conversations with other public media organizations and a national organization called to coordinate efforts and advocacy. We’ve met with Vermont’s Congressional delegation, and are developing a contingency plan for the potential loss of funding. And we’re keeping our members and audience informed about what’s going on and how you can help.

Local public media stations provide critical information � always free of charge � to help citizens make informed decisions.

For example, recent stories about Gov. Scott’s education reform proposal and how Vermont is preparing to prevent the spread of bird flu have helped Vermonters understand and navigate complex issues. When widespread and devastating flooding struck many parts of the state in 2023 and again in 2024, Vermonters turned to ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý for timely and trustworthy updates about public safety.

With the number of local journalists declining nationwide and increased division and isolation in our country, independent and nonprofit public media organizations like ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý continue to provide a high level of service to communities. Public media abides by rigorous ethical standards to ensure our content cannot be influenced by commercial interests. In a time where anyone can post their opinion to social media, journalism grounded in rigorous fact-checking is essential to inform decisions that affect our health and safety, our finances, our democracy and our future.

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý makes learning accessible to all through trusted, non-commercial, educational shows and activities. Our local team curates monthly recommendations and invites Vermont children, teachers and families to engage interactively with safe media content in living rooms, classrooms and on the go.

On March 14, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution to fund the government through September 30, 2025. The funding bill does include level funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through FY27.

Even as we celebrate this win, there will be continued efforts to shut down the CPB or take back these funds. But for now, this stability gives us time to better shape our contingency plans, recognizing that the threat will continue.

On March 26, the CEOs of NPR and PBS will testify before the House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency in Washington, D.C. The hearing, titled “Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the heads of NPR and PBS Accountable,� aims to call into question the value of public media and the federal support that sustains it.

A free press is vital to a functional democracy, and public media plays a key role in sustaining the civic fabric of our country. We exist to serve the public, not make a profit. You can watch the hearing live here.

On April 15, the White House called on Congress to rescind $1.1 billion in funding from the public broadcasters:

• It’s called a “rescissionâ€� package, a rarely used method to cut federal spending.
• The specific programs targeted for rescissions have not yet been formally announced, but it’s likely the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) â€� funded two years in advance â€� and other key public media programs that support stations will be included.
• The White House could send this plan to Congress as early as Monday, April 28, when lawmakers return from recess.
• This would start a 45-day countdown for Congress to review and vote on the proposal.
• During this time, the administration can temporarily withhold any funding included in the plan..
• The funds in question are for FY26 and FY27, unrelated to any future funding beyond what was already appropriated in the recent continuing resolution.
• If Congress doesn’t approve the plan â€� or can’t get enough votes to pass it â€� the funding must be released.
• The Senate can pass it with a simple majority of just 50 votes, and Congress has the option to change what’s included.
• If federal funding for public broadcasting were to be rescinded, the whole network would be impacted in ways that would also impact ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý.