View source for Corporation for Public Broadcasting

{{Short description|American non-profit corporation (1967–2026)}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Corporation for Public Broadcasting
| logo = Corporation for Public Broadcasting logo.svg
| logo_size = 170
| logo_caption = Final logo used from 2000 to 2026
| type = [[Privately held company|Private]], [[Non-profit corporation|non-profit]]{{sfn|CRS|2017a}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cpb.org/aboutcpb|title=About CPB|date=September 22, 2014|website=www.cpb.org|access-date=November 15, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206213314/https://www.cpb.org/aboutcpb/|archive-date=December 6, 2017}}</ref>
| founded = {{Start date and age|1967|11|07 }}
| defunct = {{End date and age|2026|01|05}}
| fate = [[Dissolution (law)|Dissolved]]
| founder = [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] (1908-1973)
| hq_location_city = [[Washington, D.C.]]
| hq_location_country = U.S.A.
| area_served = [[United States]]
| key_people = {{plainlist|
*[[Patricia Harrison]] ([[President (corporate title)|president]] & [[Chief executive officer|CEO]])
*Matthew Allen Wilson}}
| industry = {{plainlist|
* [[Television in the United States|Television]]
* [[Radio in the United States|Radio]]
* [[Film]]
* [[Music]]}}
| website = {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011127225317/https://cpb.org/ |date=November 27, 2001 |title=cpb.org }}
}}

The '''Corporation for Public Broadcasting''' ('''CPB'''; stylized in all lowercase as '''cpb''') was an American [[non-profit corporation]] created under the [[Public Broadcasting Act of 1967]] to promote and help support [[public broadcasting in the United States]].<ref>{{usc|47|396}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-09-23 |title=About Public Media |url=https://cpb.org/aboutpb/what-public-media |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250716100028/https://cpb.org/aboutpb/what-public-media |archive-date=2025-07-16 |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=cpb.org |language=en}}</ref> The corporation's mission was to ensure universal access to [[Non-commercial activity|non-commercial]], high-quality educational, cultural, and other content and telecommunications services.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-09-22 |title=About CPB |url=https://cpb.org/aboutcpb |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250730035801/https://cpb.org/aboutcpb |archive-date=July 30, 2025 |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=cpb.org |language=en}}</ref>  

The CPB received annual funding from [[United States Congress|Congress]] from 1967 to 2025. By law, more than 70 percent of its annual funding was directly allocated to locally owned public radio and television stations (more than 1,500 as of 2025),<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-16 |title=CPB Financial Information |url=https://cpb.org/aboutcpb/financials |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250802110215/https://cpb.org/aboutcpb/financials |archive-date=2025-08-02 |access-date=2025-08-02 |website=CPB |language=en}}</ref> including [[PBS]] and [[NPR]] stations. In particular, CPB funding was a key part of small and rural public media station budgets.<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine |last=Popli |first=Nik |date=2025-08-01 |title=What Corp. for Public Broadcasting Shutdown Means For NPR, PBS |url=https://time.com/7307069/corporation-for-public-broadcasting-pbs-npr/ |access-date=2025-08-02 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref> 

Following the end of [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. federal government]] funding, the CPB announced on August 1, 2025 that it would cease operations in January 2026. Most of its staff departed following the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2025; a small team remained until January to "focus on compliance, fiscal distributions, and resolution of long-term financial obligations."<ref name=npr20250801/> On January 5, 2026, the CPB board of directors voted to dissolve the corporation entirely.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bauder|first=David|date=January 5, 2026|url=https://apnews.com/article/public-broadcasting-pbs-npr-b68f441c227ec7e076c038821b4a5931|title=Corporation for Public Broadcasting votes itself out of existence|access-date=2026-01-05|work=[[Associated Press]]}}
*{{cite press release|date=January 5, 2026|url=https://cpb.org/pressroom/corporation-public-broadcasting-board-votes-dissolve-organization-act-responsible|title=Corporation for Public Broadcasting Board Votes to Dissolve Organization in Act of Responsible Stewardship to Protect the Future of Public Media|publisher=Corporation for Public Broadcasting|access-date=January 6, 2026|archive-date=January 5, 2026|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260105235905/https://cpb.org/pressroom/corporation-public-broadcasting-board-votes-dissolve-organization-act-responsible|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/05/corporation-for-public-broadcasting-board-dissolves|title=Corporation for Public Broadcasting formally dissolves after federal funding cuts Board of directors vote to dissolve organization after nearly 60 years in operation after funding cuts under Trump|first=Lauren|last=Aratani|date=5 Jan 2026|publisher=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

==Funding and operations==
The CPB's annual budget was composed almost entirely of an annual appropriation from Congress plus interest on those funds. Under the establishing law, no more than 5% of the appropriation may be used for administrative expenses. CPB allocated the funds to content development, community services, and other local station and system needs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CPB Financial Information |url=https://cpb.org/aboutcpb/financials/ |access-date=November 27, 2024 |website=cpd.org|date=January 15, 2015 }}</ref>

{{As of|2025|alt=For fiscal year 2025}}, its operating budget included US$535{{nbsp}}million of federal appropriation and $10{{nbsp}}million in interest revenue. Its budgeted expenses were as follows:<ref>{{cite web |last= |date=August 16, 2025 |title=CPB Operating Budget |url=https://cpb.org/aboutcpb/financials/budget/ |url-status= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250722185959/https://cpb.org/aboutcpb/financials/budget/ |archive-date=July 22, 2025 |access-date=August 16, 2025 |website=www.cpb.org}}</ref>

* $267.83{{nbsp}}million for direct grants to local public television stations;
* $96.78{{nbsp}}million for television programming grants;
* $83.33{{nbsp}}million for direct grants to local public radio stations;
* $28.63{{nbsp}}million for the Radio National Program Production and Acquisition
* $9.58{{nbsp}}million for the Radio Program Fund
* $32.10{{nbsp}}million for system support
* $26.75{{nbsp}}million for administration

Public broadcasting stations from the CPB were funded by a combination of private donations from listeners and viewers, foundations and corporations, as well as government sources from 1967 to 2025. Funding for public television in 2013 came in roughly equal parts from government (at all levels) and the private sector.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cpb.org/annualreports/2013/|title=CPB 2013 Annual Report|website=www.cpb.org|access-date=May 4, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160212170045/http://cpb.org/annualreports/2013/|archive-date=February 12, 2016}}</ref>

Stations that received CPB funds were required to meet certain standards, including open meetings, open financial records, a community advisory board, equal employment opportunity, and public lists of donors and political activities.<ref name=cpb20150504>{{cite web|url=http://www.cpb.org/stations/certification/|title=Communications Act Compliance|last=ernestosilva|date=October 14, 2015|website=www.cpb.org|access-date=May 4, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213025639/http://cpb.org/stations/certification/|archive-date=February 13, 2016}}</ref>

A 2007 [[Government Accountability Office]] (GAO) report and 2025 [[Congressional Research Service]] (CRS) report both found that public broadcasting stations in smaller and rural media markets had a greater dependence on federal funding.{{sfn|GAO|2007|pp=28–32}}{{sfn|CRS|2025|p=9}} In 2023, rural stations received 45% of the CPB appropriation, while CPB grants accounted for at least 25% of station revenue for at least half of rural stations and more than 50% of revenue for some stations.<ref>{{cite news |last=Pellish |first=Aaron |date=June 12, 2025 |title='Catastrophic': Rural public media stations brace for GOP cuts |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/12/pbs-npr-trump-cuts-00400433 |access-date=June 15, 2025 |website=Politico |publisher=Axel Springer SE}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=MacFarlane |first=Scott |date=June 12, 2025 |title=Planned PBS, NPR cuts would overwhelmingly hit outlets in states Trump won, report finds |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pbs-npr-cuts-states-won-by-trump/ |access-date=June 15, 2025 |publisher=CBS News}}</ref> A 2011 FCC report noted that less than one-fourth of funds disbursed through grants by the CPB to public broadcasters were used for programming while the overwhelming majority was used for support of station [[Physical capital|infrastructure]].{{sfn|FCC|2011|pp=318–320}}

After administrative costs and system support programs, the 2025 CRS report noted that the entire federal appropriation to the CPB was used to provide grants to qualifying public broadcasting stations and program producers.{{sfn|CRS|2025|pp=7–9}} The Public Broadcasting Act prohibits the CPB from owning or operating stations,{{sfn|CRS|2025|pp=1; 3}}{{sfn|YLPR|1994|pp=194–195}} and from producing, scheduling, or distributing programming.{{sfn|YLPR|1994|p=190}}{{sfn|FCLJ|1994|p=499}} As PBS and NPR were incorporated as station-owned [[membership organization]]s,{{sfn|YLPR|1994|pp=190–191}} PBS and NPR received only a small fraction of their total revenue from the CPB directly, with 16% and 1% respectively of their total revenue coming directly from all federal sources in total and the majority coming from member stations, distribution revenue and services, [[Underwriting spot|corporate underwriting]] and institutional support, and individual contributions.{{sfn|CRS|2025|pp=9–10}} PBS and NPR member stations are owned and operated by [[Higher education in the United States|colleges and universities]], [[School district#United States|public school districts]], other private non-profit corporations, or [[State governments in the United States|state government]] agencies.{{sfn|CRS|2017a|p=1}} Along with the 2007 GAO report about public television specifically,{{sfn|GAO|2007|pp=15–16}} the 2025 CRS report noted that while NPR was authorized to produce programming for its member stations, programming included in the PBS National Programming Service (NPS) was not produced by PBS itself but by its member stations, external production companies, and independent producers, and PBS and NPR member stations retain ultimate [[Editorial independence|editorial control]] over which programming from the NPS and NPR they wish to broadcast.{{sfn|CRS|2025|pp=i; 9}}

Public television stations participate in the [[Emergency Alert System]] (which includes [[Amber alert]]s) and the pilot program for the [[Digital Emergency Alert System]].{{sfn|GAO|2004|pp=8; 50}}{{sfn|GAO|2007|pp=24–27}} The CPB was the sole eligible recipient of funding through the Next Generation Warning System Grant Program within the [[Integrated Public Alert and Warning System]].{{sfn|CRS|2025|pp=6–7}}

U.S. government funding of the CPB ceased in 2025, and the corporation shut down operations by January 2026.<ref name=npr20250801>{{cite news |last=Neuman|first=Scott |last2=Langfitt|first2=Frank |date=1 August 2025 |title=Corporation for Public Broadcasting says it's shutting down |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/08/01/nx-s1-5489808/cpb-shut-down-public-broadcasting-trump |access-date=17 November 2025 |work=NPR}}</ref>

== History ==
{{Expand section|history between 1970 and 2002|date=August 2025|small=no}}

=== Establishment ===

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting was created on November 7, 1967, when U.S. president [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] signed the [[Public Broadcasting Act of 1967]] (PBA).

The new organization initially collaborated with the [[National Educational Television]] network (NET), which would be replaced by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Ward Chamberlin Jr. was the first operating officer.<ref>{{cite web |title=Statement from Paula Kerger, President & CEO, PBS on Ward Chamberlin Jr. |url=https://www.pbs.org/about/blogs/news/statement-from-paula-kerger-president-ceo-pbs-on-ward-chamberlin-jr/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226132354/http://www.pbs.org/about/blogs/news/statement-from-paula-kerger-president-ceo-pbs-on-ward-chamberlin-jr/ |archive-date=February 26, 2017 |access-date=February 25, 2017 |publisher=PBS}}</ref> On March 27, 1968, it was registered as a nonprofit corporation in the District of Columbia.<ref name="PBS Timeline">{{cite web |title=PBS Timeline |url=http://www.cpb.org/aboutcpb/history-timeline |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213203813/https://www.cpb.org/aboutcpb/history-timeline |archive-date=December 13, 2017 |access-date=February 29, 2016 |publisher=PBS}}</ref> In 1969, the CPB talked to private groups to start PBS, an entity intended by the CPB to circumvent controversies engendered by certain NET public affairs programs that aired in the late 1960s and engendered opposition by politically [[conservatism in the United States|conservative]] public figures, potentially threatening the medium's future viability.<ref name="gardner">{{cite web |title=Thematic Window: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting |url=https://www.pbs.org/johngardner/chapters/4d.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090811071751/http://www.pbs.org/johngardner/chapters/4d.html |archive-date=August 11, 2009 |access-date=October 16, 2009 |publisher=PBS}}</ref>{{Vague|date=August 2025}} President Nixon was well known for his dislike of PBS and the CPB and wanted to kill the congressional funding for it.<ref name=":0"><!-- Corporation for Public Broadcasting History-->{{cite Q|Q122259942}}</ref>

On February 26, 1970, the CPB formed National Public Radio (NPR), a [[radio network|network]] of public-radio stations that began operating the following year. Unlike PBS, NPR produces ''and'' distributes programming.<ref name="PBS Timeline" /> In 1971, CPB and Ford Foundation formed a news-organizing production company, [[National Public Affairs Center for Television]] (NPACT) (originally National Public Affairs Broadcast Center), which supplies news programming for national distribution, with studios and productions based out of [[WETA-TV]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 30, 1971 |title=Public broadcasting gets it together |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/71-OCR/1971-08-30-BC-OCR-Page-0046.pdf |access-date=July 15, 2023 |work=[[Broadcasting Magazine]] |pages=46}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=September 27, 1971 |title=NPACT hires former NBC newsman |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/71-OCR/1971-09-27-BC-OCR-Page-0038.pdf |access-date=July 15, 2023 |work=[[Broadcasting Magazine]] |pages=38}}</ref> In 1972, NPACT was sold outright to [[WETA-TV]], the basement behind NPACT's studios, which was folded four years later.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 5, 1972 |title=Public Affairs Center and Capital's WETA to Join (Published 1972) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/05/archives/public-affairs-center-and-capitals-weta-to-join.html |access-date=January 1, 2021 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=April 10, 1972 |title=NPACT, Washington's WETA-TV to merge |work=[[Broadcasting Magazine]] |pages=42}}</ref>

<gallery mode=packed heights="150px" style="text-align:left">
File:CPB (1967).svg|First Logo (1967)<br />combination of C, P, and B
File:CPB (1983).svg|6th, 7th and 8th logo<br />1983 to 2001
</gallery>

=== History between 1970 and 2002 ===
In 1974, a collaboration between public television stations, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Ford Foundation begin supplying the National Station Program Cooperative used to fund television programming for PBS.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 10, 1974 |title=Public television goes democratic for programming |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/74-OCR/1974-06-10-BC-OCR-Page-0032.pdf |access-date=April 1, 2026 |work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]] |pages=32, 33}}</ref> After two years,it was amended with public television stations taking most control and CPB and Ford holding reduced stakes and cash (called unrestricted general program grants).<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 17, 1976 |title=PBS stations cut program buying |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/76-OCR/1976-05-17-BC-OCR-Page-0062.pdf |access-date=April 1, 2026 |work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]] |pages=62, 63}}</ref>

In 1977, public television stations took full control of the Station Program Cooperative, allowing to fund programs fully.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 18, 1977 |title=PTV stations turn cold shoulder to public affairs in newest SPC round |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/77-OCR/BC-1977-04-18-OCR-Page-0059.pdf |access-date=April 1, 2026 |work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]] |pages=59}}</ref> This left Corporation for Public Broadcasting used to fund programs for PBS, for smaller terms. In 1979, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting decided to restruct itself, forming two units, the Management Services Division, and The Program Fund, used to fund programs for [[PBS]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 25, 1979 |title=CPB division along programming and administrative lines approved by board |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/79-OCR/BC-1979-06-25-OCR-Page-0054.pdf |access-date=April 2, 2026 |work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]] |pages=54}}</ref>

In 1990, it was restructed, allowing CPB to handle funding for most of their program supply to PBS in major capacity again, for the 1991-1992 television season.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 3, 1990 |title=PBS "unfunds" new shows under new system |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/90-OCR/BC-1990-12-03-OCR-Page-0039.pdf |access-date=April 1, 2026 |work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]] |pages=39}}</ref>

=== Public interest programming ===
Under the Public Broadcasting Act, the congressional declaration of policy stated that it was in the [[public interest]] for the CPB to facilitate the development of [[Educational television|educational]], [[Quality television|cultural]], and other programming not provided by commercial broadcasters, as well as programming for audiences that were unserved or underserved by commercial broadcasters.{{sfn|FCLJ|1994|pp=498–501}}{{sfn|GAO|2004|p=38}}{{sfn|GAO|2007|pp=12–13; 18}} The House and Senate reports that accompanied the PBA as a bill suggested that such programming was not provided by commercial broadcasters due to [[market failure]], and that by providing [[seed money|seed funding]] through [[Federal grants in the United States|federal grants]] administered by the CPB, public broadcasters would contribute to a better-informed citizenry through high-quality national and local programming.{{sfn|YLPR|1994|pp=193–194; 226–229}}{{sfn|UPLR|2007|pp=993–1000}} Under the [[Radio Act of 1927]] and the [[Communications Act of 1934]], Congress had established that [[broadcast license|broadcast licensees]] did not own the [[radio frequency]] assigned to them and that the [[radio spectrum]] as a whole belonged to the public, and as such, broadcasters were required to serve the public interest in order to receive a license.{{sfn|GAO|1979|pp=4–5}}{{sfn|FCC|2011|pp=280–281}} In 1929, the [[Federal Radio Commission]] issued a regulatory ruling that held that broadcasters were expected to provide a balanced program schedule that included programming for "education and instruction, important public events, discussions of public questions… and news".{{sfn|GAO|1979|pp=36–37}}

In 1939, the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) required all radio stations to [[City of license|locate their main offices and studios in the community they were licensed to serve]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Ali|first=Christopher|date=June 25, 2017|title=A pair of decades-old policies may change the way rural America gets local news|website=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]|url=https://theconversation.com/a-pair-of-decades-old-policies-may-change-the-way-rural-america-gets-local-news-79096|access-date=August 19, 2025}}</ref> In 1946, the FCC issued its [[Blue Book (FCC)|Public Service Responsibility of Broadcast Licensees]] report that recommended that stations produce programming of local interest and to determine such programming through a community ascertainment process.{{sfn|FCC|2011|p=281}} In 1949, the FCC promulgated the [[fairness doctrine]] which required broadcasters to present programming that covered controversial issues of public importance with the opportunity for contrasting viewpoints to be aired.<ref name="CRS 2011">{{cite report|last=Ruane|first=Kathleen Ann|date=July 13, 2011|title=Fairness Doctrine: History and Constitutional Issues|publisher=Congressional Research Service|website=[[Federation of American Scientists]]|url=https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R40009.pdf|access-date=January 22, 2025}}</ref>{{sfn|GAO|1979|pp=155–159}}{{sfn|FCC|2011|pp=277–278}} In 1960, the FCC issued a policy statement that listed 14 categories of programming considered necessary for a station to be operating in the public interest which included educational programs, public affairs programs, and news programs.{{sfn|GAO|1979|pp=36–37}} However, out of more than 100,000 broadcast license renewal applications from 1934 through 2011, the FCC only rejected four renewal applications in total for failure to meet the agency's public interest programming obligations, last did so in 1980, and only once before the PBA was passed.{{sfn|FCC|2011|pp=286–288}} Also, a 1979 [[Government Accountability Office|General Accounting Office]] (GAO) report estimated that even though the FCC only took preliminary action on 2 to 3 percent of the approximately 5,000 fairness doctrine complaints it received annually (with only 15 to 20 per year in total resulting in any adverse finding for licensees), many broadcasters would avoid presenting controversial public issues altogether to avoid sanctions or risk losing a license.{{sfn|GAO|1979|pp=159–167}}{{sfn|FCC|2011|pp=277–278}}<ref name="CRS 2011" />

In 2011, the FCC issued a report that concluded that growth in the number of media outlets in the United States from [[Satellite radio#United States|satellite radio]] and [[Satellite television in the United States|television]], cable television, and the [[Internet in the United States|internet]] had not offset [[Local news#United States|reductions in local news]] reporting with [[Public service journalism|public interest]], [[Civic journalism|civics]], or [[investigative journalism]] coverage caused by the [[decline of newspapers]] and local news in [[Radio in the United States|radio broadcasting]].{{sfn|FCC|2011|pp=5–70, 105–112, 116–145, 180–183, 188–191}} While [[Television news in the United States|local television stations]] were [[Broadcasting in the United States|broadcasting]] a greater total number of news hours and had become some of the largest providers of local news online, most coverage was of [[Sensationalism#Overrepresentation of crime|crime and courthouses]], [[Sensationalism|accidents and disasters]], and [[Human-interest story|human interest]] topics while the [[Long-form journalism|depth]] and quantity of public interest, civics, and investigative journalism coverage declined, and [[Broadcast journalism|broadcast]] and [[Digital journalism|internet news media]] remained heavily reliant on reporting about the latter topics from the declining number of newspapers through [[Fair use|fair use exemptions]] in [[Copyright law of the United States|copyright law]].{{sfn|FCC|2011|pp=56–57, 72–105, 113–114, 242–247, 340–343}}<ref>See also:
* {{cite episode|title=News War: What's Happening with the News|series=Frontline|series-link=Frontline (American TV program)|network=PBS|station=[[WGBH-TV|WGBH]]|date=February 27, 2007|season=25|number=9|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/newswar/?|access-date=August 28, 2021}}
* {{cite episode|title=Future of Journalism and Newspapers|date=May 6, 2009|publisher=C-SPAN|series=U.S. Senate|url=https://www.c-span.org/program/senate-committee/future-of-journalism-and-newspapers/205201|access-date=June 22, 2025|transcript=Senate Hearing 111–428|transcript-url=https://www.congress.gov/111/chrg/CHRG-111shrg52162/CHRG-111shrg52162.pdf}}</ref> However, even though total advertising spending in the United States had shifted to television and cable from newspapers by the 1990s, the 2011 FCC report noted that local television stations were also seeing declining newsroom staffing alongside newspapers, with some stations outsourcing, reducing, or ending their local news programming and more frequently in smaller [[media market]]s.{{sfn|FCC|2011|pp=34, 87–91, 96–102}}

Also, the total number of local [[United States cable news|cable news]] channels nationally was not growing (and possibly declining in some regions) since most channels were only attempting to [[break-even point|break-even]] rather than be [[Profit (economics)|profitable]] and most cable operators did not invest in local cable news channels and had no plans to do so.{{sfn|FCC|2011|pp=108–109}} Conversely, the 2011 FCC report noted that two-fifths of public radio listening hours was for news, 185 NPR member stations used an [[all-news radio|all-news format]] (with another 480 featuring news as part of mixed programming format), and the number of NPR member stations featuring local news had increased to 681 in 2009.{{sfn|FCC|2011|pp=159–160}} One-third of all NPR programming was locally produced while less than 15% of the news and [[Public affairs (broadcasting)|public affairs programming]] on commercial [[Talk radio|news/talk radio]] was local programming.{{sfn|FCC|2011|pp=66–68, 160}} A 2017 [[Congressional Research Service]] (CRS) report noted that 90 percent of public radio stations provided local newscasts and about half carried local news on weekends.{{sfn|CRS|2017a|pp=7–8}} While the 2011 FCC report noted that the news and public affairs programming of public television was mostly national programming, PBS programming was noted to provide greater in-depth coverage and [[Documentary film|journalistic documentaries]] than commercial television.{{sfn|FCC|2011|pp=157–159}}

The 2011 FCC report also noted that NPR had 17 [[News bureau|international bureaus]] and a greater number of [[World news|foreign correspondents]] than [[NBC News|NBC]], [[CBS News|CBS]], [[Fox News]], or [[MS NOW|MSNBC]],{{sfn|FCC|2011|pp=159–161}} and that [[Children's television series|children's programming]] on cable television was dominated by entertainment programming while educational programming for children remained chiefly provided by public television.{{sfn|FCC|2011|pp=155–157}} When surveyed by the GAO in reports released in 2004 and 2007, majorities of public television licensees expressed the view that they did not produce enough local programming to serve the needs of their communities due to a lack of funds and that cutting the CPB appropriation would lead to a reduction in local programming.{{sfn|GAO|2004|pp=45–48}}{{sfn|GAO|2007|pp=34–35}} In light of various changes in [[Consumer behaviour|consumer preferences]] and market dynamics in the news industry,{{sfn|GAO|2023|pp=12–15, 17–19}}{{sfn|FCC|2011|pp=123–132, 226–227}} a 2023 GAO report suggested along with the 2011 FCC report that local public interest journalism is at risk of market failure due to having the [[Excludability|non-excludable]] and [[Rivalry (economics)|non-rivalrous]] features of a [[public good]] that generates [[Externality|positive externalities]] and is vulnerable to [[Free-rider problem|free riding]].{{sfn|GAO|2023|pp=41–44}}{{sfn|FCC|2011|pp=125–126}} Along with other policy proposals,{{sfn|GAO|2023|pp=44–56}} the 2023 GAO report suggested increasing the federal CPB appropriation to address the market failure.{{sfn|GAO|2023|pp=45–47}}

=== Digital broadcasting initiative ===
On May 31, 2002, the CPB, through special appropriation funding, helped public television stations making the transition to digital broadcasting; this was complete by 2009.<ref name="PBS Timeline" />

===Objectivity and balance concerns in the 2000s===
The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 requires the CPB to operate with a "strict adherence to objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature".<ref name="Public Broadcasting Act" /> It also requires it to regularly review national programming for objectivity and balance, and to report on "its efforts to address concerns about objectivity and balance". In 2004 and 2005, people from PBS and NPR complained that the CPB was starting to push a [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] agenda.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NPR's On the Media interview with Tomlinson, May 6, 2005 |url=http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/transcripts_050605_cpb.html |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080522130613/http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/transcripts_050605_cpb.html |archivedate=May 22, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=NPR's On the Media follow-up, July 15, 2005 |url=http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/transcripts_071505_elephant.html |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001133224/http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/transcripts_071505_elephant.html |archivedate=October 1, 2006}}</ref> Board members replied that they were merely seeking balance.

[[Kenneth Tomlinson]], chair of the CPB board from September 2003 until September 2005, angered PBS and NPR supporters by unilaterally commissioning a conservative colleague to conduct a study of alleged bias in the PBS show ''[[NOW with Bill Moyers]]'', and by appointing two conservatives as CPB Ombudsmen.<ref>{{cite web |date=June 30, 2005 |title=CPB Memos Indicate Level of Monitoring |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4724317 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150624181341/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4724317 |archive-date=June 24, 2015 |access-date=June 25, 2015 |work=NPR.org}}</ref> On November 3, 2005, Tomlinson resigned from the board, prompted by a report of his tenure by the CPB Inspector General, Kenneth Konz, requested by Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The report stated:

<blockquote>We found evidence that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) former Chairman violated statutory provisions and the Director's Code of Ethics by dealing directly with one of the creators of a new public affairs program during negotiations with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the CPB over creating the show. Our review also found evidence that suggests "political tests" {{sic|were a major criteria}} used by the former Chairman in recruiting a President/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for CPB, which violated statutory prohibitions against such practices.<ref>[http://www.cpb.org/oig/reports/602_cpb_ig_reportofreview.pdf Corporation For Public Broadcasting, Office of Inspector General: Review of Alleged Actions Violating The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, as Amended, Report No. EPB503-602, November 2006] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923210846/http://www.cpb.org/oig/reports/602_cpb_ig_reportofreview.pdf|date=2015-09-23}}, page i</ref></blockquote>

=== Attempts to eliminate from 2011 to 2023 ===

In 2011, [[Paul Ryan]]'s ''[[The Path to Prosperity]]'' budget passed in the House of Representatives, which would have completely eliminated the CPB.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Ted |title=House votes to defund public television |url=https://variety.com/2011/tv/news/house-votes-to-defund-public-television-1118032603/ |work=Variety |date=19 February 2011}}</ref> After Senate reconciliation, CPB funding was restored, although a 49-year-old grant program for public television, the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program, was eliminated, and a one-time recession payment to CPB was not renewed.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Behrens |first1=Steve |last2=Editor |first2=Former |title=CPB survives, but not the facilities program |url=https://current.org/2011/04/cpb-survives-but-not-the-facilities-program/ |work=Current |date=18 April 2011}}</ref> 

In 2017, the [[first Trump administration]] again attempted to eliminate the CPB.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Naylor |first1=Brian |title=Trump's Budget Plan Cuts Funding For Arts, Humanities And Public Media |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/03/16/520401246/trumps-budget-plan-cuts-funding-for-arts-humanities-and-public-media |work=NPR |date=16 March 2017 |language=en}}</ref> In 2019 and again in 2020, Trump attempted to cut CPB funding by more than 90%.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Chilling Effect of Public Broadcasting Funding Cuts |url=https://firstamendmentwatch.org/deep-dive/the-chilling-effect-of-public-broadcasting-funding-cuts/ |access-date=7 January 2026 |work=First Amendment Watch}}</ref> Neither of these threats survived Congressional review.

In July 2023, the appropriations bill for FY 2024 included no money for CPB when it passed out of the [[United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies|US House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies]].<ref><!-- Julian Wyllie (2023-07-14) House subcommittee recommends zeroing out CPB funding for FY26-->{{cite Q|Q122260182}}</ref><ref><!-- David Lee (2023-07-21) Proposed House Appropriations bill eliminates federal funding for public media-->{{cite Q|Q122260308}}</ref> However, the corresponding bill considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee planned to continue funding for the CPB, though at 7 percent less than what President Biden requested.<ref><!-- George Winslow (2023-07-27) APTS, CPB Commend Senate Funding Recommendations for Public Broadcasting-->{{cite Q|Q122260508}}</ref>

=== Second Trump administration ===

====Executive Order 14290====
{{excerpt|Executive Order 14290}}

====Rescissions Act of 2025 and subsequent disestablishment====

{{Main|Rescissions Act of 2025}}

On June 3, President Trump filed a request for a [[rescission bill]] that included the congressional appropriation for the CPB.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stelter |first1=Brian |last2=Reilly |first2=Liam |date=June 3, 2025 |title=Trump asked Congress to claw back funding for PBS and NPR. What now? |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/03/media/trump-rescission-cpb-pbs-npr-public-broadcasters |access-date=June 8, 2025 |publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=June 3, 2025 |title=House of Representatives |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2025-06-03/pdf/CREC-2025-06-03-house.pdf |journal=[[Congressional Record]] |publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Publishing Office]] |volume=171 |issue=94 |pages=H2402 |access-date=June 29, 2025 |place=Washington, DC}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=June 3, 2025 |title=Senate |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2025-06-03/pdf/CREC-2025-06-03-senate.pdf |journal=Congressional Record |publisher=U.S. Government Publishing Office |volume=171 |issue=94 |page=S3203 |access-date=July 6, 2025 |place=Washington, DC}}</ref> The next day, [[Office of Management and Budget]] Director [[Russell Vought]] testified before the [[United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government|House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government]] on the rescission request and the administration's 2026 [[fiscal year]] budget request.<ref>{{cite news |last=Folley |first=Aris |date=June 5, 2025 |title=Vought grilled over DOGE, spending cuts in House hearing |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5333536-russell-vought-omb-budget-doge-cuts/ |access-date=June 29, 2025 |work=The Hill |publisher=Nexstar Media Group}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=June 4, 2025 |title=White House Budget Director Testifies on 2026 Budget Request |url=https://www.c-span.org/program/house-committee/white-house-budget-director-testifies-on-2026-budget-request/660780 |access-date=June 29, 2025 |publisher=C-SPAN}}</ref> Before the rescission request, PBS CEO [[Paula Kerger]], NPR CEO [[Katherine Maher]], and the CEO of [[Alaska Public Media]] testified on March 26 before the [[United States House Oversight Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency|House Oversight Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency]] about the CPB appropriation, the [[Journalism ethics and standards|journalistic standards]] and alleged [[Media bias in the United States|bias of the organizations]], and public broadcasting's [[Educational television|educational programming]] and participation in emergency alert systems in [[Rural areas in the United States|rural areas]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Zahn |first1=Max |last2=Ibssa |first2=Lalee |date=March 26, 2025 |title=Republicans accuse NPR, PBS of bias at House hearing; Democrats rebuke it as a partisan attack |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/republicans-accuse-npr-pbs-bias-house-hearing-democrats/story?id=120168733 |access-date=June 14, 2025 |publisher=ABC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode |title=NPR and PBS Executives Testify Before House DOGE Subcommittee |url=https://www.c-span.org/program/house-committee/npr-and-pbs-executives-testify-before-house-doge-subcommittee/657351 |series=U.S. House of Representatives |date=March 26, 2025 |transcript=Serial No. 119–14 |transcript-url=https://www.congress.gov/119/chrg/CHRG-119hhrg59845/CHRG-119hhrg59845.pdf |access-date=June 14, 2025 |publisher=C-SPAN}}</ref> On June 6, [[Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives|House Majority Leader]] [[Steve Scalise]] introduced a rescission bill including the CPB appropriation in the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]].<ref>{{cite journal |date=June 6, 2025 |title=House of Representatives |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2025-06-06/pdf/CREC-2025-06-06-house.pdf |journal=Congressional Record |publisher=U.S. Government Publishing Office |volume=171 |issue=97 |pages=H2532 |access-date=July 6, 2025 |place=Washington, DC}}</ref>

The House passed the bill on June 12 along [[Party-line vote|party lines]] by a vote of 214 to 212.{{refn|name=HouseVote|<ref>{{cite news|last=Freking|first=Kevin|date=June 12, 2025|title=House approves Trump's request to cut funding for NPR, PBS and foreign aid|publisher=Associated Press|url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-budget-cuts-npr-pbs-global-health-2844a884091dce5255a3f4ad70f3a1c6|access-date=June 12, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite interview|last=Walsh|first=Deirdre|interviewer=Mary Louise Kelly|date=June 12, 2025|title=House narrowly passes bill to claw back $1.1 billion from public media|work=All Things Considered|publisher=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2025/06/12/nx-s1-5431641/house-narrowly-passes-bill-to-claw-back-1-1-billion-from-public-media|access-date=June 13, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=House Session, Part 2|date=June 12, 2025|publisher=C-SPAN|url=https://www.c-span.org/program/us-house-of-representatives/house-session-part-2/661169|access-date=June 13, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=House of Representatives|date=June 12, 2025|journal=Congressional Record|publisher=U.S. Government Publishing Office|place=Washington, DC|volume=171|issue=101|pages=H2796–H2808|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2025-06-12/pdf/CREC-2025-06-12-house.pdf|access-date=June 14, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Roll Call – Bill Number: H.R. 4|work=Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives |date=June 12, 2025 |publisher=[[Clerk of the United States House of Representatives]]|url=https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025168|access-date=June 13, 2025}}</ref>}} On June 25, Vought testified before the [[United States Senate Committee on Appropriations|Senate Appropriations Committee]] on the rescission bill.<ref>{{cite news |last=Freking |first=Kevin |date=June 25, 2025 |title=Senators challenge Trump's proposed cuts to foreign aid and public media in contentious hearing |url=https://apnews.com/article/spending-cuts-trump-foreign-aid-npr-pbs-f45fd9d0dac613ad6d9284d0f86bc09b |access-date=June 29, 2025 |publisher=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Michael |date=June 25, 2025 |title=White House's DOGE spending cuts request runs into criticism, questions from some Senate Republicans |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/06/25/politics/republican-senators-question-doge-spending-cuts |access-date=June 29, 2025 |publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=June 25, 2025 |title=White House Budget Director Testifies on Rescissions Proposal |url=https://www.c-span.org/program/senate-committee/white-house-budget-director-testifies-on-rescissions-proposal/661436 |access-date=June 29, 2025 |publisher=C-SPAN}}</ref> The Senate received the House bill on July 10 and it was referred to the Appropriations and [[United States Senate Committee on the Budget|Budget Committees]].<ref>{{cite journal |date=July 10, 2025 |title=Senate |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2025-07-10/pdf/CREC-2025-07-10-senate.pdf |journal=Congressional Record |publisher=U.S. Government Publishing Office |volume=171 |issue=119 |page=S4313 |access-date=July 11, 2025 |place=Washington, DC}}</ref> On July 15, the Senate passed [[Motion (parliamentary procedure)|motions]] to [[Discharge petition|discharge]] the House bill from the Appropriations and Budget Committees and to proceed to debate with Vice President [[JD Vance]] casting [[List of tie-breaking votes cast by the vice president of the United States|tie-breaking votes]] on each motion.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Yilek |first1=Caitlin |last2=Hubbard |first2=Kaia |date=July 15, 2025 |title=Senate advances Trump's request to cancel billions in foreign aid, NPR and PBS funding |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-rescissions-package-foreign-aid-npr-pbs-funding/ |access-date=July 16, 2025 |publisher=CBS News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=July 15, 2025 |title=Senate Session, Part 2 |url=https://www.c-span.org/program/us-senate/senate-session-part-2/662558 |access-date=July 16, 2025 |publisher=C-SPAN}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=July 15, 2025 |title=Senate |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2025-07-15/pdf/CREC-2025-07-15-senate.pdf |journal=Congressional Record |publisher=U.S. Government Publishing Office |volume=171 |issue=121 |pages=S4358–S4365 |access-date=July 16, 2025 |place=Washington, DC}}</ref> In the morning of July 17, the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 51 to 48 and with an amendment, requiring the bill to be transmitted back to the House for a second vote.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Freking |first1=Kevin |last2=Jalonick |first2=Mary Clare |date=July 17, 2025 |title=Senate passes $9 billion in spending cuts to public broadcasting, foreign aid requested by Trump |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-republicans-budget-cuts-pepfar-pbs-npr-486f0f5871068f14d97eb4c4d7f9bb88 |access-date=July 17, 2025 |publisher=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=July 16, 2025 |title=Senate Session |url=https://www.c-span.org/program/us-senate/senate-session/662592 |access-date=July 20, 2025 |publisher=C-SPAN}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=July 16, 2025 |title=Senate |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2025-07-16/pdf/CREC-2025-07-16-senate.pdf |journal=Congressional Record |publisher=U.S. Government Publishing Office |volume=171 |issue=122 |pages=S4413–S4414 |access-date=July 20, 2025 |place=Washington, DC}}</ref> The House approved the amended bill after midnight on July 18 by a vote of 216 to 213.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tully-McManus |first1=Katherine |last2=Scholtes |first2=Jennifer |date=July 18, 2025 |title=House passes public media, foreign aid clawbacks after Epstein scramble |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/18/house-passes-public-media-foreign-aid-clawbacks-after-epstein-scramble-00462085 |access-date=July 18, 2025 |website=Politico |publisher=Axel Springer SE}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=July 17, 2025 |title=House Session, Part 2 |url=https://www.c-span.org/program/us-house-of-representatives/house-session-part-2/662725 |access-date=July 20, 2025 |publisher=C-SPAN}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=July 17, 2025 |title=House of Representatives |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2025-07-17/pdf/CREC-2025-07-17-house.pdf |journal=Congressional Record |publisher=U.S. Government Publishing Office |volume=171 |issue=123 |pages=H3460–H3461 |access-date=July 20, 2025 |place=Washington, DC}}</ref> President Trump signed the bill into law on July 24.<ref>{{cite news |last=Freking |first=Kevin |date=July 24, 2025 |title=Trump signs bill to cancel $9 billion in foreign aid, public broadcasting funding |url=https://apnews.com/article/pbs-npr-budget-cuts-trump-republicans-7d29c97c85d0b450549af657e115f0f8 |access-date=July 24, 2025 |publisher=Associated Press}}</ref>

Critics of the rescission bill, such as Nevada U.S. Representative [[Mark Amodei]] and New York U.S. Representative [[Dan Goldman]], noted that the CPB appropriation amounted to less than 0.01% (1/10,000) of the [[U.S. federal budget]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Folley |first=Aris |date=June 9, 2025 |title=Republican urges Trump to reconsider proposed broadcasting cuts |url=https://thehill.com/business/budget/5340695-trump-administration-public-broadcasting-cuts/ |access-date=June 11, 2025 |work=The Hill |publisher=Nexstar Media Group}}</ref> Polls conducted by [[YouGov]] from 2022 through 2025 showed PBS and NPR to be among the most trusted media institutions in the United States and that trust in PBS and NPR was growing,<ref>{{cite news|last=Johnson|first=Ted|date=June 9, 2025|title=Why There Is So Much Worry In Public Media That Donald Trump Will Win Fight To Defund NPR, PBS And Local Stations|website=Yahoo News|agency=Deadline Hollywood|publisher=Penske Media Corporation|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-much-worry-public-media-221857362.html|access-date=June 11, 2025}}</ref>{{refn|name=YouGov|<ref>{{cite web|last=Sanders|first=Linley|date=April 5, 2022|title=Trust in Media 2022: Where Americans get their news and who they trust for information|publisher=YouGov|url=https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/41957-trust-media-2022-where-americans-get-news-poll|access-date=June 12, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Sanders|first=Linley|date=May 8, 2023|title=Trust in Media 2023: What news outlets do Americans trust most for information?|publisher=YouGov|url=https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/45671-trust-in-media-2023-what-news-outlets-trust-poll|access-date=June 12, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Orth|first1=Taylor|last2=Bialik|first2=Carl|date=May 30, 2024|title=Trust in Media 2024: Which news sources Americans trust — and which they think lean left or right|publisher=YouGov|url=https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/49552-trust-in-media-2024-which-news-outlets-americans-trust|access-date=June 12, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Orth|first1=Taylor|last2=Bialik|first2=Carl|date=May 30, 2025|title=Trust in Media 2025: Which news sources Americans use and trust|publisher=YouGov|url=https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/52272-trust-in-media-2025-which-news-sources-americans-use-and-trust|access-date=June 12, 2025}}</ref>}} while five surveys conducted by YouGov and the [[Pew Research Center]] from February through July 2025 found consistent majorities or pluralities of Americans supported continuing federal funding for PBS and NPR.{{refn|name=YouGov/Pew|<ref>{{cite web|title=YouGov Survey: Policy Support|date=February 14, 2025|publisher=YouGov|url=https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/Policy_Support_poll_results.pdf|access-date=June 15, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Lipka|first1=Michael|last2=Matsa|first2=Katerina Eva|date=March 26, 2025|title=Americans more likely to support than oppose continuing federal funding for NPR and PBS|publisher=Pew Research Center|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/03/26/americans-more-likely-to-support-than-oppose-continuing-federal-funding-for-npr-and-pbs/|access-date=June 12, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=YouGov Survey: Policy Support|date=April 25, 2025|publisher=YouGov|url=https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/Policy_Support_poll_results_ZJyLq1A.pdf|access-date=June 15, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=''The Economist''/YouGov Poll|date=June 24, 2025|publisher=YouGov|url=https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/econtoplines_fY58GXm.pdf|access-date=June 29, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Montgomery|first1=David|last2=Orth|first2=Taylor|date=July 22, 2025|title=Comparing disapproval of Trump and Biden, Ukraine aid, Jeffrey Epstein, and PBS: July 18 - 21, 2025 Economist/YouGov Poll|publisher=YouGov|url=https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/52631-donald-trump-joe-biden-job-approval-ukraine-aid-russia-jeffrey-epstein-public-broadcasting-pbs-npr-july-18-21-2025-economist-yougov-poll|access-date=July 23, 2025}}</ref>}} Previously, in every year from 2004 through 2021, surveys of Americans had shown PBS to have been consistently ranked as the most trusted institution in comparison to [[Commercial broadcasting|commercial broadcast]] and [[Cable television in the United States|cable television]], [[Newspapers in the United States|newspapers]], and [[Streaming media|streaming services]], and in January 2021, Americans valued tax dollars spent on PBS behind only [[Military budget of the United States|military defense]] and [[Food and Drug Administration|oversight of food and drug safety]].<ref>{{cite news |date=February 2, 2021 |title=PBS and Member Stations Voted 'Most Trusted' Institution for 18 Consecutive Years |url=https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/pbs-and-member-stations-voted-most-trusted-institution-for-18-consecutive-years/ |publisher=PBS |access-date=March 23, 2021 |archive-date=March 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316092412/https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/pbs-and-member-stations-voted-most-trusted-institution-for-18-consecutive-years/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

After the passage of the rescission bill, the CPB announced on August 1, 2025, that it would lay off the majority of its staff by the end of the fiscal year on September 30, with only a [[wiktionary:skeleton crew|skeleton crew]] staying on board until January 2026 to distribute any remaining funds and royalties.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Porter |first=Rick |date=2025-08-01 |title=Corporation for Public Broadcasting Shutting Down After Federal Funding Rescission |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/corporation-for-public-broadcasting-shutting-down-1236335890/ |access-date=2025-08-01 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Corporation for Public Broadcasting Addresses Operations Following Loss of Federal Funding |date=August 2025 |url=https://cpb.org/pressroom/Corporation-Public-Broadcasting-Addresses-Operations-Following-Loss-Federal-Funding |access-date=August 1, 2025 |publisher=Corporation for Public Broadcasting}}</ref><ref>npr.org: [https://www.npr.org/2025/08/01/nx-s1-5489808/cpb-shut-down-public-broadcasting-trump ''Corporation for Public Broadcasting says it's shutting down'']</ref> On January 5, 2026, the board of the CPB announced that it had voted to dissolve instead of remaining in a defunded state that could be exploited.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schneider |first=Michael |date=2026-01-05 |title=Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Shut Down After 58 Years Due to Trump Eliminating Funding |url=https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/corporation-for-public-broadcasting-shuts-down-trump-1236623793/ |access-date=2026-01-05 |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Board composition==
The CPB was governed by a nominally nine-member [[board of directors]] selected by the president of the United States and confirmed by the [[United States Senate|Senate]]; they served six-year terms, and were allowed to continue serving until the end of the calendar year that their term ends or until their successor was seated on the board.<ref name="Public Broadcasting Act">{{cite web|url=https://cpb.org/aboutpb/act|title=Public Broadcast Act of 1967 Subpart D — Corporation for Public Broadcasting|work=cpb.org|date=November 7, 1967|access-date=2022-12-21}}</ref> Under the terms of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, the president could not appoint persons of the same political party to more than five of the nine CPB board seats.<ref name="Public Broadcasting Act" />  The final board had only three members.

The board of directors governed the CPB, set policy, and established programming priorities. The board appointed the president and chief executive officer, who then named the other corporate officers.<ref name="Board">{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=Board of Directors |url=https://www.cpb.org/aboutcpb/leadership/board/ |access-date=December 22, 2024 |website=CPB.org |publisher=Corporation for Public Broadcasting}}</ref>

===Board members===
The CPB board {{as of|lc=y|df=US|2025|04|10}} was:<ref name="Board" />
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Position
! Name
! Party
! Appointed by (year of confirmation)
! Took office
! Term expired
|-
! Chair
| Ruby Calvert
| {{party shading/Republican}} | Republican
| [[Political appointments of the first Trump administration|Donald Trump]] (2018), [[List of political appointments by Joe Biden|Joe Biden]] (2022)
| {{dts|2018|05|24}}
| rowspan="3" | Upon CPB's shutdown
|-
! Member
| Elizabeth Sembler
| {{party shading/Republican}} | Republican
| [[George W. Bush]] (2008), [[Barack Obama]] (2014), [[List of political appointments by Joe Biden|Joe Biden]] (2022)
| {{dts|2008|10|02}}
|-
! Member
| Diane Kaplan
| {{party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic
| [[List of political appointments by Joe Biden|Joe Biden]] (2022)
| {{dts|2022|12|20}}
|-
! Member
| Laura Ross[https://current.org/2025/07/laura-ross-departs-cpb-board-amid-legal-fight-over-dismissal/]
|
| [[List of political appointments by Joe Biden|Joe Biden]] (2022)
| 
| July 2025
|-
! Member
| [[Tom Rothman]][https://current.org/2026/01/judge-dismisses-pending-cpb-lawsuits-as-corporation-dissolves/]
|
| [[List of political appointments by Joe Biden|Joe Biden]] (2022)
| 2022[https://current.org/2022/02/senate-committee-approves-nominees-for-cpb-board/]
| July 2025
|-
! Member
| ''Vacant''
|
|
|
|
|-
! Member
| ''Vacant''
|
|
|
|
|-
! Member
| ''Vacant''
|
|
|
|
|-
! Member
| ''Vacant''
|
|
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==See also==
*[[American Public Television]]
*[[Public Radio Exchange]]
*[[American Public Media]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

===Works cited===
* {{cite report|title=Selected FCC Regulatory Policies: Their Purpose and Consequences for Commercial Radio and TV|date=June 4, 1979|publisher=General Accounting Office|ref={{sfnRef|GAO|1979}}|url=https://www.gao.gov/assets/ced-79-62.pdf|access-date=January 3, 2025}}
* {{cite journal|last=White|first=Howard A.|year=1994|title=Fine Tuning the Federal Government's Role in Public Broadcasting|journal=The Federal Communications Law Journal|publisher=[[Federal Communications Bar Association]]|volume=46|issue=3|pages=491–519|ref={{sfnRef|FCLJ|1994}}|url=https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/fclj/vol46/iss3/4/}}
* {{cite journal|last=Zansberg|first=Steven D.|year=1994|title='Objectivity and Balance' in Public Broadcasting: Unwise, Unworkable, and Unconstitutional|journal=Yale Law & Policy Review|publisher=[[Yale Law School]]|volume=12|issue=1|pages=184–230|jstor=40239420|ref={{sfnRef|YLPR|1994}}|hdl=20.500.13051/16773}}
* {{cite report|last1=Goldstein|first1=Mark L.|last2=Finedore|first2=John|year=2004|title=TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Issues Related to Federal Funding for Public Television by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting|publisher=General Accounting Office|ref={{sfnRef|GAO|2004}}|url=https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-04-284.pdf|access-date=December 15, 2024}}
* {{cite report|last1=Goldstein|first1=Mark L.|year=2007|title=TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Issues Related to the Structure and Funding of Public Television|publisher=Government Accountability Office|ref={{sfnRef|GAO|2007}}|url=https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-07-150.pdf|access-date=December 15, 2024}}
* {{cite journal|last=Phillips|first=Jonathan M.|year=2007|title=Freedom by Design: Objective Analysis and the Constitutional Status of Public Broadcasting|journal=University of Pennsylvania Law Review|publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Law School]]|volume=155|issue=4|pages=991–1020|ref={{sfnRef|UPLR|2007}}|jstor=40041331|url=https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/penn_law_review/vol155/iss4/5/|access-date=June 20, 2025}}
* {{cite report|title=The Information Needs of Communities: The Changing Media Landscape In a Broadband Age|year=2011|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|ref={{sfnRef|FCC|2011}}|url=https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/the-information-needs-of-communities-report-july-2011.pdf|access-date=May 2, 2025}}
* {{cite report|last1=McLoughlin|first1=Glenn J.|last2=Gomez|first2=Lena A.|date=July 3, 2017|title=The Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Federal Funding and Issues|publisher=Congressional Research Service|ref={{sfnRef|CRS|2017a}}|url=https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/RS/PDF/RS22168/RS22168.62.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2025}}
* {{cite report|last1=Evans Jr.|first1=Lawrance L.|year=2023|title=LOCAL JOURNALISM: Innovative Business Approaches and Targeted Policies May Help Local News Media Adapt to Digital Transformation|publisher=Government Accountability Office|ref={{sfnRef|GAO|2023}}|url=https://www.gao.gov/assets/820/814508.pdf|access-date=December 15, 2024}}
* {{cite report|last1=Humphreys|first1=Brian E.|date=May 23, 2025|title=Public Broadcasting: Background Information and Current Issues for Congress|publisher=Congressional Research Service|ref={{sfnRef|CRS|2025}}|url=https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R48545/R48545.4.pdf|access-date=June 4, 2025}}

===Further reading===
* {{cite report|last=Wolf|first=Frederick D.|year=1984|title=Corporation for Public Broadcasting's Oversight of National Public Radio|publisher=[[Government Accountability Office|General Accounting Office]]|url=https://www.gao.gov/assets/afmd-84-44.pdf|access-date=December 15, 2024}}
* {{cite report|last=Wolf|first=Frederick D.|year=1984|title=Corporation for Public Broadcasting's Oversight of Public Television|publisher=General Accounting Office|url=https://www.gao.gov/assets/afmd-85-31.pdf|access-date=December 15, 2024}}
* {{cite report|last=Morra|first=Linda G.|year=1990|title=Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Congressional Guidance Needed on Administrative Expenses|publisher=General Accounting Office|url=https://www.gao.gov/assets/hrd-90-5.pdf|access-date=December 15, 2024}}
* {{cite report|title=Alternative Sources of Funding for Public Broadcasting Stations|year=2012|publisher=Corporation for Public Broadcasting|url=https://cpb.org/sites/default/files/aboutcpb/Alternative_Sources_of_Funding_for_Public_Broadcasting_Stations.pdf|access-date=December 15, 2024}}

==External links==
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011127225317/https://cpb.org/ |date=November 27, 2001 |title=cpb.org }}
* {{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer|132607374}}
* [https://archives.lib.umd.edu/repositories/2/resources/1609 Corporation for Public Broadcasting records] at the [[University of Maryland Libraries]]

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{{NPR}}
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