Public media is like an invisible web connecting the country, from rural to urban America. More than 1,500 local radio and television stations affiliated with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) can transfer information instantaneously to listeners across the nation, including emergency alerts. In 1967, Congress agreed this was a valuable asset for the American people and created CPB after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act.
CPB is a nonprofit that allocates federal funding approved by Congress every two years to those 1,500 member stations. Through the Continuing Resolution passed by Congress in mid-March, CPB funding through fiscal year 2027 was approved.
“The question is what steps the administration might take to try to overrule that approval,” said Stewart Vanderwilt, CEO of Colorado Public Radio (CPR). Public media has been increasingly targeted as of late by Republicans in Congress as well as the executive branch.
There is an innate interdependence among public radio stations. In Colorado, stations rely on each other to report news from within a given area — which only local, boots-on-the ground reporters are readily available to cover — to share with other regional stations.
“If one station is put in peril, that impacts everyone — not just that one station in that community,” said Vanderwilt. “We really need to share with our audiences and our representatives that these stations deliver essential services that can only be done from where they are. You can’t replace this with an internet feed of national news from outside of Colorado.”
CPR receives about $1.4 million in federal funding annually, making up 5% of its revenue. In comparison, KDNK Community Access Radio received $144,743 from CPB in 2023, making up 24% of its revenue that year. In 2024, KDNK received $174,779.
“[Federal] grants are a match to local community support,” Vanderwilt explained, “and that match is higher for stations in less populated communities.” So the formula is meant to provide comparatively more support to rural communities, and at the same time is dependent on the level of local backing, demonstrated by memberships and donations.
“The formula favors, appropriately so, smaller communities. So a dollar that KDNK raises is matched at a higher rate than a dollar that CPR raises,” Vanderwilt continued. “It’s really an incentive — each community, in a way, matches the federal investment.”
According to Protect My Public Media, a national advocacy group, taxpayer funding to CPB amounts to about $1.60 per person annually.
And that federal funding isn’t provided willy-nilly. KDNK Station Director Megan Passmore explained that all member stations are required to have an annual third-party audit to receive those dollars.
Federal grants to National Public Radio (NPR) make up approximately 1% of its annual revenue. “As a private nonprofit, the majority of NPR’s funding comes from donations and sponsorships,” a NPR spokesperson told The Sopris Sun.
“So the impact will be at your station,” Vanderwilt stated. “When you hear it talked about nationally, about defunding NPR or PBS, the reality is it’s defunding local stations … that are run by local people.”
“CPB funding supports hundreds of member stations with local newsrooms in communities around the nation,” chimed in the NPR spokesperson. “These organizations have full editorial independence to deliver programming their communities need and want … To cut funding for these organizations would be a grave disservice to the millions of Americans who rely on these sources for information.”
Should that federal funding ever go away, Passmore stated, “We’d have to figure out where to get that money, or make some unpleasant decisions.” She added that KDNK’s Board of Directors is working on scenario planning in case that ever happens.
Passmore pointed out that this isn’t the first time federal funding for public media has been scrutinized. Although, “With the current administration there is a heightened sense of concern,” she said.
“The fact that the funding has endured for 50 years is a testament to bipartisan support,” concluded Vanderwilt.
Folks who would like to make their case in support of public media receiving federal dollars can visit www.protectmypublicmedia.org The website conveniently connects constituents with their Congressional representatives.
FCC investigation
At the end of January, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr sent a letter to the head of NPR and PBS stating that, upon request from the agency’s Enforcement Bureau, he was launching an investigation into the underwriting practices of the two public media outlets as well as their member stations.
Underwriting, which can consist of for-profit or nonprofit sponsorships, may seem like walking a fine line to someone outside the radio landscape. Public media stations are not supposed to promote a sponsor by delivering messaging that encourages a listener to buy something, but can mention a business, where to find it and that its support helps sustain the radio station.
“NPR programming and underwriting messaging complies with federal regulations, including the FCC guidelines on underwriting messages for noncommercial educational broadcasters, and member stations are expected to be in compliance as well,” NPR declared in a public statement. “We are confident any review of our programming and underwriting practices will confirm NPR’s adherence to these rules.”
Passmore also assured that KDNK maintains underwriting practices that are consistent with the FCC guidelines.
Membership drive
KDNK happens to be in the midst of its spring membership drive. Memberships make up about 35% of the station’s budget, according to Passmore and, as stated above, can increase the level of federal support.
Speaking of awards, Walter Gallacher, host of KDNK’s public affairs show “Immigrant Stories,” recently received the Colorado Broadcasters Award of Excellence for Best Public Affairs Program. Gallacher won the same award in 2023. He has been hosting “Immigrant Stories” since 2006, but has been involved with KDNK almost since its inception — even having served on its board of directors for a time.
As of press time, KDNK raised $50,000 on its way toward a goal of $88,100. People can become a member or donate by visiting www.kdnk.org, calling 970-963-0139 or stopping by the station at 76 South 2nd Street in Carbondale.