Corporation for Public Broadcasting

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. , its operating budget included US$535million of federal appropriation and $10million in interest revenue. Its budgeted expenses were as follows: • $267.83million for direct grants to local public television stations; • $96.78million for television programming grants; • $83.33million for direct grants to local public radio stations; • $28.63million for the Radio National Program Production and Acquisition • $9.58million for the Radio Program Fund • $32.10million for system support • $26.75million 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 infrastructure. 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. The Public Broadcasting Act prohibits the CPB from owning or operating stations, and from producing, scheduling, or distributing programming. As PBS and NPR were incorporated as station-owned membership organizations, 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, corporate underwriting and institutional support, and individual contributions. PBS and NPR member stations are owned and operated by colleges and universities, public school districts, other private non-profit corporations, or state government agencies. Along with the 2007 GAO report about public television specifically, 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 control over which programming from the NPS and NPR they wish to broadcast. Public television stations participate in the Emergency Alert System (which includes Amber alerts) and the pilot program for the Digital Emergency Alert System. 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. U.S. government funding of the CPB ceased in 2025, and the corporation shut down operations by January 2026. == History ==

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. On March 27, 1968, it was registered as a nonprofit corporation in the District of Columbia. 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 conservative public figures, potentially threatening the medium's future viability. President Nixon was well known for his dislike of PBS and the CPB and wanted to kill the congressional funding for it. On February 26, 1970, the CPB formed National Public Radio (NPR), a network of public-radio stations that began operating the following year. Unlike PBS, NPR produces and distributes programming. In 1972, NPACT was sold outright to WETA-TV, the basement behind NPACT's studios, which was folded four years later. File:CPB (1967).svg|First Logo (1967)combination of C, P, and B File:CPB (1983).svg|6th, 7th and 8th logo1983 to 2001 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. 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). In 1977, public television stations took full control of the Station Program Cooperative, allowing to fund programs fully. 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. 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. 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, cultural, and other programming not provided by commercial broadcasters, as well as programming for audiences that were unserved or underserved by commercial broadcasters. 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 funding through federal grants administered by the CPB, public broadcasters would contribute to a better-informed citizenry through high-quality national and local programming. Under the Radio Act of 1927 and the Communications Act of 1934, Congress had established that 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. 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". In 1939, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) required all radio stations to locate their main offices and studios in the community they were licensed to serve. In 1946, the FCC issued its 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. 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. 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. 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. Also, a 1979 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. 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 markets. Also, the total number of local cable news channels nationally was not growing (and possibly declining in some regions) since most channels were only attempting to break-even rather than be profitable and most cable operators did not invest in local cable news channels and had no plans to do so. 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 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. One-third of all NPR programming was locally produced while less than 15% of the news and public affairs programming on commercial news/talk radio was local programming. 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. 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 journalistic documentaries than commercial television. The 2011 FCC report also noted that NPR had 17 international bureaus and a greater number of foreign correspondents than NBC, CBS, Fox News, or MSNBC, and that children's programming on cable television was dominated by entertainment programming while educational programming for children remained chiefly provided by public television. 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. In light of various changes in consumer preferences and market dynamics in the news industry, 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 non-excludable and non-rivalrous features of a public good that generates positive externalities and is vulnerable to free riding. Along with other policy proposals, the 2023 GAO report suggested increasing the federal CPB appropriation to address the market failure. 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. 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. 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: 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" used by the former Chairman in recruiting a President/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for CPB, which violated statutory prohibitions against such practices. 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. 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. In 2017, the first Trump administration again attempted to eliminate the CPB. In 2019 and again in 2020, Trump attempted to cut CPB funding by more than 90%. 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 US House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. 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. Second Trump administration Executive Order 14290 Rescissions Act of 2025 and subsequent disestablishment On June 3, President Trump filed a request for a rescission bill that included the congressional appropriation for the CPB. The next day, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government on the rescission request and the administration's 2026 fiscal year budget request. 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 House Oversight Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency about the CPB appropriation, the journalistic standards and alleged bias of the organizations, and public broadcasting's educational programming and participation in emergency alert systems in rural areas. On June 6, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise introduced a rescission bill including the CPB appropriation in the House of Representatives. The House passed the bill on June 12 along party lines by a vote of 214 to 212. On June 25, Vought testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee on the rescission bill. The Senate received the House bill on July 10 and it was referred to the Appropriations and Budget Committees. On July 15, the Senate passed motions to discharge the House bill from the Appropriations and Budget Committees and to proceed to debate with Vice President JD Vance casting tie-breaking votes on each motion. 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. The House approved the amended bill after midnight on July 18 by a vote of 216 to 213. President Trump signed the bill into law on July 24. 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. 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, 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. 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 broadcast and cable television, newspapers, and streaming services, and in January 2021, Americans valued tax dollars spent on PBS behind only military defense and oversight of food and drug safety. 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 skeleton crew staying on board until January 2026 to distribute any remaining funds and royalties. 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. ==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 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. 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. Board members The CPB board was: ==See also==