Defend Public Media in the United States
By IDA Admin
This article will be updated regularly as the situation unfolds with news and calls to action.
May 6, 2025
Since last week, the White House issued an Executive Order instructing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to “cease federal funding for NPR and PBS,” halting direct and indirect funding to PBS and NPR by prohibiting local stations and CPB grant recipients from using taxpayer dollars to support these organizations. In response, CPB issued a statement affirming that it is “not a federal executive agency subject to the President’s authority.”
This comes on top of the White House’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget request to Congress, which proposes completely defunding CPB, and a pending rescissions package that would claw back $1.1 billion in federal funding for public media.
In response to this coordinated wave of attacks on public media, late last week us and our partners at Protect My Public Media began mobilizing advocates to contact their lawmakers – urging them to protect both local autonomy and the federal funding that makes public media possible. This built on our recent mobilization around the pending rescissions package, and since then, more than 760,000 communications have reached congressional offices. We’re now working to keep that momentum going.
Since the rescissions package remains a serious threat, all advocate communications to Congress will now address all three issues: a possible rescissions package, the Executive Order, and the FY 2026 budget proposal.
Since the rescissions package remains a serious threat, we suggest that all advocate communications to Congress now address all three issues: a possible rescissions package, the Executive Order, and the FY 2026 budget proposal.
You can use these updated social scripts provided by Protect My Public Media to support your outreach efforts to your networks.
April 28, 2025
Critical funding for public media in the United States is under threat. Today, April 28, we expect the White House to ask Congress to rescind more than $1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. CPB funds public media in the United States, including PBS, NPR, their member stations, and the production of documentary films for public broadcast.
This money was previously appropriated by Congress. Stations, programming strands, filmmakers, and radio producers are among those who have begun work that depends on CPB funding. If passed, the White House’s rescission package would be a devastating blow to audiences across the U.S.
Congress voted for funding public media when it appropriated the funds two years ago. This potential legislation would undo that work. IDA has members in all fifty states. We are a community that knows and believes in the importance of public interest stories for this and any democracy. Join us in calling for all of our representatives to stand up for public media again by voting against the rescission request.
This is your money. Allocated by your representatives to support the stories you need to tell and hear.
You can email your representatives directly using the text provided below. You can look up your congressional representatives here, finding their email addresses and office phone numbers. Alternatively, you can use this tool provided by IDA’s partners at Protect My Public Media to submit your email.
If you would like to call your representatives directly, you can use their direct office number or call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
Learn more about this issue from Protect My Public Media and join their campaign.
Don’t wait. Call or email your Members of Congress today and urge them to oppose any attempt to eliminate public media funding.
Sincerely,
International Documentary Association