WJFF - The Local Edition - Special Report

President Donald Trump has signed a sweeping executive order directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to cease all federal funding for NPR and PBS, citing what he calls "radical left bias" in their coverage. The order, which faces legal challenges, raises significant concerns about the future of public broadcasting in America—especially among local stations like Radio Catskill.

In a special edition of The Local Edition, Radio Catskill Board President Sally Stuart joined the program to discuss how the order could impact stations like Radio Catskill.

"We've been expecting an order that would threaten funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting," said Stuart. "This is coming in a slightly different way than we anticipated. But it is the same effort, which is to defund community radio and television that serves the public interest."

Stuart emphasized the practical impact of the executive order, especially a provision that would limit how local stations can use CPB funds. "Buried in the executive order is a statement that any CPB funds that go to radio stations would require them not to use it for purchasing programming, for licensing fees to NPR."

She continued, "In our case, for example, the funding from CPB represents 25% of our budget. So, influencing how we could spend those monies could limit what we can do for the community and the services that we can provide."

While NPR itself receives only a small percentage of its funding from the federal government, the indirect support through local stations is far more significant. Stuart explained that this indirect funding is crucial. 

"Congress decided that funding for CPB should be granted two years in advance to protect journalism and community service from the winds of politics and give greater certainty."

She added that federal support enables Radio Catskill to provide vital services, including local news and emergency alerts. "There are people in remote areas of Alaska that wouldn’t know the weather without it. We are a source of emergency information—when it's a public health situation, when it's a weather situation, when it's other kinds of situations."

"People need to have access to this kind of information that's in the now. Newspapers and other sources are great, but they aren’t as immediate as we are with local broadcasting."

Looking ahead, Stuart called on listeners to take action. "Our community relies on us and they support us, and that's essential. And we all have to do a little more to help make up for these changes."

She encouraged community members to contact their representatives through platforms like ProtectYourPublicMedia.org. "Congresspeople respond to telephone calls. It is a little tiresome to be on hold and all of that, but your call is logged and it is taken into consideration."

Radio Catskill has also launched a listener survey to gauge the local response to the potential loss of NPR and federal support. "We have all sorts of local programming that folks rely on too. It’s not just NPR—they rely on us for all sorts of local programming which enrich our lives and connect us. What if you lost 25% of that? We need it."

"Our community relies on us," Stuart concluded. "And we’re going to keep doing everything we can to be here for them."