Corporation For Public Broadcasting: Reported Trump Privatization Plan Would Be “Devastating” To Public Media

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is pushing back on reported efforts by the Trump Administration to privatize it, saying the proposal would have a “devastating effect” and that “the entire public media service would be severely debilitated.” CPB is a private nonprofit corporation that receives almost all of its funding from the federal government and distributes those funds as grants to public television and radio stations and their programs. It is the “single largest source of funding for public television and radio programming.” According to CPB’s statement, “The federal investment in public media is vital seed money -- especially for stations located in rural America, and those serving underserved populations where the appropriation counts for 40-50% of their budget. The loss of this seed money would have a devastating effect.”