The Corporation for Public Broadcasting Has Shut Down — What Happens to PBS Now?

Harpooned by congressional funding cuts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has officially shut down. This is not the first time the Trump Administration has elected to cease funding for popular programs. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting funded NPR, PBS, and a host of local television and radio shows.

Of course, the obvious question remains: now that Congress has stripped the Corporation for Public Broadcasting of its funding, what will become of NPR, PBS, and other local media?

Now that the nonprofit has shut down after 58 years of service, are NPR and PBS in trouble? Are local television and radio shows poised to shutter after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was unfairly targeted by the Trump Administration? Honestly, what comes next?

We seek to answer these questions, and more, below. Continue reading to learn more about the future of NPR, PBS, and local media following this maddening news.

As the Associated Press reported on Monday, the board of directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting finally voted to dissolve after Congress defunded the organization last year.

“CPB’s final act would be to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving, rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks,” Patricia Harrison, the organization’s president and CEO, said, according to the Associated Press.

The Trump Administration — and many key Republicans in general — accused public media of being biased against them, instead favoring a liberal bias. Consequently, as NBC News reported, Congress had recently approved of spending cuts that removed more than $1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The organization had been in service for the last 58 years, but now, the future of entities like PBS and NPR are in doubt.

“For more than half a century, CPB existed to ensure that all Americans—regardless of geography, income, or background—had access to trusted news, educational programming, and local storytelling,” Harrison said, according to NBC News.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting supported an estimated 1,500 local radio and television stations throughout the U.S., and NBC News reported that "Programs on PBS and NPR have been able to remain on the air because of other sources of funding."

While the PBS X (formerly Twitter) account has a donation link set up for prospective donors, there has been no indication that it will be shuttering, as well. Though, with a cloudy future ahead, PBS will rely on donor generosity to continue its operations.

As the Guardian reported, "The cuts to federal funding have inspired donors from across the country to go on a 'rage-giving' spree, sending $70m in donations to public broadcasters over the last year."

None of the funding cuts should be a surprise, as the Guardian explained, "Plans to cut funding for public broadcasters were outlined in Project 2025, the rightwing manifesto for a second Trump administration, and by May of last year, Trump had sent a memo to Congress demanding it take action to cut the CPB’s funding."

While the X account for NPR, which has 7.7 million followers, has been inactive since April 12, 2023, its Instagram account has remained active for its 8 million followers.

While there has been no indication that NPR plans to shutter, Ruby Calvert, the chair of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting board of directors, gave a promising outlook for the future.

“[I am] convinced that public media will survive, and that a new Congress will address public media’s role in our country because it is critical to our children’s education, our history, culture and democracy to do so,” she said, according to the Guardian.