Since the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) was created in 1967, federal leaders of both parties have reaffirmed the values of public media—including free and fair news coverage, and music that inspires.
Today, the House of Representatives broke that tradition.
In a vote of 214 to 212, the House approved President Trump’s rescission request to end federal support for more than 1,500 public radio and television stations across the country, including KNKX. The bill will now advance to the Senate and, if they pass it, to President Trump to sign.
The danger to public media is urgent and unprecedented.
Should federal funding be eliminated, KNKX will face an immediate gap in our annual budget of nearly $600,000.
But we face an even greater risk. The CPB negotiates (and pays for) the music licensing that every station in the system relies on. It would be logistically impossible for every station to negotiate separately for these rights. And these costs would be onerous to every public music station if they are passed on to us. How that gets resolved is truly unknown at this point.
This is the time to reach out to your United States Senator. This narrow vote in the House shows we can make a difference. Together, we can demonstrate the broad support for KNKX and public media, and—hopefully—stop this from advancing any further.
Find your senator and learn how to reach them at ProtectMyPublicMedia.org.
