Federal Funding Responses to Questions

WPM and all stations receive questions from the public about defunding public broadcasting. They emanate from various areas including bills and acts in Congress, congressional responses to listeners/viewers, NPR/PBS/CPB leadership interviews and statements, comments from the Administration, articles in other news media, among other sources. Here are some key points and responses that may be helpful.

This page also addresses questions about WPM day-to-day operations.

This page will be updated as questions/issues come in.
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What is WPM's plan for keeping the operation functioning after the rescission?

WPM anticipated an uphill battle in the administration and Congress and started planning immediately following the November 2024 elections. An organizational year-end review identified areas that could still function effectively with reductions.

WPM hoped for the best, and planned for the worst case scenario. Several steps were implemented and/or are in the process of implementation. The objective is to keep services as close to current level as possible. Listeners and users should not feel much of a difference in service.

With CPB federal funding gone, WPM is planning for a $400+ reduction in its annual operating budget.

Staff hiring freeze except in critical positions.
Budget cuts in some operational areas.
Sharing resources with regional networks thus eliminating costs. Outsourcing services at lower cost where applicable.
Freeze on the Gillette build-out for a Wyoming Sounds channel. Will pursue this only if there is private or grant funding available. Signal improvement from Muddy Gap to Lander and in the Kaycee area were put on hold in November and subsequently dropped.

Generating revenue to meet the 400K shortfalls. (We are closing in on the first year $400K in missing revenue.)

We had 3 successful fundraising events – spring fund drive, year end fund drive, and WyoGives. Each event met and surpassed goal with some “rage” donations included.
This year we’re participating in Old Bill’s Fun Run for the first time.
We will approach UW, our licensee, for assistance as warranted.
Like other stations, we have entered into a full-time fundraising mode on a variety of platforms. This mimics other national non-profits that fundraise all year, all the time.
We’re concentrating heavily on new members while the “rage” over defunding is still fresh. But we need to be careful not to cannibalize our ongoing donor activity, or exhaust our listeners.

Did President Trump discourage congressional Republicans from voting against rescission for public broadcasting?

President Trump shared his thinking with congressional Republicans prior to the rescission votes in the Senate and the House.

"It is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions [sic] Bill and, in particular, DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
(PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN & MSDNC put together. Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

Now that CPB is closing shop, what will WPM need to add to its operating requirements?

These are the major supports that will pass on to stations:
*Cost-effective collective negotiation and payment of music licensing fees.
*Support for the public media interconnection system that connects all local stations and is essential for the transmission of emergency alerts and warnings over public broadcasting infrastructure.
*Management of systemwide operating procedures that align with FCC regulations and apply to public broadcasters. General Managers had access to training and professional consultation in matters affecting station license, programming, technical operation.
*Training opportunities for staff in areas of programming, news/journalism, technology.
*Grants in specific areas of news and programming. For example, WPM's State Government reporters are funded by CPB; WPM's participation in the Mountain West News Bureau is funded partially by CPB.

Local stations will now have to pay for these costs out of their individual station budgets, which have already taken a dramatic hit from the elimination of federal funding. In many cases, the transfer of these newly unfunded costs will simply be too high for local stations to bear.

With CPB gone, can stations take advantage of commercial radio practices and start making money the way commercial stations do?

Our broadcasting regulations are determined by the FCC which grants the owners of public radio stations a Non Commercial Educational license. This triggers non commercial guidelines of operation which are different from commercial stations. FCC has not indicated any operational changes at this time. CPB does not grant licenses. It manages federal dollars appropriated by Congress and distributes them to stations. CPB assists stations in carrying out FCC regulations and manages the compliance reporting.

What will happen to stations that operate mostly on CPB federal appropriations?

Immediate assistance will come from NPR's fee reduction program being implemented to help stations transition. For the long term, small stations with low membership revenues are encouraged to consider merging functions with larger stations with stronger infrastructures and resources.

What are the most critical losses now that CPB is phasing out?

The most critical areas are national services that stations can't provide for themselves in a cost-effective manner. These include, infrastructure capability (connecting all our 46 sites), music and streaming rights (making Wyoming Sounds, Classical Wyoming, Jazz Wyoming possible, providing fiscal oversight for FCC-related activities that require annual review. These services are networked with all other public radio stations, so the national interconnectivity is hard to replace.
Oversight and management of journalism and educational grants will be missed. CPB coordinated the system's educational activities, creating opportunities for learning and expanding national reporting. CPB provided the training ground for young public broadcasters entering the system. This oversight will need to be picked up elsewhere.

What process does the Senate have to deal with the rescission?

President Trump's rescission request has a 45-day clock from the day he submitted it. The Senate has 4 basic options:
1) adopt the cuts as presented in the request
2) amend the proposed cuts
3) reject them
4) do nothing. This in effect is a rejection of the proposal.

There is some confusion about the Big Beautiful Bill and the rescission. Are they related?

The "Big Beautiful Bill," at nearly 900 pages, is a collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations. A $4.5 trillion tax breaks and spending cuts bill, it was passed Thursday July 3, 2025. overcoming multiple setbacks and was signed into law by the president. Public broadcasting was not a part of this process.

The "rescission" package that Trump sent to Congress allows Congress to cancel funds it previously appropriated but had not yet spent. The president can withhold these funds, but only with Congress’ approval. The two-year forward funding that was previously appropriated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to distribute to stations falls into this category. In this case, Trump had signed this appropriation in March 2025. So in effect, he’s taking back what he has already given. Hence the “claw back” term is applied to this type of activity.

At the time of this update, the rescission for public broadcasting was passed by the House, and is now before the Senate. Should the Senate make any changes to the rescission, it needs to go back to the House for passage. Both Chambers have to pass the rescission request by July 18. If they fail to pass, the money goes back into the budget and the president doesn’t have the opportunity to spend it or revive the rescission request.

In 1967 Congress authorized the CPB to use tax dollars to subsidize public television and public radio stations in America. With the emergence of other media sources, this is no longer necessary.

One of the intents of the Public Broadcasting Act was to provide free access to high-quality television and radio broadcasts to all Americans. A majority of current media sources are available through paid cable or satellite fees and user IT and broadband service paid plans. A sizable number of print publications are available on a subscription basis. Online print media is readily available, but increasingly restricted by a paywall. Public radio and television content remains free of charge.
A second core intent of the Public Broadcasting Act was to provide educational material to the nation and particularly to consumers who couldn’t afford to get it elsewhere. Public broadcasting content is created to educate through a variety of programs for radio, television, and now through digital productions. This content intends to educate and inform, and not necessarily follow the commercial model of generating eyeballs and ears for ratings which translate into advertising revenue. In the educational area, public television’s decades-long programming history in the area of children’s programming leads the way.
A third core intent of the Public Broadcasting Act was to address Americans living in rural areas who had no other access to media. Many parts of the nation do not have a strong business justification for commercial service providers to invest in the areas. Public broadcasting, through its subsidies from Congress, is able to create a model that works and reaches listeners/viewers in America’s “media deserts.”

Why should all Americans pay for services that are used by only a part of the population?

Public radio and television is accessed by close to 180 million Americans combined via traditional TV and radio sets alone. Each month, 16 million individuals view content on PBS apps and 53 million users through YouTube. NPR’s digital platforms alone reach an average of 37 million users per month.

Public radio and television are akin to public utilities and services that are operated by local, state, and federal governments. Not everyone uses the highway system, railroads, the electrical grid, FAA control systems for air travel, public schools, etc. yet tax dollars from all Americans are pooled to pay for these “common use” services. The Public Broadcasting Act deemed public broadcasting as a tool to provide education to all Americans regardless of location or circumstance. Not all are required to use it, but it's there for all to access.

NPR’s CEO made far-left statements about President Trump, Americans, and non-binary individuals that make her unfit to lead a publicly funded media entity.

Dating back to 2018, Katherine Maher, NPR CEO, made statements to this effect on her private Twitter account and in presentations that were perceived as hyper-progressive by some. In her congressional testimony on March 26, 2025, she stated that she regretted these statements.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXbSeJ3avEg

Retraction of statements or positions is not unusual among public figures. Similar statements were made and later regretted or retracted by others in professional positions and government-related functions. Retractions are not an impediment to employment, appointment, or election.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nu8yn6TwGgw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JEUGjyROw4

In 2023, NPR senior editor, Uri Berliner penned an article critical of NPR, stating that the NPR audience described itself as predominantly liberal, with only 31 percent citing themselves to be conservative or conservative-leaning. This demographic description has been interpreted to mean that NPR is biased.

NPR does not perform a litmus test on audience political persuasions and doesn’t control programming decisions by political segmentation. Media attracts the audiences that want to consume its content. This audience is made up of a variety of political persuasions.

Note: WPM agreed with some Berliner positions, disagreed with others, but questioned the method by which personnel issues were aired publicly instead of through management channels.

Mr. Berliner also noted that by his count, there were no Republicans working in editorial positions at NPR.

As per employment guidelines, NPR does not track voter registrations of employees. The methodology of Mr. Berliner’s information could benefit from further clarification.
Note: WPM does not ask for political affiliation in its employment process.

NPR did not want to cover the story about Hunter Biden’s laptop citing its truthfulness for the decision.

NPR refrained from full coverage of the story pending deeper verification.
In subsequent reporting, NPR came to the conclusion that it was a mistake not to have covered the story immediately and more fully. A public retraction was made.
Note: WPM was of the opinion that the story should have been followed up and expressed its concerns to NPR.

NPR lacks diversity of viewpoints in its newsroom.

This is an “in the eye of the beholder" issue that can't always be adjudicated. One listener’s perceived bias is another’s accurate statement.
Note: NPR addressed this issue in an internal review and made substantive changes to its reporting format and style. Listeners are encouraged to listen to their public radio station and make an assessment of what they hear.

Does NPR have a Journalistic code or procedures?

NPR has a Code of Ethics linked below.
https://www.npr.org/about-npr/688405012/independence
Note: WPM publishes the Journalistic Codes for all contributing news organizations that contribute to the on-air stories and information.
https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/regulatory-information

There have been upheavals in media overall, and also at NPR.

This is correct. Recent years have brought sharp turnarounds in media. The pandemic and new digital access options affected listening/viewing behavior. Social movements, including the #MeToo as well as the George Floyd killing in 2020 created tumult in newsrooms, witnessed by the departure of top editors in The New York Times, the Washington Post, among others. This was also fueled by a generational change in the ranks, with the infusion of young journalists with different core values of news coverage compared with their “Cronkite generation” counterparts.
NPR recognized these factors, as well as other factors brought up by the Berliner article, and made course corrections.
Note: WPM agreed with the new changes made by NPR. They more closely aligned with WPM editorial practices.