Article in The Washington Post by Maddy Butcher, 8/25/25
Headline: “A reality check for NPR stations in Trump country”
Subhead: “Will rural affiliates see through the politicization and adopt a more all-embracing approach?”
“. . .People in Montezuma County [Colorado] voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024. And yet KSJD — an affiliate of NPR, that longtime target of Republican ire — has grown from an entirely volunteer operation running out of a trailer a few decades ago to a staff with four full-timers, an adjunct performing arts venue and a $580,000 budget. It is the only independently operated radio station or media outlet in the county, and it is one of hundreds of rural radio stations whose budgets will be slashed by the recent White House-requested congressional rescission of $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. . .”
Read the full article at:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/08/25/npr-defunded-rural-stations-fundraising/
– – – – –
Article in AP by Gabriela Aoun Angueira, 8/25/25
Headline: “After Trump and Congress spending cuts, public media stations wait on money for emergency alerts”
“Warning: This may be an actual emergency — as far as emergencies about emergencies go, at least.
“The recently defunded nonprofit corporation that distributed federal money to public media stations across the United States is warning of another casualty when it shuts down next month: the resilience of the nation’s emergency alert systems.
“In 2022, Congress created the Next Generation Warning System grant program, meant to help stations in rural, tribal and otherwise underserved communities repair and improve the warning systems that tell people about evacuation orders, Amber alerts, tornado warnings, and more. . .”
Read the full article at:
