Public Media

Destroy American Broadcasting?

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Illustration from Fire.org

Article in The Guardian by John Oliver, 11/17/25

Headline:  “John Oliver on the mass defunding of US public media: ‘Just stupid’ “

Subhead:  “The Last Week Tonight host delves into the many vital functions of US public media imperiled by congressional Republicans’ defunding plan”

“On the latest Last Week Tonight, John Oliver checked in on the ‘dire’ state of public media in the US, where almost all public media falls under the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Until recently, the CPB distributed funding to more than 544 radio TV grantees representing more than 1,500 locally managed and operated stations nationwide, reaching more than 99% of the US population . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/nov/17/john-oliver-public-media-cuts

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Article in Freepress by Staff,   11/17/25

Headline: “Free Press Action’s Mike Rispoli Testifies Before the New Jersey State Senate on Behalf of Public Funding for Public Media “

“. . .In September, NJ PBS — the state’s only public-television station — announced that it will cease operations in 2026. The move is related to Congress’ decision earlier this year to claw back $1.1 billion in funding from the previously approved federal budget for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the CPB’s subsequent decision to shut down operations. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/free-press-actions-mike-rispoli-testifies-new-jersey-state-senate-behalf-public-media-funding

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Article in The Atlantic by Gilad Edelman, 11/17/25

Headline: “The ‘Easy Way’ to Crush the Mainstream Media”

Subhead: “FCC chair Brendan Carr is on a crusade to Trumpify the airwaves.”

“. . .when he issued a mob-style threat over a Jimmy Kimmel monologue that Republicans didn’t like—’We can do this the easy way or the hard way’—he made the Trump administration’s appetite for censorship unignorable.

“Most of the administration’s efforts to manipulate the media up to that point had retained at least a patina of deniability. Here, by contrast, was an uncomplicated threat of government interference—one that prompted Disney, ABC’s parent company, to fall in line by suspending Kimmel’s show. . . ”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2025/11/brendan-carr/684936/

Broadcasting Blow-Up

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Joel Simon, 11/13/25

Headline:  “How Donald Trump Blew Up the BBC“

Subhead:  “The president set out to undermine public broadcasters in the US. Now, with help from British allies, he’s taking his strategy global.”

“Last week, I wrote about the BBC’s big ambitions for the US market and its confidence that a just-the-facts approach, combined with a global sensibility, would give it a competitive edge in Trump’s America. . .’

“The same day my column ran, The Telegraph published a story that seemed to utterly upend those plans. Based on a leaked internal memo, it alleged that a documentary aired just before the 2024 US presidential election on the BBC program Panorama had ‘doctored’ a Donald Trump speech by making him appear to encourage the Capitol Hill riot” of January 6, 2021. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/how-donald-trump-blew-up-bbc-us-market-telegraph-panorama-jan-6.php

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Article in the New Republic by Malcolm Ferguson, 11/13/25

Headline: “BBC Apologizes to Trump but Refuses to Pay Up Like He Demanded”

Subhead:  “The BBC is warning Donald Trump that he doesn’t have a real defamation case.”

“The British Broadcasting Corporation has apologized to President Donald Trump for editing his speech on an episode of Panorama, but will not fork over the $1 billion he threatened to sue for. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/post/203183/bbc-apologizes-trump-refuses-pay-defamation

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Article in Daily Kos by Alix Breeden, 11/11/25

Headline:  “Trump’s war on the media goes global”

“President Donald Trump is trying to take his war on the media across the pond, but the United Kingdom isn’t having it.

“Trump’s attorney threatened a $1 billion lawsuit on the British Broadcasting Corporation Tuesday over a doctored clip of Trump speaking to his beloved Jan. 6 insurrectionists.

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/11/11/2353343/-Trump-s-war-on-the-media-goes-global?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_4&pm_medium=web

Media Grovel Proper Way.

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Article in The Guardian by Michael Savage, 11/12/25

Headline:  “BBC prepared to apologise to Trump to resolve billion-dollar legal threat”

Subhead:  “The US president has threatened the BBC with a lawsuit over the editing of a Trump speech in an edition of Panorama”

“The BBC is prepared to formally apologise to Donald Trump as part of its efforts to resolve his billion-dollar legal threat over its editing of one of his speeches, the Guardian understands. . . ”

“The BBC’s leadership is facing a looming deadline over how to reply to Trump’s legal threat, filed in a Florida court on Wednesday according to the White House. It follows the editing of a Trump speech in an edition of Panorama, which was a significant factor in the resignation of director general Tim Davie and Deborah Turness, its head of news. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/nov/12/bbc-prepared-to-apologise-to-trump-to-resolve-billion-dollar-legal-threat

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Article in AP by David Bader 11/11/25

Headline: “In Trump-dominated media world, editing video takes on new significance — as BBC uproar shows”

“In the space of a few months, one of the more straightforward journalistic tasks — editing tape for broadcast — has been behind a $16 million legal settlement, a network’s change in how it offers interviews on a news show and, now, the resignation of two top leaders at the BBC.

“The other common denominator: President Donald Trump.

“Britain’s BBC is reeling this week following the resignations of its director-general, Tim Davie, and news chief Deborah Turness amid accusations of bias in the editing of last year’s documentary, ‘Trump: A Second Chance.’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/bbc-trump-harris-cbs-editing-television-video-db6c37a1ce9aed0da96519069bf9d249

BBC Brouhaha

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Article in The Guardian by Michael Savage, 11/10/25

Headline:  ” ‘Make no mistake – this was a coup’: the extraordinary downfall of the BBC’s top bosses”

Subhead:  “The whirlwind that started when Deborah Turness came under attack at a board meeting is part of a wider political story, some say”

“. . .The departures of Davie and Turness leave the BBC exposed and rudderless as it enters crucial talks over its future and the licence fee. . .”

“The episode has also left everyone wondering whether running the BBC is even possible in a politically hostile environment. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/ng-interactive/2025/nov/10/make-no-mistake-this-was-a-coup-the-extraordinary-downfall-of-the-bbcs-top-bosses

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Article in UPI, by Allen Cone, 11/10/25

Headline:  “Trump threatens $1 billion lawsuit against BBC over video of speech”

“. . .Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brit, wrote a letter to the British-based outlet demanding a retraction of a BBC Panorama documentary by Friday or face a lawsuit of ‘no less’ than $1 billion.  . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/11/10/Trump-threatens-lawsuit-Jan-6-speech/5861762799135/

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 11/10/25

Headline:  “BBC resignations over a Trump speech edit show the high cost of editorial mistakes in a polarized era”

Subhead: “A sloppy edit of Trump’s Jan. 6 speech sparked two BBC resignations and a reminder that even small errors can fuel big narratives”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/newsletters/2025/bbc-resign-director-tim-davie-ceo-deborah-turness/

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Article in The Guardian by Geraldine McKelvie, 10/8/25

Headline:  ” ‘BBC ‘100% fake news’, says Donald Trump’s press secretary”

Subhead:  “Comments by Karoline Leavitt follow allegations that Panorama documentary misled viewers with its editing of a Trump speech”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/nov/08/bbc-100-fake-news-says-donald-trumps-press-secretary

St. Louis Community Radio – Gone

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Article in Stlpr.org by Jeremy D. Goodwin, 10/29/25

Headline:  “Christian radio station Worship One will debut on 88.1 FM in January “

Subhead:  “Christian radio network Gateway Creative Broadcasting is expected to launch its third St. Louis-area station in January: 88.1 Worship One.“

“A new Christian radio station will debut on 88.1 FM in January. The new station will be known as 88.1 Worship One, with call letters KLJT.

“For about two months the 88.1 FM frequency, which is designated by the FCC for nonprofit and community use, has been in Top 40 purgatory — temporarily carrying a simulcast of 95.5 Jams after previous operator KDHX formally ceased operations in September.

“Double Helix, the nonprofit corporation behind KDHX, had been broadcasting prerecorded content since late January. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March and put KDHX’s broadcast license on sale to settle $2 million in debt. . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.stlpr.org/news-briefs/2025-10-29/christian-radio-station-worship-one-will-debut-on-88-1-fm-in-january-report

Public Radio Fallout

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Article in Freepress.net by Amy Kroin, 10/23/25

Hedline:  “The Defunding of Public Media Is Hitting Local Stations Hardest”

Subhead:  “The decision to end federal funding for public media in the United States already has local stations reeling. . .”

“A New York Times analysis found that 245 stations in rural communities were at risk of closure. That’s because rural stations were far more dependent on CPB funding than many urban stations, which often have a far greater range of underwriters and larger donor pools.

Rural stations have long served as a lifeline for local communities. At a time when media consolidation has decimated local news, public-media stations are often the only source of local journalism. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/blog/defunding-public-media-hitting-local-stations-hardest

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Article in NPR by Staff, 10/22/25

Headline: “How Funding Cuts Are Changing Public Radio”

“This summer, Republicans clawed back over a billion dollars that had been pledged to public media. . . . Now, many stations are weighing whether to spend their shrinking budgets on national programming from the likes of NPR, or to fund journalism on their local communities. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.npr.org/podcasts/452538775/on-the-media

Burning Down Local Radio

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Article in Al Jezeera by Andy Hirschfeld, 10/20/25

Headline:   “As US public media funds officially dry up, local radio stations struggle”

Subhead:  “Local stations like the Allegheny Mountain Radio serve as a key resource for locals during crises.”

“For Scott Smith, the cuts to the Corporation For Public Broadcasting are existential.

He is the general manager of Allegheny Mountain Radio, which he runs alongside programme manager Heather Nidly. The funds were slashed as part of United States President Donald Trump’s vast tax cut and spending bill that was signed into law in July. As a result, the station, which has been on air for more than four decades, lost 65 percent of its funding. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/10/20/as-public-media-funds-officially-dry-up-local-radio-stations-struggle

 

Community Radio Our Last Hope?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Luch Shiller, 10/7/25

Headline:  “Too Small to Mess With”

Subhead:  “Against the precipitous backdrop of funding cuts to public media, low-power radio emerges as a lesser-known source of inspiration.”

“Years ago, in Louisville, “people just didn’t understand this concept of having a radio station where people could just walk in and play what was interesting to them, or talk about what was on their mind,” Sharon Scott told me. ‘This was just totally radical.’ Scott started ART-FM, otherwise known as WXOX 97.1 FM, in 2011, out of her family’s living room. Her husband, Sean Selby, a carpenter, helped put it together. She served as the general manager. . .”

More at https://www.kkfistory.org/ Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/feature/public-media-funding-cut-low-power-radio-lessons-community-broadcasting.php

NPR vs. CPB

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Article in The Washington Post by Scott Nover, 9/27/25

Headline:  “NPR challenges CPB’s authority to redirect millions in funding”

Subhead:  “The public radio network asked a federal judge to block the Corporation for Public Broadcasting from transferring $57.9 million to a new nonprofit.”

“NPR has asked a federal judge in D.C. to block the Corporation for Public Broadcasting from transferring millions in satellite funding to a newly formed nonprofit run by a coalition of public media organizations.

“The legal filing Friday came just hours after CPB announced it was awarding as much as $57.9 million over five years to Public Media Infrastructure (PMI), the nonprofit group that counts such radio mainstays as New York Public Radio, American Public Media and PRX as founding partners. . .”

“NPR argued in its court filing that CPB, which is set to wind down operations starting with mass cuts in the coming days, has carried out an executive order that it considers illegal by doling out congressionally appropriated satellite funds to another group. . . ”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/09/27/npr-cpb-funding/

Wounded Public Stations

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Public media is NOT state-controlled media

Article in The New York Times, 9/13/25 by Benjamin Mullin, et. al., 9/13/25

Headline:  “After Trump’s Cuts, ‘Crippled’ NPR and PBS Stations Must Transform”

Subhead:  “Radio and television stations, facing enormous budget holes, are pleading with NPR and PBS to lower their fees as they examine whether to drop national programming altogether.”

“On the windswept prairie of South Dakota, a tribal public radio station is selling off its old records to pay the bills. In Warm Springs, Ore., the NPR affiliate is considering dropping ‘All Things Considered” ‘o focus on tribal issues. . .”

“Some stations are beginning to go off the air, as Congress was warned before it went ahead and eliminated funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the taxpayer-backed company that supports public media, ultimately shutting it down. . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/13/us/politics/public-broadcasting-cuts.html