“CPB is just not a federal govt company topic to the president’s authority,” Harrison mentioned. “Congress straight licensed and funded CPB to be a non-public nonprofit company wholly impartial of the federal authorities,” statutorily forbidding “any division, company, officer, or worker of the US to train any course, supervision, or management over instructional tv or radio broadcasting, or over [CPB] or any of its grantees or contractors.”

In a statement explaining why “this isn’t concerning the federal finances” and promising to “vigorously defend our proper to supply important information, info and life-saving companies to the American public,” NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher referred to as the order an “affront to the First Modification.”

PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger went additional, calling the order “blatantly illegal” in an announcement supplied to Ars.

“Issued in the midst of the evening,” Trump’s order “threatens our capability to serve the American public with instructional programming, as now we have for the previous 50-plus years,” Kerger mentioned. “We’re at present exploring all choices to permit PBS to proceed to serve our member stations and all People.”

Rural communities want public media, orgs say

Whereas Trump opposes NPR and PBS for selling content material that he disagrees with—criticizing segments on white privilege, gender identification, reparations, “fats phobia,” and abortion—the networks have defended their programming as unbiased and falling consistent with Federal Communications Fee tips. Additional, NPR reported that the networks’ “regionally grounded content material” at present reaches “greater than 99 p.c of the inhabitants for free of charge,” offering not simply instructional fare and leisure but in addition essential updates tied to native emergency and catastrophe response techniques.

Slicing off funding, Kreger mentioned final month, would have a “devastating impression” on rural communities, particularly in elements of the nation the place NPR and PBS nonetheless function “the one supply of stories and emergency broadcasts,” NPR reported.

For instance, Ed Ulman, CEO of Alaska Public Media, testified to Congress final month that his stations “present doubtlessly life-saving warnings and alerts which might be essential for Alaskans who face threats starting from excessive climate to earthquakes, landslides, and even volcanoes.” Among the smallest rural stations generally depend on CPB for about 50 p.c of their funding, NPR reported.