The coming Capitol Hill debate follows years of complaining by Republicans who claim that National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service are biased against conservatives. Until now, those criticisms weren\u2019t enough to convince lawmakers to make significant cuts to public broadcasting funding. But those efforts found new life<\/a> with the second-term presidency of Trump, who has made media criticism a cornerstone of his political career and is now championing the budget cuts to 1,500 public media outlets across the country.<\/p>\n Heather Norman, president of the Illinois Public Broadcasting Council, said large outlets such as those in Chicago \u201cmay not be able to do as much as they would have been doing\u201d if the cuts pass because \u201cwhen you pare back money, there\u2019s no room for growth or enhanced services.\u201d<\/p>\n But stations that are often the only daily news outlets in predominantly rural regions stand to lose even more, Norman said, as they have smaller budgets that rely even more on federal support, sometimes accounting for as much as 50% of their funding.<\/p>\n Norman knows firsthand. She\u2019s the general manager of Tri States Public Radio in the western Illinois city of Macomb, home to Western Illinois University. The newspaper serving the city of 15,000 people closed its Macomb office<\/a> more than two years ago. The TV stations that serve Macomb are in Peoria or the Quad Cities, more than an hour\u2019s drive away.<\/p>\n That means that public radio is often the best way to get real-time information about dangerous situations in town.<\/p>\n In September, for instance, a man barricaded himself in a home near Western Illinois\u2019 campus after shooting two Macomb city police officers. Four commercial radio stations are based in a building two blocks from where the standoff occurred, Norman said. But the commercial stations were unable to inform residents about the active shooter situation.<\/p>\n \u201cThey do not have a soul in their studio; they\u2019re all run remotely. So they couldn\u2019t tell anyone to stay away from that incident that was two blocks from their building,\u201d Norman said. \u201cWe were the only people on air that were able to tell people where not to go, what the police were doing. We did that regularly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to have a way to disperse that information,\u201d she continued. \u201cWe were the people in the studio, that live in the (community), that were able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n In the event of severe weather, public radio stations are equipped to provide regular updates. If the power goes out, and people can\u2019t charge their mobile phones or cell towers don\u2019t work, public radio stations almost all have back-up generators to stay on the air.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are a public service, and that\u2019s what our job is to do,\u201d Norman said.<\/p>\n Last week, as the Senate prepared to take up the funding vote, Illinois Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin asked his colleagues in a floor speech, \u201cDo you think we\u2019re better off with less information as Americans or more?\u201d He also noted the cuts\u2019 far-reaching consequences, echoing much of what Norman said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat (does it) mean for small towns in downstate Illinois all the way up to Chicago?\u201d he said. \u201cPublic media stations provide essential, nonpartisan news coverage, life-saving emergency and weather alerts, and educational programming for our kids.\u201d<\/p>\n While downstate might be more affected, radio station WBEZ and TV station WTTW wouldn\u2019t go unscathed.<\/p>\n Of the $1.1 billion that GOP lawmakers want to claw back, $700 million is set aside for direct aid to local stations. If the Senate approves Trump\u2019s proposed cuts without any changes, WBEZ would lose $2 million in direct funding and could lose another $1 million in indirect support, which includes staff training and lower negotiated rates for music licenses. The $3 million is approximately 6% of WBEZ\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n \u201cWBEZ is in a stronger position than many peers, but as we collaborate with stations across Illinois and beyond, we know these cuts could weaken the overall public media system, diminishing the reach, depth, and impact of the information our audiences depend on,\u201d said Victor Lim, vice president of marketing and communications at Chicago Public Media.<\/p>\n Lim said that, even though WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times are both owned by the same organization, the potential funding cuts to the radio station would not affect the newspaper.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough the Sun-Times is part of Chicago Public Media, its operations are supported by separate revenue sources,\u201d Lim said. \u201cCPB funding is limited to noncommercial broadcast services like WBEZ, so the Sun-Times would not be affected by the proposed rescission. However, our organization is still unified with a joint newsroom, so there are still potential negative effects on our overall ability to provide local, independent news.\u201d<\/p>\n Accusations of bias<\/p>\n The cuts to public media come as part of a larger \u201crescissions\u201d package the Trump administration is pushing in order to roll back funding lawmakers approved in March.<\/p>\n The House\u2019s $9.4 billion package of cuts would also scale back spending on foreign aid, including the President\u2019s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, an initiative of George W. Bush\u2019s administration to prevent the spread of HIV across the globe. The U.S. has spent more than $100 billion on the program since its inception, and it is credited with saving approximately 25 million lives.<\/p>\n Senators and Trump administration officials announced<\/a> a deal Tuesday<\/a> to maintain funding for the AIDS relief program, which could remove a major obstacle for a larger agreement.<\/p>\n Foreign aid and public media spending account for a minuscule portion of the federal budget, but they loom large in the popular imagination.<\/p>\n Trump and administration officials have accused public media outlets, including NPR and PBS, of political bias. Last year, Trump called for defunding NPR after an NPR business editor said in an online essay that \u201can open-minded spirit no longer exists\u201d at the news organization. The editor, Uri Berliner, later resigned<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cRepublicans have campaigned on cutting funding for NPR and PBS for decades, and for good reason,\u201d Russell Vought, director of Trump\u2019s Office of Management and Budget, said in congressional testimony last month.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no longer any excuse for tax dollars to subsidize these radical, far-left networks,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you would like to donate to them on your own, you are more than welcome to do so, but taxpayers should no longer be forced to foot the bill.\u201d<\/p>\n Paula Kerger, president and CEO of PBS, responded\u00a0last month<\/a> to the accusations about political bias, saying, \u201cI think when people talk about \u2018bias,\u2019 they are speaking mostly about our news. Our news represents about 10% of the work we do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut we work really hard to bring together a diversity of viewpoints,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s part of our mission.\u201d<\/p>\n Some Senate Republicans have hesitated to support a bill with such significant cuts to public media. Two senators from Alaska and one from South Dakota publicly worried about the impact the cuts would have on sparsely populated areas of their states.<\/p>\n Trump, though, is pushing party members to get in line.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions Bill and, in particular, DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN & MSDNC put together,\u201d the president wrote on his social media site last week, using a disparaging nickname for MSNBC. \u201cAny Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump and his followers have repeatedly seized on controversies to accuse mainstream news outlets of bias, sometimes with serious financial consequences.<\/p>\n The president sued Paramount, which owns CBS News, and alleged editing bias in a \u201c60 Minutes\u201d interview of former Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump\u2019s opponent in November\u2019s election. Paramount, which needs federal regulatory approval for a merger, recently settled the case<\/a>, agreeing to pay $16 million<\/a> toward Trump\u2019s legal fees and his future presidential library.<\/p>\n That followed a $15 million settlement<\/a> by ABC News, which is owned by Disney, in December over an interview conducted by George Stephanopoulos, an ABC News anchor and former adviser to President Bill Clinton. Stephanopoulos mischaracterized<\/a> the sexual misconduct for which Trump had been found civilly liable.<\/p>\n The Trump administration also engaged in a monthslong fight with The Associated Press<\/a> because the wire service declined to use the term \u201cGulf of America\u201d that Trump invented to describe the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n Trump has also attempted to dismantle the Voice of America, a federally funded network of overseas reporters covering countries with limited press freedom. The White House accused the organization of being the \u201cvoice of radical America.\u201d<\/p>\n Avoiding the filibuster<\/p>\n Senate Republicans are using a little-used budget maneuver to try to effectuate the cuts.<\/p>\n The arcane procedure gives Republicans the chance to make substantial changes to the spending deal Congress approved in March with just a simple majority vote in the Senate, rather than the three-fifths majority usually required to avoid a filibuster.<\/p>\n The move would also strengthen the Trump administration\u2019s legal position by giving legislative approval to changes that Trump attempted to implement through executive actions, which NPR challenged in court<\/a>.<\/p>\n But to take effect, Congress must approve the rescissions package by Friday. If the Senate makes changes to the proposal, the House must approve them as well by the Friday deadline. If Congress does not OK the cuts, the Trump administration is required by law to spend the money as planned.<\/p>\n Trump attempted to use the rescissions procedure once during his first administration, but the Republican-controlled Senate refused to cooperate<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some Republican senators say they are also skittish about the current Trump proposal. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, voiced several concerns with the package, though she has voted with Trump more often than not despite public protestations. Collins demanded more details from administration officials about foreign aid programs that would be scaled back, such as support for vaccines and economic aid to Jordan and Egypt. She also voiced support for local public media.<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ctc-31405208-e1752621396770.jpg\")
People walk past the entrance to the Chicago Public Media and WBEZ newsroom at Navy Pier on July 15, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"President](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ctc-CUTS-GET_226398468.jpg\")
President and CEO of National Public Radio Katherine Maher, left, and President and CEO of Public Broadcasting Service Paula Kerger are sworn in before a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol on March 26, 2025, in Washington. (Andrew Harnik\/Getty)<\/p>\n