“I never wake up in the morning thinking, ‘I might sue the President of the United States today,’” said KSUT Executive Director Tami Graham. But on May 27, KSUT joined National Public Radio, Colorado Public Radio and others in doing just that (Journal, May 28), after Trump’s May 1 executive order targeted public media.
The order, Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media, directs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to withhold funding from NPR and PBS. It also restricts how local stations like KSJD and KSUT can use CPB funds – barring them from purchasing NPR programming.
The lawsuit, backed by the First Amendment, argues this is illegal government interference in press freedom.
NPR creates news programs like Morning Edition and All Things Considered (that KSJD and KSUT purchase with CPB funds), but does not control what member stations air. Nor should the federal government. The Journal’s editorial board supports this lawsuit, though we wish it weren’t necessary.
KSJD and KSUT serve the vast Four Corners region, including the Navajo Nation and Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute tribal lands, with music, news, cultural and educational programming and, perhaps most importantly, emergency alerts. Public radio is integral to the national emergency alert system, which NPR manages with CPB funds.
CPB funding makes up 33% ($165,000) of KSJD’s budget and 20% ($333,000) of KSUT’s – supporting staff, towers, electricity, programming, and local news production. In Alaska, some Native stations rely on CPB for up to 70% of their budgets. Over half CPB grantees are rural, many of which do not purchase NPR and would be hurt the most.
On June 13, a second blow landed: the House, 214-212, narrowly passed H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025. It cancels $1.1 billion in already Congressionally approved CPB funds and eliminates future funding. Rep. Jeff Hurd voted ‘yes.’ The Senate has until July 18 to act.
We urge our readers: Contact your senators. Stand up for 50 years of bipartisan support for public media – and for the rural and tribal communities who depend upon it most.
