“I never wake up in the morning thinking, ‘I might sue the president of the United States today,’” said KSUT Executive Director Tami Graham (Journal, May 27, 2025).
But that is exactly what happened – and it paid off.
On March 31, KSUT Public Radio, Colorado Public Radio and Aspen Public Radio won a landmark federal First Amendment case against the Trump administration (Journal, April 1), permanently blocking an executive order that sought to cut off federal funding to stations carrying NPR programming. The court found the order amounted to illegal viewpoint discrimination – an attempt to use government funding to punish journalists for their coverage.
It was a David-and-Goliath fight, and David won.
But the victory came after the damage was done.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been shuttered. The federal funding it provided is not coming back – about $333,000 annually to KSUT in Ignacio and roughly $165,000 to KSJD in Cortez. That accounted for about one-fifth of KSUT’s budget and roughly one-third of KSJD’s.
It pays for staff, transmitters, electricity, programming and local journalism. It keeps signals on the air across a vast, rural and remote region.
KSJD, licensed to the Community Radio Project, serves the Four Corners – Southwest Colorado and parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah – including the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and portions of the Navajo Nation. Built on a community radio model, it relies heavily on volunteer programmers and local voices to inform, entertain and connect the region through news, arts and culture.
That same nonprofit – Community Radio Project – also operates the Sunflower Theatre in Cortez, extending its mission beyond the airwaves. Together, KSJD and the Sunflower Theatre form a hub for information and the arts, bringing music, film and community events to a region where access to them is limited.
KSUT serves tribal and rural communities across roughly 130,000 square miles of Southwest Colorado and into New Mexico, including the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes and parts of the Navajo Nation, where internet access is limited or unreliable. Its service includes KSUT Public Radio and Tribal Radio. The latter is a Native-owned service of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and one of only a small number of tribal radio stations nationwide.
In this region, public radio is infrastructure.
It’s also a lifeline – delivering emergency alerts during wildfires and severe weather, providing trusted news and a sense of connection across long distances. It keeps local reporting and voices on the air in rural and tribal communities.
The executive order did more than target NPR. It attempted to restrict how local stations like KSJD and KSUT could use federal funds, including barring the purchase of national programming such as Morning Edition and All Things Considered. The court found that effort unconstitutional.
For decades, public media enjoyed bipartisan support, recognizing its importance in rural and tribal communities. That consensus is gone. What remains is public support.
Public Media Giving Days were held May 1 and 2, but the need does not end there. KSJD and KSUT now rely more than ever on membership contributions, local underwriting and community investment to continue their work.
If you rely on these stations – for news, music, emergency alerts or connection to this region – consider supporting them. Missed the spring membership drives? You can still contribute.
With community support, defunded does not mean defeated.
