A federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump’s executive order stripping National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service of its federal funding was not permitted under the First Amendment.
The case, National Public Radio, Inc. v. Trump, was raised by plaintiffs Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio and KSUT Four Corners Public Radio on May 27. National Public Radio was a co-plaintiff in the case represented by its own legal counsel.
On May 1, Trump signed the executive order, titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media,” directing all federal funding allocated by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to NPR and PBS to cease. According to a “fact sheet” explaining the president’s rationale, “NPR and PBS have fueled partisanship and left-wing propaganda with taxpayer dollars.”
NPR and a group of public radio stations, including Colorado Public Radio and KSUT based in Ignacio, filed a lawsuit against the president on May 27.
In his 62-page decision, issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss ruled that the president’s order violated the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from using its power – including the power of the purse – to punish or suppress speech. Though President Donald Trump can disagree with how media outlets cover news, he does not have the power to use financial means to punish them.
“Executive Order 14290 crosses that line,” Moss said. “It does not define or regulate the content of government speech or ensure compliance with a federal program. Nor does it set neutral and germane criteria that apply to all applicants for a federal grant program. Instead, it singles out two speakers and, on the basis of their speech, bars them from all federally funded programs.”
KSUT Station Manager Tami Graham, who provided testimony during the proceedings in Washington, D.C., in December, said she was elated by the decision.
“I’m proud to have been part of this lawsuit,” Graham said. “It’s a great day for press freedom and a great day for KSUT.”
Graham said the damage of Trump’s order and Congress’ legislation canceling $1.1 billion for public broadcasting – including $333,587 for KSUT – has already been done. But the court’s ruling was a major victory because it set a precedent prohibiting the federal government from dictating how private corporations spend their federal grant funding.
“If federal funding were to come back for public media, this decision absolutely comes into play,” Graham said. “It says no governmental entity can step in and dictate whether or not you can spend your grant funds on programming that they don't agree with.”
Though KSUT and the other stations cannot get back their lost funding, the decision sets a major milestone in freedom of speech protections.
“I think this decision will stand the test of time for years and years to come,” Graham said. “This particular case affirms the freedom of the press.”
Moss’ ruling also demonstrated an important check on the executive branch’s power.
“I think that the judicial is the last safeguard for our democracy,” Graham said. “I feel like we're seeing that today with this ruling. The judicial system is doing what it’s intended to do.”
Graham said public radio stations like KSUT are incredibly important means of disseminating important information, particularly in rural areas like La Plata County. Aside from national and international news coverage, public radio stations inform listeners of community events and provide entertainment through the music and audio storytelling.
“(Public radio is) free, it’s accessible,” Graham said. “It’s emergency alerting for wildfires and other emergencies. When the internet goes down or cell service goes down, hopefully people still have a radio they can tune into as a reliable source of updated information.”
Going forward, Graham said KSUT is focused on financial sustainability through obtaining endowments from the Community Foundation Serving Southwest Colorado and securing $90,000 in funding for a solar array to offset energy costs at the station.
“We’re doing everything right now with the eye toward sustainability, so we’re not as vulnerable as we feel like we were last year when we lost 20% of our funding from the federal government,” Graham said. “So we’re creating additional legs of the stool, if you will.”
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
