Millionaire donors and judges stop Trump's coup against US public broadcasting

Since Trump set out to dismantle the National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the country's public radio and television broadcasters, a two-tiered response has emerged that is managing to keep the service afloat. On one hand, federal judge Randolph Moss declared Donald Trump's executive order to cut federal funding to these state-level media outlets, which have over a thousand associated radio and television stations operating at the local level, "unconstitutional" this April. However, the judge's ruling has not resulted in the return of the already cut funds, and this has already led to about a hundred layoffs at PBS, representing 15% of the total, to which we must add about 500 more jobs destroyed in the associated local radio or television stations.

This is where a sudden maneuver comes into play when, on April 16, NPR announced that it had received two notable donations: one from philanthropist Connie Ballmer, wife of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and who had been a member of the station's board, for $80 million, and another from an anonymous donor who contributed an additional $33 million. “An informed populace is the bedrock of society and democracy requires strong independent journalism,” Ballmer stated. The donation will allow NPR to strengthen its digital strategy and provide support to other public media organizations.

What did the executive order consist of?

The Trump administration achieves the closure of the CPBIn response to this attack, the two networks denied these claims. But the strong point of the executive order does not fall on them, but on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). This non-profit entity created by Congress in 1967 during the presidency of Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson became the main channel for distributing federal funds directed to public media. Each fiscal year it had more than 500 million dollars to distribute among media throughout the country, in addition to being the main source of support for the technological development, programming, and research of these media. Trump's order demanded the corporation the following: "The CPB Board shall cease direct funding of NPR and PBS, consistent with my administration's policy to ensure that federal funding does not support biased and partisan news coverage. The CPB Board shall cancel existing direct funding to the maximum extent permitted by law and refuse to provide future funding."

The Trump administration achieves the closure of the CPB

Three months after the lawsuit was filed, in August of last year, the CPB announced the gradual cessation of its activities, after the administration of Donald Trump completely suppressed federal funding, after almost sixty years of operation. The corporation ended up completely ceasing operations at the beginning of this year. As for NPR, the federal funds it received represented 1% of the total budget, but for its affiliated stations, of which there are more than 1,300, it represented between 8% and 10%. Along with these lower-reach stations, another entity that was hit hard by this blow was PBS and its associated stations, for which federal funds accounted for approximately 15% of the revenue that the CPB provided them.

At this point, public information services in various sparsely populated areas of the territory see their ability to continue their activities seriously jeopardized. Although donations from individuals have increased, and even so these stations are dedicated to the constant search for new investments, they are aware that federal funds will not arrive, a fact that has already put their survival in check.

The decision of Magistrate Randolph Moss, however, provides a legal reprieve. The judge indicated that Donald Trump's executive order against the stations is "illegal and unenforceable." He considers that it violates the right to freedom of the press guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution and amounts to "viewpoint discrimination" by the president. Moss ruled that the United States government cannot discriminate against people based on the opinions they express, and also protected news coverage services. Appointed by former Democratic President Barack Obama in 2014, he wrote: "It is difficult to conceive of clearer evidence that a governmental action is directed at viewpoints that the president dislikes and seeks to suppress."

This declaration may have future implications and may facilitate the entry of new funds that Congress decides to allocate to public media. It would remove one of the obstacles that would have prevented the restoration of funding. Let's remember that the general midterm elections will take place on November 3, and the new Congress will take effect at the beginning of 2027.

The reaction of the defendants and the administration

For their part, the heads of the two directly attacked stations also expressed their opinions through various statements. The president and CEO of NPR, Katherine Maher, celebrated the decision as a victory for a free press: "Public media exist to serve the public interest – that of Americans – not that of any political agenda or elected official." Paula Kerger, head of PBS, who considers the executive order unconstitutional discrimination, communicated: "At PBS we will continue to do what we have always done: serve our mission to educate and inspire all Americans as the country's most trusted media institution."

In contrast, the White House spokesperson and special advisor to the president, Abigail Jackson, explained in a statement: "This is a ridiculous ruling by an activist judge who is trying to undermine the law. NPR and PBS have no right to receive taxpayer funds, and Congress has already voted to defund them. The Trump administration expects final victory on the matter."

Until then, the court has overturned the cuts, despite the fact that the Government is expected to appeal the verdict, as it has systematically done before.