The executive order signed by President Trump on May 1, directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to eliminate federal funding for PBS and NPR, is a direct threat to our local, trusted public media stations, Nine PBS and St. Louis Public Radio.
Make no mistake – this is a politically motivated action that only harms local stations, distracts us from our work, and threatens Nine PBS’s core mission to educate, inform, and connect our community. At its core, this order puts at risk the essential services that St. Louisans depend on and that taxpayers have already wisely invested in.
As Corporation for Public Broadcasting President Pat Harrison rightly stated, “CPB is not a federal executive agency subject to the President’s authority. Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government.
Everyone across the St. Louis region has the right to access trusted, high-quality programming, education, and journalism—free from commercial influence and available to all. Nine PBS is committed to protecting that right. We will join our fellow stations and national partners to oppose this order, but we need the community to stand with us. Visit ProtectMyPublicMedia.org to make your voice heard.