5 Steps to Save Public Media as Federal Funds Vanish

When President Trump signed legislation last week to rescind $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, many headlines focused on what it would mean for NPR and PBS. But a lesser-known, deeper crisis is rapidly unfolding: rural, tribal, and community-rooted radio stations are now on the verge of collapse.

Federal dollars sustained media outlets in many communities that were historically underserved and misrepresented. Those funds brought diverse perspectives to these areas, as well as to broader, often whiter and wealthier audiences, helping them better understand the systemic challenges facing such communities.

In this way, the cuts to public media don’t only harm local news outlets. They are an act of divestment from civic infrastructure — an attack on information access, local employment, and diverse narratives. And they are another step in the dangerous unraveling of the nation’s fragile democracy.

Local public radio is one of the last noncommercial platforms capable of informing and mobilizing many communities. These newsrooms connect people across race, class, and gender at a time when diverse identities are increasingly politicized and used to separate people from one another.

Survive and Thrive

This moment demands swift and strategic action from the philanthropic sector. Despite the loss of federal dollars, as media funders we believe there is much philanthropy can do to ensure local public media grows and thrives and fulfills its mission to reflect diverse perspectives in the communities it serves. Here are five immediate steps grant makers can take:

1. Fund infrastructure. Supporting your favorite programming isn’t enough. Focus instead on ensuring the survival and stability of public stations as the vital community and economic institutions they are. Provide unrestricted operating support that helps newsrooms retain staff, maintain facilities, and deliver essential services.

That includes technology upgrades that allow media outlets to stay competitive, safe, and relevant, especially in areas with limited broadband access or commercial media presence. For example, just this month, a three-year $1.25 million grant from Press Forward supported the creation of a partnership among several journalism organizations to develop AI-powered tools, alongside human experts, to help local journalists analyze public records and increase government accountability at the community level.

Infrastructure investments are also increasingly likely to cover physical and digital safety for public media staff, especially women, trans journalists, and those reporting on polarizing local issues. Organizations such as Interrupting Criminalization help journalists build the protocols, training, and support systems needed to protect themselves in increasingly hostile environments.

2. Invest in local leaders. Community-led stations, especially those run by and for immigrant and tribal leaders and other people of color, bring critical cultural, historical, and geographic knowledge to their work. They are also deeply dedicated to serving their communities. In Oxnard, Calif., for example, Radio Indígena, shares the voices of its Indigenous, migrant, and farmworker community by broadcasting programs in languages such as Mixtec, Zapoteco, and Purépecha.

But the long-term health of these outlets depends on strong leadership. Grant makers can ensure current and future local media leaders get the help they need to do their jobs effectively. The MacArthur Foundation, for instance, partners with the Rockwood Leadership Institute, to provide fellowships for emerging leaders at the media organizations it funds. By funding groups such as the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education and the Asian American Journalists Association, the Knight Foundation helps train journalism leaders in communities often ignored or misrepresented by mainstream media.

Foundations can also strengthen organizational leadership by supporting succession planning and governance infrastructure. For many small and midsize public media outlets, organizational survival depends on stable boards and sound decision making.

3. Collaborate with different sectors. Public media is most powerful when it connects with other critical community institutions, including hospitals, libraries, schools, and local governments. Especially during times of crisis, such as natural disasters or public health emergencies, local radio is a critical tool for disseminating lifesaving information.

Rather than viewing journalism as a standalone sector, grant makers should encourage greater collaboration between local media and civic partners. For example, a philanthropy-supported collaborative effort led to the passage in New Jersey in 2018 of nation’s first legislation to strengthen local news. Since then, several other states have followed with similar legislation.

4. Encourage innovation. The long-term viability of public media outlets requires thinking outside the box to develop new products and platforms, as well as creative approaches to engaging audiences. Funders shouldn’t shy away from investing in innovative and experimental efforts, including newsroom collaboratives and co-ops like the Rural News Network, which can share reporting, technology, and audience outreach strategies.

“In some places, [local public media] is the only source of trustworthy information,” says Lea Trusty, senior program associate at Democracy Fund. “In this moment of deepening crisis, funders must consider a range of ideas for supporting local public media — particularly in places frequently underserved by traditional news outlets.”

5. Elevate positive narratives. The American public needs to better understand the role public media plays in their own lives and in upholding democracy. Since 2018, the Democracy Fund has tracked and compiled a growing body of evidence that shows how access to local news improves civic participation, trust, and community well-being.

Funders can help amplify such findings by providing media leaders with the tools to build public and policymaker understanding. They can invest in research that equips public media leaders with data and talking points highlighting the importance of the service they provide. They can fund communications campaigns, narrative work, and media training that help them become forceful advocates for their sector. And they can hold convenings that bring together local public media outlets to share stories and create common narratives.

At this critical time, philanthropy needs to help re-position public media as a vital ingredient for democracy, equity, and civic life. If the nation loses public media, it will lose more than news coverage — it will lose civic connection, accountability, and the possibility of shared truth.