US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that cuts off funding for two of the country’s most influential public broadcasters, National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The move was another blow to the media, which the Trump administration has repeatedly accused of “left-wing bias,” according to Reuters and The New York Times.
According to the decree, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) must immediately cease direct and indirect funding of NPR and PBS, and prevent the use of public funds to support these media outlets in the future.
“The CPB will cancel funding to the extent permitted by law and will not provide new grants,” the document says.
Although federal funds make up only a small portion of NPR and PBS’ budgets, the majority of them go to local stations. Their closure could deprive millions of Americans of access to quality and unbiased information – especially in remote areas.
Representatives of NPR and PBS have already stated that such a policy could “devastate public media” and poses a “threat to free speech”.
This is not the first attack on independent media by the Trump administration. In March, the White House attempted to shut down Voice of America, and recently a court stopped an attempt to cut the broadcasting of Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks. Legal battles are also underway against the Associated Press, CBS News and The Des Moines Register.
