NPR and PBS push back against Trump's command to reduce the financing: “This could be devastating” | Trump Administration

The heads of the competitive US public broadcasters, National Public Radio (NPR) and the public broadcasting service (PBS), defended themselves against the efforts of the Trump government to cut out the financing of taxpayers, and both shared a political talk show on Sunday that they dealt with legal options.

PAULA Kerger, Managing Director of PBS, told the CBS News nation that the threats led by the Republicans to recover the federal financing of public broadcasters have been “different”, but this time.

Kerger said: “You come to us in many different ways … We have never seen a fact like this, and obviously we will push back very hard because what is at risk, our stations, our public television, are our public radio stations across the country.”

Donald Trump published an executive order last week that blocked NPR and PBS to obtain tax money via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

The White House said that, in contrast to 1967, when the company was founded, the media landscape was now filled with news options and the concept of the news media financed by the government was “not only outdated and unnecessary, but also for the appearance of journalistic independence”.

The order added: “Which perspective promotes NPR and PBS does not matter. What is important that none of the entity represents a fair, accurate or impartial presentation of current events for taxable citizens.”

On Sunday, Kerger warned that some stations in smaller communities in the USA could lose 40 to 50% of their financing. “And for them it is existential, and that is the risk if this financing disappears,” she said.

The NPR Managing Director, Katherine Maher, who was grilled by Republicans on Capital Hill last month for claims that programming was politically pre-controlled in both operations, said that their organization had “looked at the options for us”.

But she added: “I think it is a little for the time being to speak to the specific strategies that we could accept.”

Maher warned that the effects on the local radio stations are directly: “Especially at a time when we see a progress of news deserts across the country, 20% of Americans have no access to another local news source. The effects of this could really be devastating, especially in rural communities.”

However, the NPR boss also tried to resist the claims of the US President that their operation is left-wing and pointed out that the Trump management officers come to NPR shows.

Maher, said Maher, be it “to bring people together in these conversations, and so we have had a whole series of conservative voices lately”.

Maher added: “We asked the Trump government to have broadcast their civil servants. We want more people to accept these invitations. It is difficult for us to be able to say that we can speak for everyone if people don't come to us.”

In a university opening speech in Alabama last week, Trump told the majority of journalism that he was not sure whether he likes the press, but a free press was important, although he repeatedly described American journalists as the “enemies of the people”.

“We need a brilliant press. They are like a watch kicker. They are very important. And they can go out and take them on a new route. Help save the country. People in this country, they know the truth when they hear them. Therefore, the evaluation of the media is so low.”

However, the persistent arguments on media distortion and the threat to the development of public broadcasters are exposed to the risk of children, including those who are not enrolled for formal school education before the K, Kerger warned of CBS.

“That was the idea of ​​Sesame Street and Mister Rogers, and all that has followed since then is to ensure that children who have no access to a series of resources have the opportunity to learn … that is the risk.” she said.