Corporation for Public Broadcasting Cancels Itself: Votes to Dissolve to ‘Protect the Future of Public Media’

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has announced that its board of directors has formally voted to dissolve the organization, marking the end of its 58-year role as the federally chartered steward of public broadcasting.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting called its dissolution “an act of responsible stewardship to protect the future of public media,” emphasizing that it was the board’s final effort to defend the system it was created to serve. “When the Administration and Congress rescinded federal funding,” said CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison, “our Board faced a profound responsibility: CPB’s final act would be to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving, rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks.”

The organization further claimed that “a dormant and defunded CPB could have become vulnerable to future political manipulation or misuse, threatening the independence of public media and the trust audiences place in it, and potentially subjecting staff and board members to legal exposure from bad-faith actors.”

According to the CPB, the decision to close came after Congress terminated all remaining federal funding and passed a $9 billion rescissions package in mid-2025, which included $1.1 billion in cuts to the CPB. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson praised the legislation at the time for eliminating “wasteful spending” and for defunding what he described as “politically biased media outlets like NPR and PBS.” These legislative actions came after President Donald Trump issued a May 2025 executive order stating, “No media outlet has a constitutional right to taxpayer subsidies,” asserting that Americans deserved “fair, accurate, and nonpartisan coverage” if their taxes are paying for it.

Despite a legal dispute involving a $36 million contract with National Public Radio (NPR), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting faced broader funding cuts that ultimately made its operations unsustainable. NPR sued CPB after the organization suspended the contract, alleging political interference. CPB initially claimed the decision was motivated by a shift toward digital innovation, but during proceedings, the judge told CPB’s legal team he did not find that argument credible. The case was settled in November 2025, with CPB agreeing to fulfill the contract.

CPB Chair Ruby Calvert appeared to attribute the organization’s collapse directly to the actions of the current Republican majority in Congress. “After nearly six decades of innovative, educational public television and radio service, Congress eliminated all funding for CPB, leaving the Board with no way to continue the organization or support the public media system that depends on it. Yet, even in this moment, I am convinced that public media will survive, and that a new Congress will address public media’s role in our country because it is critical to our children’s education, our history, culture and democracy to do so.”

Despite the closure, CPB leaders reaffirmed that the mission of public media would continue through local stations and partners. “Public media remains essential to a healthy democracy,” Harrison said. “Our hope is that future leaders and generations will recognize its value, defend its independence, and continue the work of ensuring that trustworthy, educational, and community-centered media remains accessible to all Americans.”