The Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s (CPB) Board of Directors voted to officially dissolve the organization on Monday. According to a press release, the decision comes in response to moves from the Trump administration and within Congress to pull its federal funding.

Nearly 60 years ago, authorized by the U.S. Congress under the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, CPB’s roots trace back to a time when commercial broadcasting dominated the airwaves, and there was a push for alternatives that prioritized education and public service over profit. Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Act aimed to create a system free from political interference, emphasizing “strict adherence to objectivity and balance.” Over the years, federal appropriations formed the backbone of CPB’s budget, often exceeding $400 million annually in recent decades, with peaks around $525 million before the cuts — with roughly 70% of funds distributed to local stations.

However, in May 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to terminate federal funding for public media outlets such as CPB on the grounds that its reporting failed to be “fair, accurate, unbiased, and nonpartisan.” Only months later, the Senate passed the Rescissions Act of 2025, effectively cutting $9.4 billion in federal funding flowing to CPB and its affiliates. This included $1.1 billion specifically earmarked for public broadcasting through fiscal years 2026 and 2027. This rescission package, which also targeted foreign aid, passed along largely party lines, with Republicans arguing that taxpayer dollars should not subsidize what they (and many others) perceived as ideologically slanted content.

In response, CPB had sued the Trump administration as it began scaling down its operations — and to no avail, it would seem, in light of their final decision announced Monday. The dissolution process, set to conclude by late January 2026, involves “the responsible distribution of all remaining funds in accordance with Congress’s intent” as well as the preservation of archives in partnership with institutions like the University of Maryland and the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.

The organization ultimately pinned the blame on “sustained political attacks that made it impossible for CPB to continue operating as the Public Broadcasting Act intended.” As Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of CPB, put it, “When the Administration and Congress rescinded federal funding, our Board faced a profound responsibility: CPB’s final act would be to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic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.”

Echoing this, Chair of CPB’s Board of Directors Ruby Calvert claimed “what has happened to public media is devastating,” adding that “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.”

Calvert ultimately expressed optimism 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.” As Harrison went on to claim, “public media remains essential to a healthy democracy.” The corporation’s statement concluded: “While CPB’s chapter is ending, the mission of public media endures. Local stations, producers, journalists, and educators across the country will continue serving their communities, informing the public, and elevating local voices.”

The news of closure has sparked a variety of responses nationwide. While CPB officials and their supporters are lamenting the loss of what they describe as “trusted news, educational programming, and local storytelling,” many others have taken to celebrating. Conservatives, from government officials to everyday citizens, have argued that the closure does not diminish these values but instead advances them by moving away from what they see as an organization that pushed left-wing, government-funded content. And these sentiments echo long-standing criticisms that date back to Republican officials like former President Ronald Reagan and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who attempted similar defunding efforts but were thwarted by Congress.

Fast forward to now, and Family Research Council President Tony Perkins observed how “this is a very significant development. The end of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting signals that real structural change is underway in Washington.” As he further emphasized, “Kudos to the Trump administration. Its defunding strategy is dismantling decades of the Left’s entrenched infrastructure within government. Too often, Republican administrations merely hit the pause button on the Left’s projects — allowing them to resume the moment power changes hands. The Trump administration, by contrast, is hitting the eject button.”

Several members of Congress echoed these remarks, with Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) stating, “The closure of the [CPB] comes on the heels of a tenure dedicated to censorship and leftist ideologies. The organization garnered our tax dollars and made products through NPR and PBS that lacked competitive viewership and undermined American values and free speech.” Similarly, Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) referred to CBS as “the scheme bureaucrats used to funnel taxpayer money to NPR and PBS,” emphasizing how its closure is “great news for every American who doesn’t want their tax dollars funding left-wing opinion journalism EVER again.”

As public media transitions to reliance on private donations and other revenue streams, some fear a fragmented media landscape. Others, however, view it as an opportunity for more trustworthy news and storytelling, with less government influence, to finally take the stage.