Public media funding could be slashed — what does this mean for KALW?
This week, the White House announced its intent to submit a rescission proposal to Congress, designed to cut funding from the Corporation from Public Broadcasting (CPB). Over $1 billion of previously allocated funding for the next two years could be rescinded from CPB, resulting in an existential crisis for independent public radio and television stations across the country.
For KALW, this means nearly $400,000 of annual support could be lost. Like all public media outlets, KALW is locally produced and managed, and responds to the unique needs of our Bay Area communities. Our work remains essential in providing critical information, music and cultural programming, media training, and transparent journalism for audiences across the region.
Our work is funded, in part, by the CPB.
Public media funding makes up a small fraction of the federal budget, but its impact is enormous, particularly for the stories, people, and communities typically not talked about in the media.
KALW and local stations across the country are now facing a direct and immediate threat to our ability to serve the public. Your action — right now — can help stop it.
We've put together these frequently asked questions about how public media funding works, and the impact of CPB’s funding loss will have on KALW. If you have other questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us at kalw@kalw.org.
What can I do to help? How can I advocate for continued support of public media?
If you value the journalism, storytelling, cultural programming, events, and community service that KALW provides, we urge you to take action today.
ACTION STEPS: here’s how to Stand Up and protect public media and KALW:
-Send a message to Congress at ProtectMyPublicMedia.org
-Tell a friend
-Learn about CPB's role in public media
-Donate to KALW at kalw.org/donate
Write to Congress
Ensure your voice is heard by your members of Congress who control the appropriations process. Go to protectmypublicmedia.org to find out who your representatives are and write to them. Tell them you support funding for public media and urge them to reject this rescission proposal. It only takes a minute, and your voice is a powerful defense against these cuts.
Donate to KALW
With the current crackdowns on free speech and the ongoing push to silence news outlets — and the threats to defund public media stations like KALW — it has never been more urgent to support YOUR local radio station.
Donations to KALW enable us to continue our critical work. Now is an excellent time to give a one-time gift or become a monthly donor. If you're already a KALW supporter, thank you! Perhaps you can give more generously by increasing your existing donation.
Public media has always been supported by the communities it serves — and right now, your support matters more than ever. By supporting KALW right now, you are saying YES to the longevity and importance of public media in your life — and the lives of millions of Bay Area audiences who depend on KALW for free cultural programming and critical information and news.
Share with a Friend
Share this webpage with a friend or family member, tell them what public media and KALW means to you, and ask them to take action for the greater good. With enough community power, we can resist the government’s attempts to dismantle public media.
What has happened up to this point?
-March 14th: Congress passed a Continuing Resolution including CPB funding through fiscal year 2027
-March 26th: NPR and PBS CEOs testify before Congress at a hearing targeting CPB funding. Watch that hearing here
-April 14th: The White House announced plans to submit a formal rescission proposal to Congress to eliminate previously appropriated funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
-April 28th: Congress returns from break and will consider any funding proposals submitted to them. If the planned rescission memo is submitted, it will trigger a 45-day review period in Congress. While the CPB is currently funded through 2027, this executive proposal will aim to eliminate previously appropriated funds in an unprecedented move to eliminate federal support for public media.
What is the CPB's role in public media?
CPB is distinct from both NPR and PBS. It is not a broadcaster but an independent, nonprofit organization created by Congress in 1967 with two primary functions: to serve as a firewall between partisan politics and public broadcasting and to help fund programming, stations, and technology.
CPB is a private, nonprofit corporation authorized by Congress in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. Congress has provided — with bipartisan support — funding for public broadcasting for more than 50 years. The two-year advance appropriation to CPB ensures the independence of the public media system by insulating it from political interference, and it is the basis for a longstanding public-private partnership in service to all Americans.
The annual federal investment in public media through CPB is foundational for the public media system. CPB’s mission is to ensure universal access to noncommercial, high-quality content and telecommunications services. Distributed according to a statutory formula, approximately 70% of all federal funds for CPB’s two-year advance are distributed to eligible public media stations across the country — noncommercial educational licensees who serve in the public interest.
The CPB is responsible for allocating their funds from the federal budget in any way that fulfills their mission: To ensure universal access, over-the-air and online, to high-quality content and telecommunications services that are commercial free and free of charge.
What is KALW doing to survive this loss of funding?
KALW is bracing for this moment with steadfast commitment to the Bay Area communities we serve. We are planning a communications, programming, and budget strategy to ensure that, even in the face of federal cuts, we will continue delivering cultural programming and news you count on every day.
This includes ramping up our fundraising strategies, identifying cost-saving measures that preserve our programming, and accelerating efforts to develop and deepen strategic partnerships to deliver on our mission. As the federal government contemplates turning its back on public media, we promise to continue to deliver free, community-informed, and transparent journalism and cultural programming that the Bay Area has expected from us for over 50 years.
Our Promise to Remain Independent
With the number of local journalists declining nationwide and media increasingly biased by corporate and political interests, KALW remains fiercely independent. Our strength comes from our community. As a public media station, we are not e influenced by commercial interests and swayed by current or future federal administrations. At a time when media giants are consolidating power, trust is eroding, and democracy is on the brink, KALW stands firm. We are the homegrown, independent voice in the Bay Area — fearless in truth-telling, relentless in our pursuit of justice, and rooted in the real lives of our community.
For KALW, this means nearly $400,000 of annual support could be lost. Like all public media outlets, KALW is locally produced and managed, and responds to the unique needs of our Bay Area communities. Our work remains essential in providing critical information, music and cultural programming, media training, and transparent journalism for audiences across the region.
Our work is funded, in part, by the CPB.
Public media funding makes up a small fraction of the federal budget, but its impact is enormous, particularly for the stories, people, and communities typically not talked about in the media.
KALW and local stations across the country are now facing a direct and immediate threat to our ability to serve the public. Your action — right now — can help stop it.
We've put together these frequently asked questions about how public media funding works, and the impact of CPB’s funding loss will have on KALW. If you have other questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us at kalw@kalw.org.
What can I do to help? How can I advocate for continued support of public media?
If you value the journalism, storytelling, cultural programming, events, and community service that KALW provides, we urge you to take action today.
ACTION STEPS: here’s how to Stand Up and protect public media and KALW:
-Send a message to Congress at ProtectMyPublicMedia.org
-Tell a friend
-Learn about CPB's role in public media
-Donate to KALW at kalw.org/donate
Write to Congress
Ensure your voice is heard by your members of Congress who control the appropriations process. Go to protectmypublicmedia.org to find out who your representatives are and write to them. Tell them you support funding for public media and urge them to reject this rescission proposal. It only takes a minute, and your voice is a powerful defense against these cuts.
Donate to KALW
With the current crackdowns on free speech and the ongoing push to silence news outlets — and the threats to defund public media stations like KALW — it has never been more urgent to support YOUR local radio station.
Donations to KALW enable us to continue our critical work. Now is an excellent time to give a one-time gift or become a monthly donor. If you're already a KALW supporter, thank you! Perhaps you can give more generously by increasing your existing donation.
Public media has always been supported by the communities it serves — and right now, your support matters more than ever. By supporting KALW right now, you are saying YES to the longevity and importance of public media in your life — and the lives of millions of Bay Area audiences who depend on KALW for free cultural programming and critical information and news.
Share with a Friend
Share this webpage with a friend or family member, tell them what public media and KALW means to you, and ask them to take action for the greater good. With enough community power, we can resist the government’s attempts to dismantle public media.
What has happened up to this point?
-March 14th: Congress passed a Continuing Resolution including CPB funding through fiscal year 2027
-March 26th: NPR and PBS CEOs testify before Congress at a hearing targeting CPB funding. Watch that hearing here
-April 14th: The White House announced plans to submit a formal rescission proposal to Congress to eliminate previously appropriated funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
-April 28th: Congress returns from break and will consider any funding proposals submitted to them. If the planned rescission memo is submitted, it will trigger a 45-day review period in Congress. While the CPB is currently funded through 2027, this executive proposal will aim to eliminate previously appropriated funds in an unprecedented move to eliminate federal support for public media.
What is the CPB's role in public media?
CPB is distinct from both NPR and PBS. It is not a broadcaster but an independent, nonprofit organization created by Congress in 1967 with two primary functions: to serve as a firewall between partisan politics and public broadcasting and to help fund programming, stations, and technology.
CPB is a private, nonprofit corporation authorized by Congress in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. Congress has provided — with bipartisan support — funding for public broadcasting for more than 50 years. The two-year advance appropriation to CPB ensures the independence of the public media system by insulating it from political interference, and it is the basis for a longstanding public-private partnership in service to all Americans.
The annual federal investment in public media through CPB is foundational for the public media system. CPB’s mission is to ensure universal access to noncommercial, high-quality content and telecommunications services. Distributed according to a statutory formula, approximately 70% of all federal funds for CPB’s two-year advance are distributed to eligible public media stations across the country — noncommercial educational licensees who serve in the public interest.
The CPB is responsible for allocating their funds from the federal budget in any way that fulfills their mission: To ensure universal access, over-the-air and online, to high-quality content and telecommunications services that are commercial free and free of charge.
What is KALW doing to survive this loss of funding?
KALW is bracing for this moment with steadfast commitment to the Bay Area communities we serve. We are planning a communications, programming, and budget strategy to ensure that, even in the face of federal cuts, we will continue delivering cultural programming and news you count on every day.
This includes ramping up our fundraising strategies, identifying cost-saving measures that preserve our programming, and accelerating efforts to develop and deepen strategic partnerships to deliver on our mission. As the federal government contemplates turning its back on public media, we promise to continue to deliver free, community-informed, and transparent journalism and cultural programming that the Bay Area has expected from us for over 50 years.
Our Promise to Remain Independent
With the number of local journalists declining nationwide and media increasingly biased by corporate and political interests, KALW remains fiercely independent. Our strength comes from our community. As a public media station, we are not e influenced by commercial interests and swayed by current or future federal administrations. At a time when media giants are consolidating power, trust is eroding, and democracy is on the brink, KALW stands firm. We are the homegrown, independent voice in the Bay Area — fearless in truth-telling, relentless in our pursuit of justice, and rooted in the real lives of our community.