The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is this year’s recipient of the Governors Award from the Television Academy, weeks after Congress voted to defund the organization. The award will recognize more than five decades of service in enriching America’s media landscape through funding and support for educational, cultural and public-interest programming.
“The Governors Award recognizes and celebrates extraordinary contributions that transcend television and transform society,” Television Academy chair Cris Abrego said on Tuesday. “For more than half a century, CPB has been a steadfast champion of storytelling that informs, educates and unites us and ensures public media remains a vital space where diverse voices are heard and communities are served. With this award, we honor CPB’s enduring legacy and its extraordinary impact on the cultural and civic life of our nation.”
The Emmy statuette will be presented to Patricia de Stacy Harrison, the longest-serving president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — she’s been leading the organization since 2005.
Previous recipients of the Governors Award, which was first presented in 1978, include GLAAD, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, Debbie Allen, Greg Berlanti, Tyler Perry, “Star Trek,” “American Idol” and PBS.
The award will be handed out during the 2025 Creative Arts Emmys, which will be held over two consecutive nights, Saturday, Sept. 6, and Sunday, Sept. 7, at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE, steered by executive producer Bob Bain and Bob Bain Productions. An edited presentation of the ceremonies will air Saturday, Sept. 13, at 8 p.m. PDT on FXX and will be available to stream on Hulu through Oct. 7.
Created under the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was implemented to promote and help support public broadcasting in the United States. NPR and PBS were the two biggest and best known recipients of the corporation, and this government funding was vital to ensuring that rural and underserved communities were given access to local news. But following the Rescissions Act of 2025, all federal funding was cut off from CPB. The organization announced plans to shut down in 2026 due to a lack of federal funding.
