The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced Monday that its Board of Directors has voted to dissolve the organization following Congress’ rescission of all federal funding, ending a 58-year role overseeing the government’s investment in public media.
The CPB announced plans to wind down in August, but the board’s Monday vote made the move official.
CPB’s leaders said Monday that sustained political attacks and the elimination of federal appropriations made it impossible to continue operating under the Public Broadcasting Act. Without funding, the board says the corporation could not lawfully support the nation’s public media system or fulfill its congressionally mandated responsibilities.
“For more than half a century, CPB existed to ensure that all Americans had access to trusted news, educational programming, and local storytelling,” CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a statement. She said dissolving the organization was necessary to protect the integrity and independence of public media.
After the 2024 election, President Trump formally called on Congress to cancel public broadcaster funding over the next two years via a rescission request, which needed a simple majority in both the House and the Senate for approval. Congress approved that plan in mid-July, taking back $1.1 billion that had been earmarked for public broadcasters over the next two years.
Board Chair Ruby Caylor called the loss of funding “devastating,” but said she remained confident public media would endure through local stations and future congressional action.
Founded in 1967, CPB helped build a nationwide network of more than 1,500 public radio and television stations and supported programming such as “Sesame Street” and “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” emergency alert systems and investigative journalism.
CPB said it will complete an orderly closure, distribute remaining funds as directed by Congress, and preserve its archives and historic public media content in partnership with the University of Maryland.
