NPR compelled the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) on Monday to honor a $36 million, multi-year contract it had previously rescinded under pressure from the Trump administration. NPR accused the corporation of “illegally yielding to Trump’s demands that the network be financially punished for its news coverage.”
The revived contract resolves litigation between NPR and CPB as part of a larger lawsuit between news stations and the Trump administration. The claim, according to NPR, “focused on CPB funding for NPR’s operation of a satellite distribution system for local public radio stations.”
As part of the agreement, NPR will drop all claims pertaining to CPB’s funding of Public Media Infrastructure (PMI). NPR previously asked a judge to block CPB from proceeding with a grant to PMI, which the corporation argued was “driven by a desire to foster digital innovations more swiftly.” U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss determined in October that CPB had not made a credible case in their defense.
“The settlement is a victory for editorial independence and a step toward upholding the First Amendment rights of NPR and the public media system in our legal challenge to [Trump’s] Executive Order,” Katherine Maher, President and CEO of NPR, said in a statement. “While we entered into this dispute with CPB reluctantly, we’re glad to resolve it in a way that enables us to continue to provide for the stability of the Public Radio Satellite System, offer immediate and direct support to public radio stations across the country and proceed with our strong and substantive claims against this illegal and unconstitutional Executive Order. We look forward to our day in court in December.”
CPB has not admitted to any wrongdoing or yielding to external pressure from the Trump administration and instead reflected the settlement a success in a press release of their own Monday.
Federal subsidies to NPR stopped on Oct. 1, the result of a July decision by Congress as part of a $9 billion rescissions package. The decision cut $1.1 billion in funding to public media and passed 51-49 with Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voting against alongside all Democrats. The $1.1 billion represented the entire amount CPB was set to receive over the next two years.
