New FCC Chair Launches Probe into NPR & PBS, Setting Up for Defunding

Newly appointed Federal Communications Chair Brendan Carr launched an investigation into National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System, starting the groundwork for defunding.

Elimination of funding for public broadcasting is an item in Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation blueprint for the new regime.

NPR and PBS lost most of their federal funding years ago and rely on fundraising for the vast majority of their operating costs. However, this move goes beyond federal funding. Among their fundraising, NPR and PBS rely heavily on sponsorships by charitable foundations and businesses, often in the area of local stations, for a large portion of their revenue. Sponsors are named on-air but not promoted with advertisements.

The FCC seeks to reclassify sponsorship as advertising, which is prohibited for public radio and television. Such a reclassification would strip the stations of their ability to finance their operations and would shut down public broadcasting in the USA.

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