Right now, Congress is actively negotiating final funding legislation, including whether local public media stations like PBS Fort Wayne will receive renewed federal support. With the closing of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, these decisions will shape the future strength and accessibility of local public media stations like ours. 

For nearly 60 years, federal funding has made it possible for PBS Fort Wayne and other public media stations to deliver local stories, educational resources, and emergency information to everyone, regardless of income or zip code. Choices being made right now will determine whether that local service can continue in every community.   

This is one of the final chances this fiscal year for the public to weigh in. Visit ProtectMyPublicMedia.org to show your support for PBS Fort Wayne and public media stations across the country. 

Tell your Indiana Senators and Congressional Representatives you want them to protect Public Television. 

Contact them using the information as sourced from www.congress.gov/ to let your voice be heard.

Live in Ohio? Let Your Senators and Congressional Representatives know that you want them to protect Public Television. 

Contact them using the information as sourced from www.congress.gov/ to let your voice be heard.

Are you a Michigan Resident? Let Your Senators and Congressional Representatives know that you want them to protect Public Television. 

Contact them using the information as sourced from www.congress.gov/ to let your voice be heard.

What Happened In 2025:

On Thursday, January 30, 2025, the new Chair of the FCC, Brendan Carr, ordered an investigation of NPR and PBS to determine if any underwriting spots had crossed the line into prohibited commercial advertisements.

On Monday, February 3, 2025, a subcommittee of DOGE (Department Of Government Efficiency) called for the CEOs of NPR and PBS to testify about “systemically biased news coverage.”

On Wednesday, March 26, 2025, a US House subcommittee for DOGE (Department Of Government Efficiency) called the CEOs of NPR and PBS for questioning at a congressional hearing titled "Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the Heads of NPR and PBS Accountable."

On Tuesday, April 15, 2025, the Trump Administration drafted a memo to Congress outlining its intent to end nearly all federal funding for public media including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), PBS and NPR.

On Thursday, April 24, 2025, the Indiana State Legislature took away all state funding for all Indiana public TV and radios stations, including PBS Fort Wayne, at the last minute and without warning or discussion in committee. That final package was submitted for a vote of approval, and approved on Friday, April 25 at 1:00pm. Indiana Governor Mike Braun signed this budget package into law on May 6, 2025.

On Thursday, May 1, 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14290, "Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media." This order aimed to eliminate federal funding for NPR and PBS, asserting that government funding of news media is outdated and detrimental to journalistic independence. The order directed the CPB to stop funding these organizations. The executive order also instructed the CPB to cease all direct and indirect funding for NPR and PBS, and mandated revisions to its 2025 General Provisions to reflect this. It also required all federal agencies to terminate direct or indirect funding to NPR and PBS. The order further directed relevant agencies, including the FCC, to investigate whether NPR and PBS had engaged in unlawful discrimination.

On Friday, May 30, 2025, PBS sued President Trump to block his executive order to cut off its federal funding, and accused the president of retaliating against the nonprofit over “perceived political slights in news coverage.” PBS was joined in this lawsuit by Lakeland PBS, which serves which serves rural areas in northern and central Minnesota. The suit states the executive order is an "existential threat to the station." This action came two days after NPR filed suit against President Trump, also to block his executive order.

On Tuesday, June 3, 2025, the White House sent a rescission bill to the US House of Representatives designed to claw back funding already approved by Congress for the CPB, PBS and NPR for the next two years. This legislation was passed without discussion by the House of Representatives on June 12, 2025. It was passed onto the US Senate for consideration, where it currently awaits their action.

On Wednesday, June 25, 2025, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on the rescission package that proposes taking back $1.1 billion in already-approved public media funding. Senators on the committee questioned President Trump's budget director about the administration's request to claw back funds for public media and foreign aid.

On Thursday, July 24, 2025, President Trump signed a bill eliminating all federal funding for Public Broadcasting. This bill also clawed back finding for various foreign assistance programs. Of the $9 Billion dollars rescinded in this bill, about $1.1 billion was destined for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which financed NPR and PBS, even though most of that money was distributed to more than 1,500 local public radio and television stations around the country.

On Monday, January 5, 2026, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress to steward the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting, announced that its Board of Directors has voted to dissolve the organization after 58 years of service to the American public. The decision followed Congress’s rescission of all of CPB’s federal funding and came after sustained political attacks that made it impossible for CPB to continue operating as the Public Broadcasting Act intended.

Patricia Harrison, President and CEO of CPB stated, “When the Administration and Congress rescinded federal funding, our Board faced a profound responsibility: CPB’s final act would be to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving, rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks.”