NPR CEO Katherine Maher talks with BPR about funding, Congress, and public media's future
By Jose Sandoval
April 16, 2025 at 9:11 PM EDT
The White House will soon ask Congress to cancel $9.3 billion already approved for foreign aid initiatives, PBS, NPR, and other programs, according to the New York Times.
The ending of federal funding for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting (CPB) could have major consequences for the more than 1,000 public radio stations in the United States including Blue Ridge Public Radio.
CPB receives $595 million from the federal government including $60 million to support infrastructure like broadcast towers and $120 million for local NPR member stations.
In late March, NPR CEO Katherine Maher testified before a Department of Government Efficiency subcommittee about alleged biased content and government funding for NPR and PBS.
On Tuesday, Maher visited Asheville, and she spoke with BPR’s Jose Sandoval about the hearing, funding concerns, and the future of public radio.
The conversation, edited for clarity and brevity, is below.
SANDOVAL: Monday, the New York Times reported that the White House will soon ask Congress to cancel $9.3 billion already approved for foreign aid initiatives, PBS, NPR, and other things. Did that decision to potentially remove funding in this way, surprise you?
Maher: We know that the administration has taken the position that they'd like to see public funding for public media either eliminated or significantly reduced. We have been focused over the last year on having conversations with members of Congress often who have a very strong appreciation for the service that public media provides to their local community. So we'll continue having those conversations with members of Congress and we'd encourage everyone who appreciates public media to do the same.
SANDOVAL: What do you expect from this move going forward? You know about this latest report?
Maher: The memo has been reported that it will come out in the next two weeks. At which point there is a 45 day clock that starts, and Congress has an opportunity to either pick up the recessions package or not. And so we will be in conversation with members and their staff to understand what their appetite is, what the position of their appropriators are. Really just seeking to understand more and to see what kind of conversations they want to have about support for public media. Again, I think what we often hear from members of Congress is that their constituents really value public media and they're thinking about how to weigh the priorities of the administration with what it is that their voters are interested in and care about.
SANDOVAL: So now we're about three weeks from when you testified before the DOGE committee about alleged bias content and government funding for NPR and PBS. How did you feel that hearing went from your point of view?
MAHER: Going into a hearing in front of Congress feels both like an honor to be able to advocate in front of Congress for what it is that we care about and what it is that we value and do and also, it's a high stakes environment. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous. At the same time I felt as though there was real listening from some members who were interested in what it is that we had to say about the role of public media.
I hope that members both in the hearing and other members of Congress not on the subcommittee, listened to our commitment to serving all Americans.
SANDOVAL: And just to ask you as well in her opening statement, representative Marjorie Taylor Greene insinuated that federal funding for public media was essential decades ago, but not anymore with the advancement of technology and podcasts. People can get their news anywhere, even in rural areas. Why do you believe federal funding is still crucial for public media, especially for those that are in rural, remote parts of the country?
MAHER: For starters, we all know just driving through the country and every state in the nation, there are places where cell phone service does not exist. Broadband service does not exist. That is the reality of a country as large and as diverse geographically as ours. There are mountains, there are valleys, there are all sorts of things that make it more challenging to be able to get a high quality connection. And in places like that, public radio, public television matter quite a lot.
We also know, and here in Asheville in particular, the value of these services in times of disaster or crisis. When the internet goes out, when electricity goes out, radio is one of the few mediums that is still available. That is a really important point in a country that is quite large and has natural disasters and crises on an increasingly frequent basis it seems.
We want to make sure that those services are still available to the public. But I think a point that is often lost is that public media also fills a gap in the market. And what I mean by that is you've seen in this country an absolute decimation of local news. More than 20% of Americans live in a place without a local newspaper , which means that public media is often the only source of local news. We cover nearly 100% of Americans. It means that almost everyone in the nation has access to a public media station that fills a significant gap in people's ability to be in touch with what's happening in their community, what's happening in their state, what's happening across the nation.
While we respect and want to compete relative to the commercial market and be of value to people, regardless of our public status, we also recognize that the market just doesn't fill the needs of all Americans. And it's very easy to forget that if you're sitting in D.C. but it's something that becomes quite clear when you start spending time in places where those news deserts exist.
SANDOVAL: Local member stations, they receive a percentage from CPB funding. Does NPR potentially have any contingencies in place to help member stations?
MAHER: We are looking at all sorts of different possible scenarios. We believe very strongly in the value of federal funding for the public radio network. There are places in this country where federal funding is essential to the operations of stations. We are looking at what we can do to work with stations to support them in advocacy to Congress. We're going to continue fundraising so that we are asking for public support at this difficult time in which there's some uncertainty about everyone's budgets and how we're going to continue to support all this great local programming and of course we are having conversations about how we as a network can respond and support one another at this moment in time.
SANDOVAL: I wanna switch to another topic that was brought up and that could also affect public radio. The Federal Communications Commission opened an investigation alleging PBS and NPR of violating federal laws or practices that stretch back decades. Can you speak about where this case is?
MAHER: So we feel very confident that the practices that we engage with around review of underwriting support are very robust. We've been doing that for decades. We have teams and multiple people that look at every single instance of underwriting support that goes on-air and we feel really good about the work that we do and its compliance with FCC guidelines. We will continue to cooperate with the FCC with regards to its inquiries and continue to support any stations that may have questions about this or any concerns.
SANDOVAL: The day after you testified before the DOGE Committee, you went on a PBS show and talked about what needed to be revived at NPR. You also mentioned that 14% of the stories we hear on national programming, like Morning Edition and All Things Considered, comes from local stations, and you would like to see that percentage increase. How can that happen?
MAHER: We have these nearly 3,000 local journalists and 200 newsrooms across the country. We've also been working in a number of places to build out collaborative newsrooms at the regional level, which would allow for stations that are contiguous geographically to be able to share reporting on issues that matter to them, based on their geography or what's going on, in their area or in their sort of shared communities.
My view is that there's an opportunity for us at the national level to draw much more on those resources. They represent people who are very much in connection with the things that are happening on the ground. We have a saying at NPR that news happens somewhere. So it's an opportunity for us to pull from that somewhere, to share that with the nation as a whole. It's an opportunity for us to develop excellent talent from across the country that reflects the country back to itself. My view is that we should have a goal of achieving a greater percentage of programming from stations on NPR's national airwaves.
Editor’s note: BPR receives 6% from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting.
The ending of federal funding for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting (CPB) could have major consequences for the more than 1,000 public radio stations in the United States including Blue Ridge Public Radio.
CPB receives $595 million from the federal government including $60 million to support infrastructure like broadcast towers and $120 million for local NPR member stations.
In late March, NPR CEO Katherine Maher testified before a Department of Government Efficiency subcommittee about alleged biased content and government funding for NPR and PBS.
On Tuesday, Maher visited Asheville, and she spoke with BPR’s Jose Sandoval about the hearing, funding concerns, and the future of public radio.
The conversation, edited for clarity and brevity, is below.
SANDOVAL: Monday, the New York Times reported that the White House will soon ask Congress to cancel $9.3 billion already approved for foreign aid initiatives, PBS, NPR, and other things. Did that decision to potentially remove funding in this way, surprise you?
Maher: We know that the administration has taken the position that they'd like to see public funding for public media either eliminated or significantly reduced. We have been focused over the last year on having conversations with members of Congress often who have a very strong appreciation for the service that public media provides to their local community. So we'll continue having those conversations with members of Congress and we'd encourage everyone who appreciates public media to do the same.
SANDOVAL: What do you expect from this move going forward? You know about this latest report?
Maher: The memo has been reported that it will come out in the next two weeks. At which point there is a 45 day clock that starts, and Congress has an opportunity to either pick up the recessions package or not. And so we will be in conversation with members and their staff to understand what their appetite is, what the position of their appropriators are. Really just seeking to understand more and to see what kind of conversations they want to have about support for public media. Again, I think what we often hear from members of Congress is that their constituents really value public media and they're thinking about how to weigh the priorities of the administration with what it is that their voters are interested in and care about.
SANDOVAL: So now we're about three weeks from when you testified before the DOGE committee about alleged bias content and government funding for NPR and PBS. How did you feel that hearing went from your point of view?
MAHER: Going into a hearing in front of Congress feels both like an honor to be able to advocate in front of Congress for what it is that we care about and what it is that we value and do and also, it's a high stakes environment. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous. At the same time I felt as though there was real listening from some members who were interested in what it is that we had to say about the role of public media.
I hope that members both in the hearing and other members of Congress not on the subcommittee, listened to our commitment to serving all Americans.
SANDOVAL: And just to ask you as well in her opening statement, representative Marjorie Taylor Greene insinuated that federal funding for public media was essential decades ago, but not anymore with the advancement of technology and podcasts. People can get their news anywhere, even in rural areas. Why do you believe federal funding is still crucial for public media, especially for those that are in rural, remote parts of the country?
MAHER: For starters, we all know just driving through the country and every state in the nation, there are places where cell phone service does not exist. Broadband service does not exist. That is the reality of a country as large and as diverse geographically as ours. There are mountains, there are valleys, there are all sorts of things that make it more challenging to be able to get a high quality connection. And in places like that, public radio, public television matter quite a lot.
We also know, and here in Asheville in particular, the value of these services in times of disaster or crisis. When the internet goes out, when electricity goes out, radio is one of the few mediums that is still available. That is a really important point in a country that is quite large and has natural disasters and crises on an increasingly frequent basis it seems.
We want to make sure that those services are still available to the public. But I think a point that is often lost is that public media also fills a gap in the market. And what I mean by that is you've seen in this country an absolute decimation of local news. More than 20% of Americans live in a place without a local newspaper , which means that public media is often the only source of local news. We cover nearly 100% of Americans. It means that almost everyone in the nation has access to a public media station that fills a significant gap in people's ability to be in touch with what's happening in their community, what's happening in their state, what's happening across the nation.
While we respect and want to compete relative to the commercial market and be of value to people, regardless of our public status, we also recognize that the market just doesn't fill the needs of all Americans. And it's very easy to forget that if you're sitting in D.C. but it's something that becomes quite clear when you start spending time in places where those news deserts exist.
SANDOVAL: Local member stations, they receive a percentage from CPB funding. Does NPR potentially have any contingencies in place to help member stations?
MAHER: We are looking at all sorts of different possible scenarios. We believe very strongly in the value of federal funding for the public radio network. There are places in this country where federal funding is essential to the operations of stations. We are looking at what we can do to work with stations to support them in advocacy to Congress. We're going to continue fundraising so that we are asking for public support at this difficult time in which there's some uncertainty about everyone's budgets and how we're going to continue to support all this great local programming and of course we are having conversations about how we as a network can respond and support one another at this moment in time.
SANDOVAL: I wanna switch to another topic that was brought up and that could also affect public radio. The Federal Communications Commission opened an investigation alleging PBS and NPR of violating federal laws or practices that stretch back decades. Can you speak about where this case is?
MAHER: So we feel very confident that the practices that we engage with around review of underwriting support are very robust. We've been doing that for decades. We have teams and multiple people that look at every single instance of underwriting support that goes on-air and we feel really good about the work that we do and its compliance with FCC guidelines. We will continue to cooperate with the FCC with regards to its inquiries and continue to support any stations that may have questions about this or any concerns.
SANDOVAL: The day after you testified before the DOGE Committee, you went on a PBS show and talked about what needed to be revived at NPR. You also mentioned that 14% of the stories we hear on national programming, like Morning Edition and All Things Considered, comes from local stations, and you would like to see that percentage increase. How can that happen?
MAHER: We have these nearly 3,000 local journalists and 200 newsrooms across the country. We've also been working in a number of places to build out collaborative newsrooms at the regional level, which would allow for stations that are contiguous geographically to be able to share reporting on issues that matter to them, based on their geography or what's going on, in their area or in their sort of shared communities.
My view is that there's an opportunity for us at the national level to draw much more on those resources. They represent people who are very much in connection with the things that are happening on the ground. We have a saying at NPR that news happens somewhere. So it's an opportunity for us to pull from that somewhere, to share that with the nation as a whole. It's an opportunity for us to develop excellent talent from across the country that reflects the country back to itself. My view is that we should have a goal of achieving a greater percentage of programming from stations on NPR's national airwaves.
Editor’s note: BPR receives 6% from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting.