USAGM runs the following media organizations:

• Voice of America (VOA), a media outlet providing news in 47 languages to an audience of over 280 million people;
• Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), a news outlet that provides content in 27 languages in 23 countries, mainly from Eastern Europe/Former Soviet Union and South Asia (including Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and Ukraine);
• Radio Free Asia (RFA), a Washington, D.C.-headquartered news outlet that services six Asian countries;
• Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), an Arabic-language news organization that targets 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region through its television networks (Alhurra and Alhurra-Iraq), Sawa radio and the news portals Alhurra.com, RadioSawa.com, Irfaasawtak.com, MaghrebVoices.com and ElSaha.com;
• Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), which operates from Miami, Florida, the news outlet Radio and Television Martí, a news conglomerate that caters to the people of Cuba.

State Media Matrix Typology

State-Controlled (SC)

Media assets

Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Office for Cuba Broadcasting, Middle East Broadcasting Networks

Ownership and governance

USAGM supervises two federal organizations (the Voice of America and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting), and three non-profit organizations (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks).

Its mandate and governance are rooted in key legislation:

• The Smith-Mundt Act (U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948) established VOA and was amended in 2013 to allow domestic access to USAGM programming.
• The International Broadcasting Act (1994, later amended) unified U.S. international broadcasters under one agency, now known as USAGM.
• The VOA Charter, drafted in 1960 and enacted in 1976, guarantees VOA’s editorial integrity by mandating accurate, objective, and comprehensive representation of U.S. policies. (See Editorial Independence below)

Oversight rests with the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, which review budget ceilings, vote on changes to administrative authority, and provide policy direction. The Senate committee also considers presidential nominations to senior USAGM posts.

Since 2017, the USAGM CEO has been appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Until 2016, governance was vested in a nine-member bipartisan board, eight appointed by the President (confirmed by the Senate) and one ex officio, the Secretary of State (added via a 1998 amendment to the International Broadcasting Act). No more than four board members could belong to the same political party, and the President selected the chair (excluding the Secretary of State).

The National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2017 replaced this board with a presidentially appointed CEO, and renamed it the International Broadcasting Advisory Board, reducing it to a purely advisory role. The board now comprises up to six presidentially appointed members confirmed by the Senate, plus the Secretary of State ex officio.

In June 2018, President Donald Trump nominated documentary filmmaker Michael Pack as CEO. Confirmed in June 2020, Pack disbanded the boards of the grantee broadcasters and embarked on sweeping leadership purges, including dismissals at OTF. Reports indicated that President Trump appointed Pack with this aim in mind, having voiced dissatisfaction with USAGM coverage of his administration. VOA Director Amanda Bennett and Deputy Director Sandy Sugawara resigned immediately after Pack’s confirmation. In July 2020, Pack began reviewing senior officials’ contracts across RFA, RFE/RL, and MBN, prompting fears of further purges.

Pack’s actions faced legal and congressional resistance. On 21 July 2020, a federal appeals court blocked his attempt to impose a new OTF board, citing the fund’s distinct statutory status. Key members of the appropriations subcommittee overseeing State Department spending also froze some USAGM funds.

All in all, although there were still mechanisms (such as the release of payments that can be approved only by the appropriations committees) that could be used to prevent the management (CEO) of USAGM from acting discretionarily, the measures taken by Pack were worrying as, according to existing legal provisions (adopted in 2017), the USAGM CEO has expansive powers over all of the U.S. government-funded civilian broadcasters. The CEO, for example, has the power to set budgets and slash funding of any of the media run by the USAGM and appoint himself to the boards of the individual media outlets run by the USAGM. In fact, in an “unprecedented” move, Pack replaced after his appointment all the bipartisan boards of the media outlets operated by USAGM with six people, including himself, “who appear to have been selected for no discernible reason beyond ideological purity,” Anne Applebaum wrote in The Atlantic in June 2020.

Pack’s resignation in January 2021 at President Joe Biden’s request ended this phase of conflict, and stability returned under acting CEO Kelu Chao and later Amanda Bennett (confirmed September 2022).

But the most sweeping overhaul, one that effectively dismantled the organization, came during President Trump’s second term. In March 2025, he signed an executive order directing the administration to “dismantle USAGM to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” This move ousted CEO Bennett, replacing her with conservative media activist L. Brent Bozell III, and brought in former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake as a senior adviser.

The administration swiftly froze funding to RFE/RL, RFA, and MBN, triggering mass layoffs, including notices to 639 VOA employees and more than 500 contractors, while OCB was largely spared. Although federal courts issued injunctions blocking parts of the dismantling, appellate stays allowed much of the downsizing to proceed. By June 2025, USAGM still existed on paper, but operated with drastically reduced staffing and only a fraction of its former broadcasting capacity.

Source of budget and funding

USAGM is wholly funded by congressional appropriations, determined annually by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, which also direct how funds may be used. VOA and OCB receive funds directly; RFE/RL, RFA, and MBN are financed through USAGM-administered grants. The organization has received the following budgets in recent years: 2018: US $794 million (30 % to VOA); 2019: US $797 million; 2023: US $830 million; 2024 request: US $944 million, citing the need to counter authoritarian disinformation; 2025 request: US $950 million; authorised spending of approximately US $922 million.

In 2025, USAGM entered its most severe funding crisis since its creation. Although Congress authorised approximately US $922 million for FY 2025, with a request originally set at US $950 million, the Trump administration moved in March to freeze large portions of the budget, particularly the grants supporting the non-federal broadcasters RFE/RL, RFA, and MBN. These grantees collectively received over US $372 million in FY 2024, roughly a third of USAGM’s total funding. The freeze triggered immediate service shutdowns, mass layoffs, and the closure of several language services, with OCB remaining largely unaffected.

As of August 2025, the agency still exists in law but operates with drastically reduced capacity. Federal court rulings have found parts of the defunding unlawful, ordering the restoration of some services, but appellate stays have delayed full reinstatement. VOA continues limited operations with a fraction of its pre-March workforce, while RFA and MBN remain largely dormant, awaiting resolution of ongoing litigation. The prolonged budgetary restrictions have not only crippled broadcasting output but also raised concerns among lawmakers and press freedom groups about the erosion of USAGM’s mission and the weakening of America’s international media presence.

Editorial independence

USAGM outlets follow formal editorial safeguards, including the VOA Charter (requiring accuracy, objectivity, comprehensiveness, and balanced representation of U.S. opinion) and internal ethical codes. A statutory “firewall” in the 1994 International Broadcasting Act prohibits government interference in editorial content.

But although statutory mechanisms to protect editorial independence remain in place, the centralization of power in a single CEO after 2017 left these safeguards more vulnerable in practice. Pack’s 2020 interventions were widely condemned by journalists and staff, with Politico reporting that “veterans of the organisations have said the massive leadership change undermined their traditional independence.” The resignation of Pack in January 2021 ended that immediate crisis.

Yet, the attacks launched by the American president in 2025 destabilized the organization and led to a near-total erosion of its independence. The March 2025 dismantling order, followed by sweeping funding freezes, mass layoffs, and the installation of politically aligned appointees, placed unprecedented strain on USAGM’s editorial autonomy. While federal courts have ruled parts of the shutdown unlawful and ordered the restoration of VOA, RFA, and MBN operations, appellate stays have delayed any meaningful enforcement.

Many language services have gone dark, VOA’s global footprint has shrunk dramatically, and budgetary levers have been wielded in ways critics say amount to indirect political control. Press freedom advocates, including Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists, warn that the agency’s statutory “firewall” is being undermined, not through overt censorship, but by systematically depriving its outlets of the resources and staffing they need to carry out their mandate.

August 2025

In its current iteration, CBC runs four terrestrial radio networks—CBC Radio One and CBC Music in English, and Ici Radio‑Canada Première and Ici Musique in French—plus the digital-only international radio arm, Radio Canada International (RCI), whose audio content has been distributed online since 2012. It also operates two main TV networks—CBC Television (English) and Ici Radio‑Canada Télé (French)—as well as multiple satellite and cable services including CBC News Network, Ici RDI, Ici Explora, and other specialty channels like Documentary and ARTV. In the Arctic, CBC North and Radio‑Canada Nord deliver tailored regional content. Beyond the official languages, CBC/Radio‑Canada serves Indigenous audiences, offering radio programming in eight Indigenous languages domestically and in five languages via RCI’s online platform.

Media assets

English-Television: CBC Television; Radio: CBC Radio One, CBC Music, CBC Radio 3; French-Television: Ici Radio-Canada Télé; Radio: Ici Radio-Canada Première, Ici Musique; International–Radio Canada International (RCI); Satellite-cable: CBC News Network, Ici RDI, Ici Explora, Documentary Channel, Ici ARTV

State Media Matrix Typology

Independent State-Funded (ISF)

Ownership and governance

CBC was constituted as a Crown corporation, a form of direct public ownership vested in the Sovereign of Canada (currently King Charles III of the United Kingdom), designed to insulate the organization from undue political interference. It was formally established under the provisions of the Broadcasting Act of 1991. The corporation’s supreme governing body is its Board of Directors, composed of 12 members, including the Chairperson and the President & Chief Executive Officer. All board appointments are made by the Governor General of Canada in Council, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister. In June 2023, Catherine Tait, the incumbent President and CEO, was reappointed for a further 18-month term.

While CBC remains accountable to Parliament, and the Prime Minister may put forward recommendations for board appointments, the mechanism whereby the Governor General, Canada’s federal viceregal representative of the Monarch, makes the formal appointments was purposefully designed to safeguard the broadcaster’s editorial autonomy, ensuring that government of the day cannot exert direct pressure on its news and programming output.

The government has strengthened CBC’s digital mission through two landmark acts: the Online Streaming Act (effective April 2023) and the Online News Act (effective June 2023). The former reaffirms CBC’s obligation to contribute Canadian, particularly Indigenous, content across digital platforms, while the latter ensures legacy broadcasters like CBC benefit fairly when digital platforms share journalistic material.

Moreover, in May 2024, an independent advisory committee was convened to offer strategic recommendations on modernizing CBC/Radio‑Canada’s governance, mandate, and financing, calling for reforms like fixed per‑capita funding, public consultation in planning, enhanced emergency broadcasting roles, and regional representation in leadership appointments.

In February 2025, the Minister of Canadian Heritage put forward a package of governance reforms aimed at strengthening CBC/Radio-Canada’s independence and accountability. Central to the proposal was a restructuring of leadership appointments: the authority to name the President and CEO would shift from the federal Cabinet to the Board of Directors, with the role carrying a fixed five-year mandate and a maximum tenure of ten years. To further shield these appointments from political interference, all candidates for both the CEO post and board seats would be drawn from an Independent Advisory Board, with the process enshrined in the Broadcasting Act.

The plan also called for changes to the board’s composition and internal safeguards. Its size would increase from 12 to 14 members—13 voting directors plus the CEO as a non-voting ex officio member—and its makeup would need to reflect the geographic and demographic diversity of Canada, including representation from every province and territory. At least two members would be required to hold professional financial designations. A new Vice-Chair position would be created to ensure that the CEO could not temporarily assume the Chair’s duties, reinforcing the board’s internal checks and balances.

Source of funding and budget

CBC’s funding model combines parliamentary appropriations with revenue from advertising (primarily on television and digital services) and subscriber fees from specialty channels. Its primary radio services remain ad‑free.

In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, CBC/Radio‑Canada received roughly CAD 1.437 billion in government support, equating to approximately 10 cents per Canadian per day. In April 2024, the federal budget allocated an additional CAD 42 million for the 2024–25 period—a welcome short‑term infusion.

In the 2021/2022 financial year, CBC operated with an annual budget of CA$ 1.9 billion (US$ 1.46 billion). The lion’s share of that sum, approximately CA$ 1.2 billion (US$ 928 million), or 65% of the total, came from a parliamentary appropriation. The remainder was self-generated income, derived primarily from advertising sales, according to a corporation annual report. Notably, the government subsidy that year represented a decline of more than 10% compared to the previous fiscal period.

In 2022/2023, the government allocation rose slightly to CA$ 1.27 billion (US$ 961 million), accounting for over 70% of CBC’s total budget. While this represented a 2.6% increase in public funding, commercial revenue from advertising fell sharply—down nearly 21% year-on-year.

For two consecutive years, CBC’s expenditures have outpaced its revenues, producing deficits of CA$ 120 million (US$ 93.3 million) in 2022 and CA$ 119 million (US$ 90 million) in 2023.

In its vision for the future, the government underscored the need for more predictable, sustained funding to ensure CBC/Radio‑Canada can fulfill its public-service mission in an evolving media environment. While digital disruption, especially the drain on advertising revenue, poses a growing challenge, the document advocates for funding models that move beyond year-to-year allocations. The goal is to foster long-term stability, enabling the broadcaster to plan effectively, invest strategically, and adapt its mandate without being hamstrung by financial uncertainty.

In a 2025 policy document, the government proposes shifting to a fixed per-capita funding model for the broadcaster. Under this approach, CBC/Radio-Canada’s annual parliamentary appropriation would be calculated as a set amount per Canadian resident, with the figure indexed to inflation. This model is intended to provide predictable, multi-year funding insulated from short-term political or economic pressures, allowing for long-term planning and reducing the risk of politically motivated budget fluctuations. It also suggests multi-year appropriations (rather than yearly budget cycles) to further enhance stability and strategic flexibility.

Editorial independence

The government has not imposed any editorial rules on CBC. On the contrary, the Canadian government is known for having taken, in recent years, a leading role in supporting media freedom worldwide.

The Broadcasting Act guarantees CBC’s editorial independence. Moreover, the broadcaster has in place dozens of policies and rulebooks on a variety of topics that not only ensure the station’s editorial autonomy but also its accountability as journalists need to follow a set of reporting rules that ensure an objective, diverse, impartial and fair editorial coverage.

CBC has an Ombudsman office whose mission is to monitor and oversee the editorial performance of the broadcaster. The Ombudsman of the Corporation reports directly, through the CEO, to the CBC’s Board. People appointed to the Ombudsman position are independent of the CBC’s program staff and management.

The Ombudsman prepares a mid-year update report and an annual report for the Board, among other things. These documents summarize the complaints received by the company and the manner in which they were handled.

CBC also has a Human Resources and Governance Committee whose main task is to assess the annual performance and effectiveness of the Board and the Chairperson, the Board committees, and individual directors. The goal is to monitor the performance of the Board and to make recommendations for improvement.

August 2025

Media assets

Television: See PBS local subsidiaries list below

State Media Matrix Typology

Defunding/Closure in progress

Ownership and governance

PBS operates as a nonprofit cooperative, governed by a board of 27 directors appointed by its member stations. These member stations, numbering approximately 350, co‑own PBS and ensure that local voices inform national broadcasting strategy.

Source of funding and budget

PBS’s financial model relies on a mix of funding sources: dues from member stations, federal appropriations via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), pledge drives, and philanthropic contributions from individuals and foundations. Importantly, no single source dominates, fostering editorial independence and operational resilience.

From 2020 through 2023, PBS’s finances traced a path of modest fluctuation but overall stability. In 2020, the network’s total income edged close to the US $700 million mark, reflecting a robust mix of member station dues, philanthropic support, and federal grants. The following year saw a slight dip, with revenues slipping to about US $657 million, a decline attributed by analysts to pandemic-related pressures on both underwriting and donations. By 2022, the budget steadied at roughly US $669 million, with member assessments, the dues paid by local stations, providing the largest single contribution at around US $203 million. The upward momentum continued into 2023, when PBS’s budget climbed to approximately US $711 million. That year, member assessments rose to about US $211 million, while the organization channelled its largest share of spending, some US $405 million out of a total US $634 million, into content creation and promotion, underscoring its continued investment in original programming and audience outreach. In 2024, PBS reported US$ 722 million in revenue, member organizations contributing US$ 218.5 million, accordingt to a company report.

Meanwhile, the CPB, the conduit through which PBS receives a significant share of its public financing, received approximately US $525 million in 2024 and US $535 million in 2025, including about US $10 million in interest each year, for a total of roughly US $545 million in 2025. According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), in FY 2024, about 10.6% of public television revenue and 6.0% of public radio revenue came through CPB-granted support. On average, PBS‑affiliated stations depended on federal funding for around 18% of their budgets (with NPR’s average reliance hovering at 13%).

The figures above represent total system-wide revenue, not merely PBS’s central operations. In other words, they capture funds circulating across the entire public television network, including income generated by local stations, CPB pass-through grants, underwriting, and other programme-level funding. By contrast, PBS’s national headquarters, its central coordinating body, operated on a significantly smaller budget of approximately US $364.7 million in 2024, according to Current.

Although PBS’s financial structure remained sound, dark clouds have been gathering in recent years. The election of Donald Trump to a second presidential term brought renewed calls from the White House to zero-out federal funding for the CPB. The confrontation came to a head in 2025. In May, the administration issued an executive order to rescind CPB’s funding, followed in July by passage of the Rescissions Act of 2025, which stripped US $1.1 billion from CPB allocations over two years.

With CPB now set to wind down by early 2026, PBS and its member stations face an unprecedented shortfall. Local affiliates—particularly in rural, tribal, and economically disadvantaged areas—are bracing for layoffs, program cancellations, and even outright closure. Prominent voices such as filmmaker Ken Burns have decried the cuts as a needless blow to civic life, warning that the erosion of public media will deprive communities of trusted, non-commercial information at a moment when misinformation already runs rampant.

PBS’s future structure is uncertain. It could persist as a national distributor for the stations that remain solvent, but its reach, diversity of programming, and ability to produce high-cost documentaries and investigative work will likely be reduced.

Editorial independence

PBS has maintained in its history a clear firewall from government influence: there are no mandates from federal authorities governing its content. Its editorial integrity is enforced internally through its PBS Editorial Standards and Practices. The network also features a Public Editor, whose role is to receive and address public feedback, ensuring programming stays aligned with viewers’ expectations and maintains impartiality.

August 2025

List of PBS Broadcasters

Alabama Public Television (APT PBS)
• Birmingham – WBIQ 10
• Demopolis – WIIQ 41
• Dozier – WDIQ 2
• Florence – WFIQ 36
• Huntsville – WHIQ 25
• Louisville – WGIQ 43
• Mobile – WEIQ 42
• Montgomery – WAIQ 26
• Mount Cheaha – WCIQ 7
Alaska Public Media
• Anchorage – KAKM 7
• Bethel – KYUK-LD 15
• Juneau – KTOO-DT 3
Fairbanks – KUAC-TV 9
Phoenix – KAET 8 (Arizona PBS)
Tucson – KUAT-TV 6 (PBS 6)
• Tucson – KUAS-TV 27
Arkansas PBS
• Arkadelphia – KETG 9
• El Dorado – KETZ 12
• Fayetteville – KAFT 13
• Jonesboro – KTEJ 19
• Little Rock – KETS 2
• Mountain View – KEMV 6
Eureka – KEET 13 (PBS North Coast)
Fresno – KVPT 18 (Valley PBS)
Huntington Beach (Los Angeles) – KOCE-TV 50 (PBS SoCal)
Los Angeles – KCET 28 (PBS SoCal Plus)
Los Angeles – KLCS 58
Redding (Chico) – KIXE-TV 9
Sacramento – KVIE 6
San Bernardino (Los Angeles) – KVCR-DT 24 (Empire KVCR)
San Diego – KPBS 15
Cotati – KRCB 22 (Northern California Public Media)
San Francisco – KQED 9
• Watsonville (Salinas-Monterey) – KQET 25
San Jose – KQEH 54 (KQED Plus)

Broomfield (Denver) – KBDI-TV 12 (PBS 12)
Rocky Mountain PBS
• Denver – KRMA-TV 6
• Durango – KRMU 20
• Grand Junction – KRMJ 18
• Pueblo (Colorado Springs) – KTSC 8
• Steamboat Springs – KRMZ 24
Connecticut Public Television (CPTV)
• Hartford – WEDH 24
• New Haven – WEDY 65
• Norwich – WEDN 53
• Stamford – WEDW 49
Wilmington, Delaware (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) – WHYY-TV 12
• Seaford – WDPB 64 (satellite of WHYY-TV)
• 
WETA-TV 26
WHUT-TV 32/WJLA-TV

Fort Myers (Naples) – WGCU 30
Gainesville – WUFT 5
Jacksonville – WJCT 7 (Jax PBS)
Miami – WLRN-TV 17
Orlando – WUCF-TV 24
Pensacola – WSRE 23
South Florida PBS
• Boynton Beach – WXEL-TV 42
• Miami – WPBT 2
Tallahassee – WFSU-TV 11
• Panama City – WFSG 56
Tampa – WEDU 3 / WEDQ 3.4
Atlanta – WABE-TV 30
Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB)
• Athens (Atlanta) – WGTV 8
• Chatsworth – WNGH-TV 18
• Cochran (Macon) – WMUM-TV 29
• Columbus – WJSP-TV 28
• Dawson – WACS-TV 25
• Pelham (Albany) – WABW-TV 14
• Savannah – WVAN-TV 9
• Waycross – WXGA-TV 8
• Wrens (Augusta) – WCES-TV 20
PBS Hawai’i
• Honolulu – KHET 11
• Wailuku – KMEB 10
Idaho Public Television
• Boise – KAID 4
• Coeur d’Alene – KCDT 26
• Moscow – KUID 12
• Pocatello – KISU 10
• Twin Falls – KIPT 13
Charleston – WEIU-TV 51
Chicago – WTTW 11
Moline (Quad Cities, Illinois/Iowa) – WQPT 24
Peoria – WTVP 47
Southern Illinois
• Carbondale – WSIU-TV 8
• Olney – WUSI-TV 16
• Jacksonville – WSEC 14
• Macomb – WMEC 22
• Quincy – WQEC 27
Urbana – WILL-TV 12

Bloomington – WTIU 30
Evansville – WNIN 9
Fort Wayne – WFWA 39 (PBS Fort Wayne)
Gary – WYIN 56 (Lakeshore PBS)
Indianapolis – WFYI 20
Muncie – WIPB 49 (Ball State PBS)
South Bend – WNIT 34 (Michiana PBS)
Vincennes – WVUT 22 (Vincennes PBS)

Iowa PBS
• Council Bluffs (Omaha) – KBIN-TV 32
• Davenport (Quad Cities, Illinois/Iowa) – KQIN 36
• Des Moines – KDIN-TV 11
• Fort Dodge – KTIN 21
• Iowa City – KIIN 12
• Mason City – KYIN 24
• Red Oak – KHIN 36
• Sioux City – KSIN-TV 27
• Waterloo – KRIN 32
Smoky Hills PBS
• Colby – KWKS 19
• Dodge City – KDCK 21
• Hays – KOOD 9
• Lakin – KSWK 3
Topeka – KTWU 11
Wichita – KPTS 8 (PBS Kansas)

Bowling Green – WKYU-TV 24 (WKU PBS)
Kentucky Educational Television (KET)
• Ashland – WKAS 25
• Bowling Green – WKGB-TV 53
• Covington (Cincinnati, Ohio) – WCVN-TV 54
• Elizabethtown – WKZT-TV 23
• Hazard – WKHA 35
• Lexington – WKLE 46
• Louisville – WKPC-TV 15
• Louisville – WKMJ-TV 68
• Madisonville – WKMA-TV 35
• Morehead – WKMR 38
• Murray – WKMU 21
• Owensboro – WKOH 31
• Owenton – WKON 52
• Paducah – WKPD 29
• Pikeville – WKPI-TV 22
• Somerset – WKSO-TV 29

Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB)
• Alexandria – KLPA-TV 25
• Baton Rouge – WLPB-TV 27
• Lafayette – KLPB-TV 24
• Lake Charles – KLTL-TV 18
• Monroe – KLTM-TV 13
• Shreveport – KLTS-TV 24
New Orleans – WYES-TV 12

Maine Public Broadcasting Network (MPBN)
• Augusta – WCBB 10
• Biddeford (Portland) – WMEA-TV 26
• Calais – WMED-TV 13
• Orono (Bangor) – WMEB-TV 12
• Presque Isle – WMEM-TV 10
Maryland Public Television (MPT)
• Annapolis – WMPT 22
• Baltimore – WMPB 67
• Frederick – WFPT 62
• Hagerstown – WWPB 31
• Oakland – WGPT 36
• Salisbury – WCPB 28

Boston – WGBH-TV 2 / WGBX-TV 44 (GBH)
Springfield – WGBY-TV 57 (New England Public Media)
Bad Axe (Flint-Saginaw-Bay City) – WDCQ-TV 19 (Delta College Public Media)
CMU Public Television
• Alpena – WCML 6
• Cadillac – WCMV 27
• Manistee – WCMW 21
• Mount Pleasant – WCMU-TV 14
Detroit – WTVS 56 (Detroit Public TV)
East Lansing – WKAR-TV 23
Marquette – WNMU 13 (Public TV 13)
WGVU Public Media
• Grand Rapids – WGVU-TV 35
• Kalamazoo – WGVK 52
Austin (Rochester) – KSMQ-TV 15
Crookston (East Grand Forks/Grand Forks) – KCGE-DT 16
Lakeland PBS
• Bemidji – KAWE 9
• Brainerd – KAWB 22
Pioneer PBS
• Appleton – KWCM-TV 10
• Worthington – KSMN 20
Saint Paul (Minneapolis) – KTCA-TV 2 / KTCI-TV 2.3 (Twin Cities PBS)
PBS North
• Duluth – WDSE 8
• Hibbing – WRPT 31

Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB)
• Biloxi – WMAH-TV 19
• Booneville – WMAE-TV 12
• Bude – WMAU-TV 17
• Greenwood – WMAO-TV 23
• Jackson – WMPN-TV 29
• Meridian – WMAW-TV 14
• Mississippi State – WMAB-TV 2
• Oxford – WMAV-TV 18
Kansas City – KCPT 19 (Kansas City PBS)
• KMCI-TV
Ozarks Public Television
• Joplin – KOZJ 26
• Springfield – KOZK 21
St. Louis – KETC 9 (Nine PBS)
Sedalia (Columbia) – KMOS-TV 6

Montana PBS
• Billings – KBGS-TV 16
• Bozeman – KUSM 9
• Great Falls – KUGF-TV 21
• Helena – KUHM-TV 10
• Kalispell – KUKL-TV 46
• Missoula – KUFM-TV 11
Nebraska Public Media
• Alliance – KTNE-TV 13
• Bassett – KMNE-TV 7
• Hastings – KHNE-TV 29
• Lexington – KLNE-TV 3
• Lincoln – KUON-TV 12
• Merriman – KRNE-TV 12
• Norfolk – KXNE-TV 19
• North Platte – KPNE-TV 9
• Omaha – KYNE-TV 26
Las Vegas – KLVX 10 (Vegas PBS)
Reno – KNPB 5 (PBS Reno)
New Hampshire PBS
• Durham – WENH-TV 11
• Keene – WEKW-TV 11
• Littleton – WLED-TV 11
Newark (New York City) – WNET 13
NJ PBS
• Camden – WNJS 23
• Montclair – WNJN 50
• New Brunswick – WNJB 58
• Trenton – WNJT 52
Albuquerque – KNME-TV 5 (NM PBS)
• Santa Fe – KNMD-TV 5 (NM PBS)
Las Cruces – KRWG-TV 22
Portales – KENW 3

Binghamton – WSKG-TV 46
• Corning (Elmira) – WSKA 30
Buffalo – WNED-TV 17 (Buffalo-Toronto Public Media)
Garden City (Long Island) – WLIW 21
Plattsburgh – WCFE-TV 57 (Mountain Lake PBS)
Rochester – WXXI-TV 21
Schenectady (Albany) – WMHT 17
• WCWN
Syracuse (Central New York) – WCNY-TV 24
Watertown – WPBS-TV 16
• Norwood – WNPI-DT 18

Charlotte – WTVI 42 (PBS Charlotte)
PBS North Carolina (PBS NC)
• Asheville – WUNF-TV 33
• Canton – WUNW 27
• Chapel Hill (Raleigh-Durham) – WUNC-TV 4
• Concord (Charlotte) – WUNG-TV 58
• Edenton – WUND-TV 2
• Greenville – WUNK-TV 25
• Jacksonville – WUNM-TV 19
• Linville – WUNE-TV 17
• Lumberton – WUNU 31
• Roanoke Rapids – WUNP-TV 36
• Wilmington – WUNJ-TV 39
• Winston-Salem – WUNL-TV 26
Prairie Public Television
• Bismarck – KBME-TV 3
• Devils Lake – KMDE 25
• Dickinson – KDSE 9
• Ellendale – KJRE 19
• Fargo – KFME 13
• Grand Forks – KGFE 2
• Minot – KSRE 6
• Williston – KWSE 4
Athens – WOUB-TV 20
• Cambridge – WOUC-TV 44
Bowling Green – WBGU-TV 27
Cincinnati – WCET 48
Cleveland – WVIZ 25
Columbus – WOSU 34
PBS Western Reserve
• Akron – WEAO 49
• Youngstown – WNEO 45
Think TV
• Dayton – WPTD 16
• Oxford – WPTO 14
Toledo – WGTE-TV 30

Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA)
• Cheyenne – KWET 12
• Eufaula – KOET 3
• Oklahoma City – KETA-TV 13
• Tulsa – KOED-TV 11
Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB)
• Bend – KOAB-TV 3
• Corvallis – KOAC-TV 7
• Eugene – KEPB-TV 28
• La Grande – KTVR 13
• Portland – KOPB-TV 10
Southern Oregon PBS
• Klamath Falls – KFTS 22
• Medford – KSYS 8
Allentown – WLVT-TV 39 (PBS39)
Clearfield (Altoona-Johnstown) – WPSU-TV 3
Erie – WQLN 54
Harrisburg – WITF-TV 33
Philadelphia – WPPT 35 (PBS39 Extra)
Pittsburgh – WQED 13
Scranton – WVIA-TV 44 (VIA TV)

Providence: WSBE-TV 36 (Rhode Island PBS)
South Carolina Educational Television (SCETV)
• Allendale (Augusta, Georgia) – WEBA-TV 14
• Beaufort – WJWJ-TV 16
• Charleston – WITV 7
• Columbia – WRLK-TV 35
• Conway – WHMC-TV 23
• Florence – WJPM-TV 33
• Greenville – WNTV 29
• Greenwood – WNEH 38
• Rock Hill (Charlotte, North Carolina) – WNSC-TV 30
• Spartanburg – WRET-TV 49
• Sumter – WRJA-TV 27
South Dakota Public Broadcasting (SDPB)
• Aberdeen – KDSD-TV 16
• Brookings – KESD-TV 8
• Eagle Butte – KPSD-TV 13
• Lowry – KQSD-TV 11
• Martin – KZSD-TV 8
• Pierre – KTSD-TV 10
• Rapid City – KBHE-TV 9
• Sioux Falls – KCSD-TV 23
• Vermillion – KUSD-TV 2
Chattanooga – WTCI 45
Cookeville – WCTE 22
East Tennessee PBS
• Knoxville – WKOP-TV 15
• Sneedville (Tri-Cities, Tennessee/Virginia) – WETP-TV 2
Lexington – WLJT-DT 11
Memphis – WKNO 10
Nashville – WNPT 8 (Nashville Public Television)

Amarillo – KACV-TV 2 (Panhandle PBS)
Austin – KLRU 18 (Austin PBS)
College Station (Waco) – KAMU-TV 12
Corpus Christi – KEDT 16
Dallas (Fort Worth) – KERA-TV 13
El Paso – KCOS 13 (PBS El Paso)
Houston – KUHT 8 (Houston Public Media)
La Feria (Rio Grande Valley) – KCWT-CD 21.4
Lubbock – KTTZ-TV 5 (PBS Texas Tech Public Media)
Midland–Odessa – KPBT-TV 36 (Basin PBS)
San Antonio – KLRN 9
PBS Utah
• Richfield – KUES 19
• Salt Lake City – KUED 7
• St. George – KUEW 18
Vermont Public
• Burlington – WETK 33
• Rutland – WVER 28
• St. Johnsbury – WVTB 20
• Windsor – WVTA 41
Norfolk – WHRO-TV 15
Blue Ridge Public Television –
• Roanoke – WBRA-TV 15 (Blue Ridge PBS)
• Bristol – PBS Appalachia Virginia (PBS Appalachia Virginia)
Virginia Public Media
• Richmond – WCVE-TV 23
• Charlottesville – WHTJ 41
• Staunton (Harrisonburg) – WVPT 51.1
• Richmond – WCVW 57
• New Market – WVPY 51.2
Northwest Public Television
• Pullman – KWSU-TV 10
• Richland – KTNW 31
Seattle – KCTS-TV 9 (Cascade PBS)
• Yakima – KYVE 47
Spokane – KSPS-TV 7
Tacoma – KBTC-TV 28
• Centralia – KCKA 15

West Virginia Public Broadcasting
• Grandview (Bluefield-Beckley) – WSWP-TV 9
• Huntington – WVPB-TV 33
• Morgantown – WNPB-TV 24
Milwaukee – WMVS 10 / WMVT 36 (Milwaukee PBS)
PBS Wisconsin
• Green Bay (Appleton/Northeast Wisconsin) – WPNE-TV 38
• La Crosse – WHLA-TV 31
• Madison – WHA-TV 21
• Menomonie (Eau Claire) – WHWC-TV 28
• Park Falls – WLEF-TV 36
• Wausau – WHRM-TV 20
Wyoming PBS 
• Casper – KPTW 6
• Lander (Riverton) – KCWC-DT 4
• Laramie (Cheyenne) – KWYP-DT 8

Media assets

Radio: National syndicator to a network of 1,000 radio stations. The network of NPR’s stations can be searched here.

State Media Matrix Typology

Independent Public (IP)

Ownership and governance

NPR is a non-profit organization under the stewardship of a 23‑member Board of Directors, established in 2015. This board comprises 12 Member Directors, who are station managers from NPR member stations, elected by their peers; nine Public Directors, distinguished members of the public appointed by the board and confirmed by member stations; the NPR Foundation Chair; and the NPR President & CEO.

As of January 2024, the board includes notables such as Jennifer Ferro (Chair of the board and President of KCRW), station leaders from Louisville Public Media, Iowa Public Radio, WBUR, and several other NPR member stations—as well as public figures like Matthew Barzun and Neal Zuckerman. In February 2024, Rachel Hubbard (Executive Director of KOSU) and Shawn Turner (General Manager of WKAR Public Media) were elected as Member Directors to fill unexpired terms. Later, in November 2024, Debbie Hiott—General Manager of KUT News and KUTX in Austin—was elected to the board and will serve through 2027.

Source of funding and budget

NPR’s business model leans on a diversified mix of support: corporate sponsorships, member station dues, program fees, endowment returns, satellite distribution fees, and fundraising development. This structure ensures financial resilience and editorial independence.

Corporate sponsorships and station dues together have historically accounted for about 69% of NPR’s total budget. Other sources of financing include satellite interconnection fees, distributions from its endowment, and returns on investments.

In 2021, NPR reported total operating expenses of nearly US$ 293 million, according to its annual report. The following year, operating revenues rose to US$ 309 million, and in 2023 they climbed further to US$ 318 million, according to NPR’s own financial disclosures. Corporate sponsorships in 2023 were the single largest source of cash—over US$ 101 million—followed by program fees, which generated US$ 96 million. In 2024, NPR reported US$ 336 million in income, according to its own financial reporting.

2025 has brought significant financial turbulence for NPR and its member stations, triggered by sweeping cuts to federal public broadcasting support. In May 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14290 directing the end of federal funding for NPR and PBS via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), prompting NPR and several member stations to file a lawsuit alleging violations of their First Amendment rights.

By July–August 2025, Congress rescinded over US$ 1.1 billion from the CPB  for fiscal years 2026–2027. While NPR itself derives only about 1% of its revenue from federal sources, many local stations—particularly rural outlets—are far more reliant. The CPB shutdown jeopardises essential services such as grantmaking, music rights management, and infrastructure support.

In response, NPR launched an $8 million “fee relief” program and began exploring ways to absorb certain CPB functions, including music licensing and distribution. The crisis has spurred remarkable grassroots mobilization. Across the country, station leaders are embracing collaborative survival strategies, sharing back-end services, pooling resources, and tapping into local philanthropic networks, viewing the upheaval as both a threat and an opportunity to reimagine public radio as a leaner, more community-driven system.

As of August 2025, NPR faces a crossroads brought on by the collapse of federal public broadcasting funding. The best-case outcome, less likely, would see the network rallying behind strong donor campaigns, philanthropic support, and strategic consolidation of services such as music rights and distribution. In this scenario, most stations survive, the network remains intact, and NPR emerges leaner but more connected to its grassroots audience. The more probable middle path involves an uneven recovery. While large and mid-sized stations remain stable, many smaller rural outlets close, creating public radio “deserts” in parts of the country. NPR’s national reach survives, but its local diversity and community roots weaken, with a heavier reliance on syndicated programming and digital platforms. The worst-case scenario, least likely, would be a cascading collapse of local stations, especially in rural areas. This would fragment the network, shrink audiences in underserved regions, and push NPR into becoming primarily a digital and urban-centric brand, undermining its mission as a nationwide public service broadcaster.

Editorial independence

NPR’s editorial operations are insulated from government interference. Despite occasional allegations of liberal bias, including an internal dispute in April 2024 when editor Uri Berliner publicly criticized NPR coverage, NPR has defended its journalistic standards. CEO Katherine Maher, appointed in March 2024, replied to these critiques by emphasizing NPR’s solid journalism, a robust discussion culture, and its commitment to impartial coverage.

NPR has an internal set of rules that establish its editorial independence. NPR also maintains a Public Editor position, an independent oversight role tasked with receiving listener feedback and engaging with newsroom leadership on concerns—a key pillar of its internal checks and balances.

August 2025