Tell Congress it should not defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It’s too valuable. | Opinion

When I first moved to America in 1990 the two things I missed the most from Britain were warm beer and the BBC.

My introduction to NPR in March of that year was an interview with the 19-year-old bluegrass prodigy, Alison Krauss. From there I progressed to listening to the dulcet tones of Big Bob Edwards on Morning Edition on my thirty-minute commute to work in Georgetown. I had found my BBC fix.

NPR provides me with fact-based reporting from near and far. It is a reliable source of news that is nonpartisan and practices journalism with integrity, without the biases that come from partisan or for-profit stakeholders.

I am not alone. There are more than forty-two million people who listen to public radio programming each week.

NPR is part funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB); a private, non-profit corporation authorized by Congress in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. Part of its mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, high-quality content, and telecommunications services. It supports 393 national public radio stations and is helping to stem the spread of local news deserts across the country.

I listen to WEKU in Richmond which is one of the recipients of this funding.

It may be a surprise to you but federal funding for public media amounts to about 0.01% of federal funding – about $1.60 per American per year. For every $1 in federal grant money each public radio station receives it raises an additional $8 from local sources. The annual federal investment is an essential part of a public radio stations annual budget. In smaller or more rural stations it can account for 30-50% of the station’s budget. This funding is especially important in rural and underserved areas.

I can hear you saying, “Well looks like everything is just fine and dandy Rory.” But wait!

The House Appropriations Committee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and related agencies has recommended zeroing out public media funding in its fiscal year 2025 appropriations bill. The proposed bill, made public in early July, seeks no funding for the CPB effective Fiscal year 2027. The Corporation’s appropriation, currently $535 million is forward funded two years in advance.

The bill will advance to the full House for consideration.

This is a remarkably short-sighted approach. It is perhaps an attempt to still the voices of the critics who do not have to comply with the strictures of corporate ownership.

Hope springs eternal that the House of Representatives will see fit to reject this proposal.

I do hope so because 34 years after meeting Ms. Krauss I am still an avid listener to National Public Radio on WEKU. Our paths have diverged somewhat, she has now reached the ranks of musical royalty, even making music with another boy from my hometown, Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame. Me, I am still working at finding a good warm beer replacement.

Rory Harris is the retired CEO of Minova USA and lives in Jessamine County.