Report: Public Media Cuts Could Leave Millions In the Dark During Disasters.
- Inside Audio Marketing
- Jun 25
- 3 min read

Public media is more than “Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me!” or “Sesame Street.” It’s also a life-saving tool that is at risk with pending cuts to federal funding. That is the bottom line of a new report from Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA). What she is calling a “snapshot” analysis develops an unpleasant picture if those dollars are taken away from hundreds of public radio and television stations. It points to the role the stations play in responding to emergencies and public safety events, including in several states where the networks are integral parts of the emergency response plans.
The report says the operations of 79 public radio and 33 television stations across 34 states and territories are at imminent danger of going dark if the Senate goes along with a House measure to claw back $1.1 billion in money already appropriated for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. More than 70% of federal funding goes directly to local public radio and TV stations.
“Nearly 13 million Americans live in communities under threat of losing their local public broadcast stations. What’s worse, these stations serve large swaths of the Western, Midwestern, and Southeastern U.S. at risk of wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, and other public safety emergencies,” the report says. “This double threat casts uncertainty on the ability of these stations to disseminate emergency alerts and information to residents when they need it most.”
Lawmakers may have the federal deficit in mind, but in nearly half of the states there is a worry about what cutting funds to public radio and TV could do to the distribution of Emergency Alert Messages. The report says in at least 20 states, public broadcasting is part of the emergency plan, and many serve as emergency operations centers. NPR also provides member stations with resources such as backup transmitter kits and portable studio systems that can be used by stations if on-air operations are disrupted by natural disasters or other emergencies.
“Given the role they play in emergencies, there is no commercial alternative that can comprehensively replace public broadcasters,” says the report.
Public media’s link to EAS comes mainly through the Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS), which receives national EAS feeds directly from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. On top of that, PBS also provides additional redundancy through its Warning, Alert, and Response Network (WARN), which partners with FEMA to enable stations to broadcast geotargeted emergency alerts to cellular devices. And with more severe weather outbreaks, that distribution channel is becoming even more important. In 2024, over 11,000 alerts were transmitted over the PBS WARN system, marking a 30% increase from the prior year.
“Public television and radio aren’t just for quality children’s television and unique radio content,” said Cantwell. “For millions of Americans, these stations are often their only source of emergency information during weather disasters.” She says in rural areas, public broadcasters may be the sole source of information during emergencies, leaving them disproportionately impacted by federal funding cuts.

The House approved a rescission package earlier this month that includes a rollback of nearly $1.1 billion in previously allocated funds to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — the nonprofit organization that distributes federal funding to PBS, NPR, and local public media stations. The measure awaits action in the Senate, where public media is hoping to convince enough lawmakers to take public media off the list of cuts.
Kate Riley, President and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, noted the potential impact on emergency alerts if stations are allowed to go dark due to a lack of funding.
“Rescinding previously appropriated federal funding for public broadcasting defies the will of the American people and threatens to devastate the public safety,” Riley said. “The federal investment in public media enables us to provide the delivery of geo-targeted wireless emergency alerts to cell phones, and the only nationwide situational awareness tool used by public safety officials to track and monitor the effectiveness of those alerts.”
NPR President/CEO Katherine Maher has also pointed to the possibility that “millions” of Americans will risk missing their emergency alerts from the cuts. With just a two-vote margin in the House vote, Maher is hoping that “extraordinarily close” outcome could have some Senators thinking twice about their plan to take away dollars from public stations.
Read Cantwell’s full report on public media HERE.
This article is total BS. PBS does not depend on government funds for anything except to pay the cost to lobby Congress for their leftist ideas. As a NCE broadcaster who does not get a dime of Federal funding, I resent the government showing favoritism to NPR over the rest of the world. If NPR wishes to continue to get Federal funds, then the rest of us should either file a class-action lawsuit or be allowed to apply for the same funding under the same conditions as NPR under the classification of "NCE" (Non Commercial Educational) radio stations. Make it fair to all NCE broadcasters or pull the plug on NPR.