Corporation for Public Broadcasting Votes to Dissolve After Loss of Federal Funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the nonprofit entity that for nearly six decades distributed federal support to public media outlets such as PBS and NPR, has formally voted to dissolve itself after the loss of its government funding, according to reporting by the Associated Press and The Guardian.

On January 5, 2026, CPB’s board of directors approved a resolution to wind down the organization, effectively ending its operations after 58 years. The decision followed a period of budget cuts that eliminated its federal appropriation and left the entity without a sustainable financial foundation.

Originally established under the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 to channel public funds to local radio and television stations, CPB had played a central role in supporting more than 1,500 public media outlets nationwide.

In 2025, a Republican-led Congress, acting on requests from President Donald Trump and GOP leadership, passed the Rescissions Act of 2025, which clawed back roughly $1.1 billion in federal funding from the agency. That vote, approved largely along party lines, rescinded money previously authorized for CPB for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.

Following the passage of that legislation and a separate Trump executive order directing the cessation of federal funding for NPR and PBS, CPB announced in August 2025 that it would begin winding down operations. At that time, most of the organization’s roughly 100 staff were scheduled to leave by Sept. 30, 2025, with a small transition team remaining to manage close-out tasks into early 2026.

Although CPB had already been preparing to shutter operations, the January vote by its board marked the formal dissolution of the corporation rather than leaving it in limbo as a defunded shell. In a statement quoted by Fox 5 Atlanta, CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said the board chose dissolution to “protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values” the organization was created to uphold.

Board Chair Ruby Calvert, also in that statement, reiterated that without federal funding the group could not continue its traditional role of stewarding public broadcasting support, while expressing hope that future congressional action might revive support for public media.

While CPB’s closure does not directly broadcast or produce content, its absence removes a central conduit for federal grants that helped sustain many PBS and NPR member stations, particularly in smaller or rural communities. The Guardian reports concerns that some local stations could struggle to survive without the funding that previously made up a meaningful portion of their budgets.

Industry analyses also note a surge in private donations and “rage-giving” to public radio and television stations following the announcement of funding cuts, a trend that has provided short-term financial relief for some outlets. However, the long-term sustainability of smaller stations remains uncertain as they adjust to a landscape without federal support.

The push to defund CPB and diminish the federal government’s role in public broadcasting has been part of a broader political critique by Republican leaders over perceived bias in public media. NPR and PBS have consistently denied partisan bias, noting that federal funds distributed through CPB constituted only a fraction of their overall revenue streams.

As the 2026 broadcast season begins, public media organizations and their audiences are watching closely to see how the sector adapts in the aftermath of CPB’s dissolution and whether new funding mechanisms emerge to support local stations that play key roles in community reporting and cultural programming nationwide.

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