KPBS is here for you and with you.

Federal funding for public media has been eliminated

Congress has eliminated federal funding for public media, and KPBS and over 1,000 other local stations around the country are facing an uncertain future.

As your local public media station, KPBS is an essential, front-line, public service accountable to you. Our goal is to empower San Diegans to make informed decisions to build, celebrate and grow as individuals, families and communities. We do this by providing trusted, balanced and insightful news, and educational and entertaining stories and events that reflect the voices and aspirations unique to our region. To do this, we need the support of our community more than ever.

Why KPBS is essential:

KPBS provides critical public services to our local communities in San Diego and Imperial counties. You can always count on KPBS to:

• Keep you up-to-date with fact-based, trustworthy local journalism. And our news is always freely accessible to everyone - no paywall or subscription required.
• Educate our children through exceptional programming like "Sesame Street" and "Wild Kratts" that prepares them to succeed in school
• Produce groundbreaking documentaries that explore our nation's history from Ken Burns, "American Experience," Henry Louis Gates, Jr, and more
• Provide critical emergency coverage of wildfires, earthquakes, floods and other crises to help keep you and your loved ones safe and informed
• Share local stories unique to San Diego in shows like "Ken Kramer's About San Diego," "Historic Places," "Port of Entry," and "Crossing South"
• Promote literacy and lifelong learning through our community reading program, One Book, One San Diego

Public media is a public service, built for everyone – regardless of income or ZIP code. It delivers on a promise: access to early learning for every child, life-saving alerts when it matters most, stories that preserve our shared history and culture, and trusted spaces where people come together to learn, connect, and belong.

How you can help protect public media's future

Without federal funding, KPBS is now more reliant on member support than ever before. We are facing the loss of $4.3 million from our annual budget, and we will need help from our community to fill that gap.

Other ways to support KPBS include:

• Vehicle donations
• IRA contributions
• Making a planned gift
• Becoming a corporate sponsor

Click here to learn about more ways to give.

You can also help spread the word by sharing why public media matters to you, and encourage your friends and family to become members too.

Federal Funding FAQs

How did KPBS' federal funding work?

We received funds from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) an independent nonprofit organization that was established by Congress in order to shield public media from partisan political influence. Federal funds made up 12% of KPBS’s annual budget, about $4.3 million per year. That funding will end on October 1, 2025.

Why was public media defunded?

At the request of the Trump administration, Congress has voted to rescind two years’ worth of funding that had previously been approved for public media stations across the country. This funding loss impacts KPBS’ current fiscal year and next.

The new White House administration has placed a spotlight on public media’s federal funding model and called into question its integrity and value, particularly alleging bias in NPR’s reporting. We do not believe these accusations of bias have merit. Public media serves people all across the country whose views encompass the full political spectrum, and we adhere to strict editorial processes and guidelines to ensure that our reporting is balanced and nonpartisan.

Are there other current efforts to discredit and defund public media?

The rescission package is not the only effort to defund and discredit public media:

• President Trump issued an Executive Order on May 1, instructing CPB to stop distributing funds directly to NPR and PBS, and requiring that stations stop using their own federal funding to pay NPR and PBS. NPR and PBS have each filed lawsuits challenging the Executive Order in response.
• On May 2, the Department of Education eliminated the Ready to Learn grant, effective immediately. PBS KIDS' educational programming has received funding through this grant for decades, and now many PBS KIDS shows are facing an uncertain future.
• The White House proposed defunding public media as part of its budget request to Congress. This would remove funding in FY28 and FY29.
• President Trump attempted to fire three members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s board. CPB sued in response, alleging that the President does not have the legal authority to do so.
• FCC chairman Brendan Carr announced an investigation into NPR, PBS and local stations’ airing of sponsorship messaging.

How will the loss of federal funding affect KPBS?

KPBS has been financially stable, so for the next year or two, we expect to be able to continue at the same level of service San Diego expects of us. But longer-term lack of federal support will impact our operations and difficult decisions would need to be made.

Additionally, the loss of federal funding would have a domino effect. KPBS utilizes the federal funds to pay dues to NPR and PBS for their content. If we are unable to pay these dues, we would not have access to PBS and NPR programming. The less dues PBS and NPR has from member stations, the higher the likelihood they would have to reduce their production. This impact would then go out across all stations nationwide, hampering the American people’s access to information they rely on to survive and thrive. KPBS would attempt to maintain our dues payment, but we would need to find cuts within our own operating budget.

Words from KPBS supporters