BETHLEHEM, Pa. — An executive order by President Donald Trump to halt federal funding to PBS and NPR will have an impact on the Lehigh Valley.
But Lehigh Valley Public Media Interim CEO Laks Srinivasan said the public media organization will go on.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Srinivasan said Friday.
“This will impact the things we’re doing. But we want the community to know we will continue to deliver news and content. This only increases our commitment to be local and continue to serve as we have.”
Lehigh Valley Public Media operates PBS39, 91.3 WLVR and LehighValleyNews.com.
Lehigh Valley Public Media receives just over $1 million annually through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — about 20 percent of its funding, Srinivasan said.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) distributes about $535 million nationwide to National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service broadcasters.
LehighValleyNews.com has reached out to WDIY 88.1, a community-run NPR-affiliated radio station in Bethlehem, about how any cuts may affect it.
'Unanswered questions'
Despite his pledge to continue serving Lehigh Valley residents, Srinivasan said LVPM will “need community support now more than ever as we sort out the details.”
NPR receives about 1% of its funding directly from the federal government. The majority of the funds for public media are directed to local stations. Most of it subsidizes TV, which is more expensive to produce than radio.
“While the executive order clearly clarifies some things we knew, it also leaves unanswered questions.”Laks Srinivasan, interim CEO of Lehigh Valley Public Media
The White House, in a social media posting announcing the executive order signing, said the public media outlets “receive millions from taxpayers to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as 'news.'”
The move is the latest by Trump and his administration to utilize federal powers to control or hamstring institutions whose actions or viewpoints he disagrees with.
NPR CEO Katherine Maher and her PBS counterpart, Paula Kerger, have rejected accusations of biased reporting.
Srinivasan believes Trump’s claims of bias likely lie with NPR.
“NPR focuses on the news,” he said. “With PBS, news is a small component.”
Since taking office, Trump has ousted leaders, placed staff on administrative leave and cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to artists, libraries, museums, theaters and others, through takeovers of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Trump has also pushed to withhold federal research and education funds from universities and punish law firms unless they agreed to eliminate diversity programs and other measures Trump has found objectionable.
“There’s been news about this; this is not anything we didn’t know,” Srinivasan said.
“While the executive order clearly clarifies some things we knew, it also leaves unanswered questions.”
Srinivasan said Lehigh Valley Public Media programming is not just broadcast content. He cited Ready to Learn, a free, evidence-based educational resource that helps teachers, caregivers and parents build early science and literacy skills for children.
Other programs include Spanish Literacy and Exposure to the Arts at the Allentown Art Museum, providing free books to school children, as well as producing "Scholastic Scrimmage," a teen TV quiz show on PBS39 that is celebrating its 50th year.
Lehigh Valley Public Media has been without a CEO since last year. Srinivasan, who was vice chairman of the Lehigh Valley Public Media board, was named interim CEO on a part-time basis in November.
The board is currently evaluating applicants for a new chief executive.
While CPB funding cuts may imperil smaller stations in rural areas, Lehigh Valley Public Media may be better positioned to weather storms.
The organization has more than $70 million in investments, thanks to about $82 million it received in a 2017 FCC spectrum auction in which portions of broadcasters' airwaves were sold, mainly to mobile wireless companies.
CPB lawsuit
PBS and NPR have been preparing for the possibility of stiff cuts since Trump's election, as Republicans have long complained about them.
Kerger, PBS’ CEO and president, said in a statement last month that the Trump administration’s effort to rescind funding for public media would “disrupt the essential service PBS and local member stations provide to the American people.”
“There’s nothing more American than PBS, and our work is only possible because of the bipartisan support we have always received from Congress,” she said.
“This public-private partnership allows us to help prepare millions of children for success in school and in life and also supports enriching and inspiring programs of the highest quality.”
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting sued Trump earlier this week over his move to fire three members of its five-person board, contending that the president was exceeding his authority and that the move would deprive the board of a quorum needed to conduct business.
Just two weeks ago, the White House said it would be asking Congress to rescind funding for the CPB as part of a $9.1 billion package of cuts.
That package, however, which budget director Russell Vought said would likely be the first of several, has not yet been sent to Capitol Hill.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
