April 15, 2025

From Rachel Smolkin, OPB president and CEO:

The past several months have been a whirlwind at the federal level. OPB’s journalists have focused on covering the impact of executive orders, tariffs, and funding cuts across communities in Oregon and the wider Northwest.

As I shared with you earlier this year, federal funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is critical to our public service. Federal support is vital in providing universal access to factual information here in the Northwest and across America—and critical to serving often overlooked rural places.

As we work through this dynamic period, I want to keep you in the loop about how these changes at the federal level could affect our operations here at OPB.

In short: federal funding for OPB, and the trusted journalism that we and our peers in public media create, is in serious jeopardy. The successful public-private partnership created with the Public Broadcasting Act in 1967 faces a real threat of being dismantled.

Here’s what has happened so far:

  • In March, Congress passed the Continuing Resolution (CR) for Fiscal Year 2025. The legislation provides $535 million for CPB in Fiscal Year 2027, upholding the two-year advance funding for public media. While that was a positive development, in this uncertain moment it doesn’t ensure that funds will ultimately reach groups like OPB.
  • On March 26, the leaders of NPR, PBS, and Alaska Public Media testified to the value of the public media system at a DOGE subcommittee hearing entitled “Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the Heads of NPR and PBS Accountable.” The chair closed by stating: “after listening to what we’ve heard today, we will be calling for the complete and total defunding and dismantling of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.”
  • There have also been a number of “defund NPR and PBS” bills in Congress that could have an impact on CPB funding, and how it could be spent. With our public media partners, we will continue to closely monitor various possible executive branch and congressional actions that could come into play.

At OPB, federal support is critical, representing around 9 percent of our operating budget. CPB cuts would hinder our ability to provide beloved programming, critical information, and alerts to communities during emergencies such as severe storms, earthquakes, or wildfires.

Cuts would ripple across the entire public media system. Rural stations across the country are generally more dependent on federal funding and would be hobbled or shuttered. Beloved programs like “Morning Edition,” “Nature,” “Nova,” and “Frontline” would be at risk, as fewer viable organizations would remain to support their creation.

In this moment, we’re working to make sure lawmakers understand the value of public media. In February, I visited Washington D.C. to meet with every member of our congressional delegation in Oregon and Southwest Washington. We’ll continue to make our case, and I’ll keep in close touch as we learn more.

Reaching Rural Communities Across Oregon and the Northwest

No matter what happens, OPB is committed to better connecting people across our region—especially rural communities often underserved by other media.

Here are two recent examples:

“Stop Requested” - In the fall, two OPB journalists traveled across Oregon, seeking to visit the cities hosting each of OPB’s 16 main FM radio stations—using only public transit to do so. Over 14 days and more than 30 buses, OPB’s Lillian Karabaic and Prakruti Bhatt created the “Stop Requested” series that chronicled the experiences and challenges of the people they met. I’m proud of how these creative, ambitious stories helped our audience better understand how transportation connects people in Oregon’s rural places. If you haven’t had a chance to listen, please check it out.

Rural Freelance Network - An important initiative we’re spinning up is a new network of freelance journalists to enrich our coverage of rural communities. This network will improve our reporting by harnessing the talents of people who have deep knowledge of the communities where they live and work. While OPB has grown its footprint of reporters and bureaus with your support, we can’t cover all the important stories that emerge across our state and region.

We’re starting this work from our Central Oregon bureau, with initial partners covering stories on the Warm Springs Reservation. We’re also exploring how we can use the network to better cover southwest Washington, a large, growing area where freelancers can enrich our service. I look forward to sharing our reporting and its impact.

At this time especially, thank you for your support of OPB.