There is an Assassinate Attempt Being Made on Public Media 

Trump has signed an executive order to rescind $1.1 billion dollars in funding

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Several years ago, in Seattle I discovered Independent Radio (and yes, I am capitalizing because it’s important), funded by the listeners, and it changed my life for the better.  That radio station was KEXP and it became my everything.  DJs can play whatever they want, any theme, without algorithms or pay-to-play formats.  They are both educational and spin a heavy rotation of local music as well as classic indie gems. I had never heard anything like it before.  You might catch Public Enemy, followed by Joni Mitchell and then some small independent artist follows that track. Each radio host did their own thing as well.  John Richards was the host that I first caught onto, and his music knowledge floored me.  I like to think of myself as having a refined palate of sound logged in my craw, but this dude buried my grasp of music, and I learned so much from him.  I am forever indebted.  I got to meet him once and as I trembled terribly inside, I think I played it cool. 

When I moved out of Seattle my biggest fear was that I wouldn’t find radio like that again.  It wasn’t about finding somewhere to live, a job, a favorite bar or restaurant – it was about finding the music.  I mean, I was moving to “Music City”, maybe I’d find something to suffice.  What I unearthed was WNXP and it was like nothing had changed – minus some rain.  WXNP was newer but seemed to follow that same pattern.  They were about being informative and dropping those local artists into the mix.  I accidentally bumped in Celia Gregory on the dial during an early morning drive and she became my new John Richards.  

Being in a new city, I was exposed to even more eclectic music.  My fear was that everything was going to country in Nashville, but that was not nearly the case. The punk, metal, hip-hop, R&B, soul and more runneth over in Middle Tennessee. However, all this beautiful experience, cultural expansion and music community that has been built up across the country is being threatened by the government. 

President Trump has issued an executive order directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s board of directors to “cease federal funding for NPR and PBS,” the nation’s primary public broadcasters – he is claiming “ideological bias”.  “Neither entity presents a fair, accurate or unbiased portrayal of current events to tax-paying citizens,” the order says. “The CPB Board shall cancel existing direct funding to the maximum extent allowed by law and shall decline to provide future funding.” PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger called it a “blatantly unlawful Executive Order, issued in the middle of the night.” 

So how does this affect my favorite radio stations?  

While local stations will lose what seems like a small percentage (usually under 10%) of its revenue from government funding – that equates to millions of dollars lost.  The stations simply will not be able to carry out the mission that they sought to uphold.  Trump seems to think that propaganda is being spread through these outlets and seeks to control the media.  If it sounds familiar, it is.  Controlling the peoples voice has always been atop the list of those looking to hide their personal agenda yet control the thoughts of the masses.  

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) was created by Congress through the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. Its very mission is to provide Americans with zero-cost access to broadcasted content that will “inform, educate, enlighten, and enrich the public and help inform civil discourse essential to American society.” The law forming the CPB even stated that it’s in the “public interest” to ensure diversity of programming from broadcasters, which requires “freedom, imagination, and initiative on both local and national levels.” However, that is all being threatened now. 

This will NOT be the day that the music died.   

NPR CEO Katherine Maher said the network will “vigorously defend” its mission to provide “essential news” and will challenge the order “using all means available”. So, while Trump has signed an order, the counterattack has also begun.  It is our radio free Alamo.  I know that might be a bad analogy since the Alamo eventually fell- but you get what I am saying.  This is where we need to ban together and help our transmitted brethren.   

From KEXP:  

“KEXP’s mission is to enrich your life by championing music and discovery. Our vision is a connected and compassionate world embracing curiosity and a shared love of music. KEXP is an international community of music lovers and music makers, and a nonprofit organization fostering relationship and community building through broadcast, online, and in-person music experiences.” 
 

And from WNXP: 

“Nashville Public Radio serves Middle Tennessee by providing trusted in-depth news, engaging music and unique cultural programs on 90.3 FM WPLN News, 91.1 WNXP Nashville’s Music Experience, Nashville Classical Radio, WPLN International and online at nashvillepublicradio.org. For more than 60 years, listeners have turned to this community-supported service for programming that inspires conversation and curiosity, educates, and entertains.“

It all sounds so very threatening.  However, this assault on the public and the free does not pick and choose its strikes.  This will be straight carpet bombing of the entire industry. So please take note and literally listen up to what is happening.  You may not be a music fan (we can’t be friends) and you might not listen to radio broadcasts (they do stream too btw) but this is a slippery slope if the President and Congress have their way.  What is next? We must not let the government control what we listen to, what we read, who we pray to, or anything else that takes away our basic freedoms. It is the very reason people braved the ocean and endured disease.  Our founding fathers and mothers fought against the tyranny of rule so that we could decide for ourselves.   

Here is how you can help from WNXP’s website | Article by CELIA GREGORY and CARLY BUTLER / MARCH 3, 2025

1. Visit Protect My Public Media and urge Congress to safeguard the essential public resources you rely on. Make sure your representatives know that public media is valuable, in whatever way it’s valuable to you. 

2. Donate to Nashville Public Radio to help preserve your local programming. 

3. Keep paying attention. It may be a long road ahead. 

4. Donate to NPR

We need you to contact your representatives. Protect My Public Media is a collaboration of local public radio and television stations, national distributors, producers, viewers, listeners, and others who support a strong public media in the U.S.