Press Herald - Maine Public Broadcasting Network could lose 12% of its funding following an executive order directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to “cease federal funding for NPR and PBS,” the nation’s primary public broadcasters.
President Donald Trump signed the order late Thursday, alleging bias in the programming.
Aside from pulling funding, the order instructs the corporation and other federal agencies to root out indirect sources of public financing for the new organizations.
In a social media post announcing the signing, the White House said the outlets “receive millions from taxpayers to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.’”
Rick Schneider, president and CEO of Maine Public, the statewide network for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, said the network would lose more than $2 million of its roughly $18 million budget.
“It is the latest step in an attack on the free press in this country,” he said, but “this is not a done deal by any means, (and) Maine Public is going to be there for Mainers, and we’re focused on our work today and into the future.”