LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Leaders of Nevada's public media outlets are bracing for cuts, after Congress voted this week to rescind $1.1 billion in previously approved funds from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The cuts will take $3.8 million from VegasPBS, the local affiliate of the Public Broadcasting System, and $800,000 from Nevada Public Radio, the local affiliate of National Public Radio.
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"You can't cut your way out of that, and you can't fundraise your way out of that with a snap of the finger," says Mare Mazur, the president and general manager of VegasPBS. "We're emphasizing our commitment to local, we're emphasizing our commitment to education and workforce development."
Mazur says no layoffs are planned right now for the 65-employee organization.
At Nevada Public Radio, home of KNPR and KCNV and publisher of the award-winning Desert Companion magazine, President and CEO Favian Perez says he's looking at the entire budget to see where cuts can be made. Nevada Public Radio employs about 30 people now, not including freelancers, writers and other contractors.
"What we're looking at is our budget season, which is looking at the next fiscal year, and the importance of evaluating every single aspect of our budget," Perez said. "So that really then has to look at that corpus group of items of productions, the way we serve our mission, and we would be irresponsible if we didn't look at everything, including staffing and our ability to be able to provide the services to our audience."
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Opposition from Trump, conservatives
This week's votes didn't come as a surprise to public media, since President Donald Trump in a May 1 executive order demanded that funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting be cut. National and local leaders have been warning listeners and viewers about the potential for cuts for months.
Opponents of funding of public media claim it shows a left-wing bias, and that taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize media that espouses views they find abhorent. In addition, they say the educational programs provided by public media are available elsewhere on the internet, and that public emergency information can be had by turning to a cellphone, not the radio.
"Public broadcasting ceased long ago to reflect the views of the American public," wrote Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation in 2022. "Today, in fact, it serves coastal elites who disdain the public."
Added Gonzalez in 2024: "Across the board, government must stop funding services set up with taxpayer money ostensibly to serve all Americans but which cater only to one side."
Heritage also praised the administration's decision to move forward with revoking the previously approved funds.
Public media popular with everyone
But defenders of public media say their stations do serve everyone, and that's reflected in opinion polls.
Kate Riley, president and CEO of America's Public Television Stations, cited a YouGov survey that showed 65% of people who voted for President Trump think public TV is either adequately funded or even underfunded.
In that same survey, 82% of voters, including 72% of Trump voters, said they valued PBS stations for children's programming and educational tools. (Gonzalez, writing for Heritage, says popular programs such as "Sesame Street" are available on streaming services.)
"These local stations are beloved and trusted by this vast majority of Americans who rely on the essential lifesaving public safety information, proven educational services and local community connections these stations provide every day for free, regardless of zip code or income level," Riley said in a statement.
The organization also noted that the amount of federal funding that goes to public media is just $1.40 per year per American.
As for bias, Perez says public radio welcomes all viewpoints.
"We are an organization that approaches journalism and objective reporting in exactly that way, objectively. It's not partisan. It's not meant to be talking point or a mouthpiece for any party," he said. "So we stand by that, it's part of our mission, as part of our approach, and that's the way we remain objective and also reflective of all viewpoints and inviting, inviting of all viewpoints."
Washington wrangling
Members of Nevada's congressional delegation have all opposed cuts to public broadcasting, including Republican Mark Amodei, who is co-chairman of the public broadcasting caucus in the House.
But Amodei voted for the final bill that cut public broadcasting, saying in a statement there will still other options to restore funding.
"The rescission package passed this [Friday] morning does not take away any funding for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2025, and we will have at least three more opportunities — through the Appropriations Committee markup process, voting on the House floor, and conferencing with the Senate — to ensure that local broadcasting is still supported in FY26," he said.
"Additionally, should Congress not pass FY26 appropriations before October 1, current FY25 levels will be maintained through a continuing resolution
"We still have a long road ahead of us before the start of the next fiscal year, and I will continue to fight for our local broadcasters in the months ahead."
But senior U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, in an interview with Channel 13, said Republicans in Congress have ceded important budgetary authority to Trump.
"Instead of doing their job and doing just that, they voted to cut it and support what President Trump wants," Cortez Masto said. "So they've basically said ... that they can't appropriate, they can't do their jobs, because there's no sense in them doing any appropriating if they're just going to follow and let the president decide what should go into the budget and shouldn't, even though that's not within his authority in the executive branch."
As the fight in Washington continues, however, local public broadcasters are struggling to decide how to keep serving the public. They encourage people to donate, to volunteer time and to become members of local stations.
(Donations to VegasPBS can be made here, and donations to Nevada Public Radio can be made here. A website — Protect My Public Media — is also gathering support for national and local stations.)
But Mazur said viewers should know that public broadcasting will continue to fight on.
"Because the most important thing is letting our supporters and viewers and those who turn to us know that we're going to be here," she said. "We're going to be here for the long haul. We're here for Vegas. We're here for Southern Nevada, and we're going to have to make adjustments, but we're not going anywhere."
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