By Steven Allen Adams, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Public Broadcasting was already making the best of a more than 10% cut in its general revenue budget in the next fiscal year, but future federal funding cuts could place additional burdens on the state’s educational broadcaster.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday, titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media.” The executive order calls for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) — the non-profit founded by Congress in 1967 — to cease all direct and indirect funding of National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
In his executive order, Trump said the need for federal funding for NPR and PBS was no longer needed due to the abundance of media options for consumers. Trump also accused NPR and PBS of liberal/progressive media bias that favors Democratic politics and policies over Republican positions.
“Unlike in 1967, when the CPB was established, today the media landscape is filled with abundant, diverse, and innovative news options,” according to the executive order. “Government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence.
