The Trump Administration’s decision to cut public broadcast funding will send effects far beyond those who receive funding, including one of Moscow’s primary radio stations.
Leigh Robartes, station manager of Radio Free Moscow’s station KRFP, shared his concern for radio’s future. KRFP will not feel the direct financial whiplash from these cuts, as they do not receive CPB funding, but will still experience less direct effects.
“The congressional vote to zero-fund public broadcasting will impact the media environment where non-commercial community radio stations exist,” Robartes wrote to The Argonaut. “If there’s less interesting and truthful programming on the broadcast band or on the internet, people will be tuning around less and perhaps less likely to find our programming.”
“Some community and tribal radio stations around the country may receive Corporation for Public Broadcasting money, and the zero-funding may impact their ability to pay for shows from the same sources we subscribe to, such as the Pacifica Radio Network. It’s unclear how this might impact programs we pay for.”
Robartes was particularly concerned about the timing of the decision.
“I think it’s interesting the congressional vote on the rescission bill came within a couple days of CBS announcing the end of the Late Show with Steven Colbert,” Robartes wrote. “He pointed out how the Trump Administration is using the courts to blackmail media outlets, in particular CBS, which needs government approval to merge with Sky Dance Corporation.”
“The zero-funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, coming at the same time as the decision to end the show of the nation’s highest-rated political satirist to facilitate a merger, seems like a nail in the coffin for legacy media and will likely impact the ability of journalists to tell the truth,” he wrote.
Robartes is adamant that KRFP and similar community radio stations will remain committed to honest journalism and are working for their main source of funding, their listeners.
“The decision to allow the merger of huge media corporations needs to be based on whether it will benefit the public, not on political concerns,” Robartes wrote.
With the Rescissions Act of 2025, the Trump Administration plans to reign in $9 billion in federal funding from foreign aid and public broadcasting allocations. Under this, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which is responsible for distributing funds to PBS TV affiliates and NPR radio stations, lost $1.1 billion in funding for the next two fiscal years.
These cuts will affect local stations and communities across all 50 states and territories, according to a statement by NPR’s President and CEO, Katherine Maher.
“Americans listen to their local NPR stations daily, watch their favorite PBS shows loyally, raise their children on educational television and listen to music stations that showcase the best of our home-grown music traditions,” Maher said. “[Public radio stations] have deep roots in their communities, an unflagging dedication to public service and a commitment to all listeners, regardless of background or belief.”
While many proponents of the defunding focused on the cuts to NPR and PBS, with Trump previously calling the two “left-wing propaganda,” these cuts will most greatly impact “where these services are needed most,” Maher said.
Public radio is essential for connecting rural communities to the rest of the nation and for issuing emergency broadcasts and weather alerts that save lives, according to Maher. “Nearly 3-in-4 Americans say they rely on their public radio stations for alerts and news for their public safety,” she said.
Julia Kolman can be reached at [email protected].