A coalition of liberal philanthropic organizations has pledged a combined $50 million to help rescue local NPR and PBS stations facing financial crisis due to recent federal funding cuts, the Washington Free Beacon reports. The initiative comes after Congress approved President Donald Trump’s rescission bill, which will cut approximately $500 million in federal funding to public broadcasting over the next two years. The networks have long been criticized for left-leaning bias in their programs, despite receiving federal funding for decades, including about $535 million in the current fiscal year.
Philanthropic leaders, including the Knight Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Schmidt Family Foundation, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, are mobilizing emergency funds through what is being called the Public Media Bridge Fund. The Knight Foundation alone has reportedly committed $10 million toward this effort, which aims to distribute aid before the year’s end. The MacArthur Foundation is also making a separate $10 million contribution to bolster the sector.
According to the Free Beacon, “many of the philanthropic groups pledging support have come under fire for bankrolling controversial left-wing causes over the years. The Knight Foundation, for example, is a major backer of liberal media watchdog NewsGuard. The foundation also donated $5 million to establish a journalism chair at Howard University filled by Nikole Hannah-Jones, the creator of the Times’s widely criticized 1619 Project. The Ford Foundation, which has given more than $2 million to Chinese universities, also donated to the chair.”
The MacArthur Foundation also reportedly “provided a $625,000 grant in 2021 to activist Ibram X. Kendi, who has argued that race-blind policies are racist and that the United States is an inherently racist country.”
Additionally, the Free Beacon reports that “both the MacArthur and Ford Foundations have also donated millions to HistoryMakers, a nonprofit where Elias Rodriguez, the anti-Israel activist accused of murdering two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C., worked until 2024.”
Leaders of this philanthropic effort are urging rapid action, noting that public media serves a vital role in many communities. However, they acknowledge this support cannot replace consistent federal funding indefinitely.
