Three days after National Public Radio and several affiliates sued the White House for retaliation, PBS and one of its affiliates filed another federal lawsuit with similar claims.
The network alleged that the White House had overstepped its authority and was engaging in “viewpoint discrimination.” Lakeland PBS joined the lawsuit, calling the president’s order to defund public media, and to claw-back funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, an existential threat. Lakeland serves rural areas in northern and central Minnesota.
The move comes as reports emerged that the White House is preparing its official request to Congress to rescind parts of the current budget. It’s not yet clear whether a claw-back of public media funding will be in that request. Congress reconvenes Tuesday, June 3.
The campaign over at Protect My Public Media is ready to move as soon as the impact on public media funding is known.
We’ve previously shared scripts for broadcast (see below.) The campaign recommends outlining for your listeners how the loss of federal funding would affect your station.
In addition, because of the nature of this specific threat, avoid linking it to funding appeals.
Protect Public Media: PSA scripts, part one
“Protect My Public Media Day” bought local radio some time. According to a report from the event’s organizers, Congress adopted a continuing resolution that only funds public media through September. Supporters made thousands of calls to Congress on March 6 and sent 102,000 emails—about one-third of 352,000 pieces of communication sent to Congress membe…
Protect Public Media: PSA scripts, part two
Last week, we published a batch of scripts prepared by the National Federation of Community Broadcasters for on-air fund drives or emails so that your community can hear from local voices how recent actions by the FCC and FEMA impact grass roots radio.
CORRECTIONS
In Around the Water Cooler Friday, May 30, we conflated two acronyms related to the technology being marketed as “next-gen” television. The story has been corrected, and you can find additional technical information on RECnet.
Also, both Peggy and Betty extend an apology to Tim Coco. We erred in editing his letter at the beginning of his last sentence. Tim wrote “Your.” Peggy changed it to “You’re” and then Betty added “(sic)” to indicate the editor (Betty) knew it was the wrong word but we were quoting the author, or so she thought. The error is my (Betty’s) responsibility as the editor of the substack. We sincerely apologize to Tim, and we pledge to do our job more thoroughly from here on.
This FCC Actions Alert is produced by the volunteers at the Community Media Assistance Project under the direction of CMAP Executive Director, Betty McArdle. We monitor many sources of information about the Federal Communications Commission, federal communications law, and community developments important to your station and your community. The information provided in this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial or legal advice. Always consult with a qualified professional before making any decisions based on the content herein. If you have a news tip, please email us at betty@c-map.org.
Communications Act of 1934, Sect. 326.
Nothing in this Act shall be understood or construed to give the Commission the power of censorship over the radio communications or signals transmitted by any radio station, and no regulation or condition shall be promulgated or fixed by the Commission which shall interfere with the right of free speech by means of radio communication.