Read at LWVWA
website.
The administration’s elimination of federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting obviously delivers a painful blow to public radio and television broadcasting. But the rescission package that claws back $1 billion for NPR, PBS and other public broadcasters, will also impact the news industry as a whole.
“The loss of federal funding for public broadcasting is a setback for everyone who values strong local journalism,” said Ben Campbell, co-owner and publisher of The Columbian in Vancouver.
Campbell, who and his brother Will are the fifth generation of the family to own the more than 100-year-old daily, explained: “A healthy news ecosystem depends on multiple voices, and when one is weakened, the entire community loses coverage, accountability and the depth of reporting that an informed democracy requires.”
The League position on Local News and Democracy aligns with Campbell’s observation. The
position states “credible and ethical local journalism, in whatever format it is published, is
essential to our democracy.”
Adopted in 2023 at the state level and in 2024 at the national level, the position establishes “it is the responsibility of the government to provide support for conditions under which credible local journalism can survive and thrive.”
Ron Judd, executive editor of the Cascadia Daily News in Bellingham, said the elimination of
funding for public broadcasting will have a downstream effect on publications that are not
funded by the federal government.
“News organizations watch what other news organizations do and the competition makes a
difference,” Judd said. Without competition by publicly funded outlets like KUOW, KNKX,
Northwest Public Radio and OPB, other outlets might not be as responsible and attentive in
their reporting, he explained.
Meanwhile, Teresa Wippel, president and chief executive officer of the non-profit My
Neighborhood News Network, said the elimination of federal support sends the wrong
message to the public at large. “It sends a message that publicly funded media carries a bias
and therefore doesn’t deserve public funds,” she said. “That’s as opposed to viewing journalism as an essential public service integral to our democracy.” That, she said, is in opposition to viewing journalism as a public service key to our democracy.