Juliana Allely still remembers listening to the radio as a little girl in her mother’s Oldsmobile.
Though her family moved around a bit growing up — Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York — Allely’s mother always found the NPR station to make sure they were connected so they’d know what was happening in the community and to stay in touch with the world.
Now the president and general manager of KPCW, Allely recognizes just how important public media is. KPCW Radio was founded on July 2, 1980, by Blair Feulner.
“I loved ‘Sesame Street’ and ‘The Electric Company’ … when I was little, too, but it was definitely NPR in my household,” she said.
The federal government contributes about $1.60 per American taxpayer each year to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which then invests the money into programming produced by National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). This includes shows such as NPR’s “Morning Edition” and “Tiny Desk Radio”, PBS’ “Frontline” and “Antiques Roadshow” series, plus locally produced content like KPCW’s “Local News Hour” and emergency alerts.
“The value that child or listener is going to get from the content is way more valuable than $1.60,” Allely said.
Yet an executive order signed by President Trump earlier this month puts NPR and its member stations as well as PBS at risk.
The executive order seeks to prohibit the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private, nonprofit corporation established by Congress in 1967, from using previously appropriated funding for NPR and PBS. It also applies to direct and indirect spending by stations like KPCW carrying the programming.
The federal government contributes $535 million annually in appropriations to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. That’s less than 0.01% of the $6.9 trillion federal budget.
KPCW received around $264,000 from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 2025, which represents about 14% of its annual budget. The radio station is also scheduled to receive that amount for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
However, the current administration wants to rescind the appropriations now and in the future. More than 1,500 stations across the country — including KPCW — would be affected.
“CPB is forward-funded by two years to protect public media from any sort of political influence. So, that’s why (member stations are) all just scratching our heads here,” Alley explained.
She said the Corporation for Public Broadcasting does not create the content, but rather acts as a funding mechanism for non-commercial programming, telecommunications services and emergency alerts. The disseminated funds can also pay for infrastructure, music, licensing rights and professional development programs.
A primary goal of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is to promote an educated, informed and inclusive civil society by sharing local, regional, national and international fact-based news and educational programming.
“We’re trying to provide material to the country, the nation, without any kind of bias, without any kind of influence,” Allely said.
The executive order, signed May 1, said that, unlike when the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was established, the media landscape today is filled with “abundant, diverse, and innovative news options.” Government funding of news media was characterized as outdated and unnecessary. It was also critical of NPR and PBS, saying neither organization presents a fair, accurate or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpayers regardless of the viewpoints the stations promote.
KPCW News Director Ashton Edwards emphasized that while the radio station provides live news via radio broadcast and online, there are also weather and traffic updates as well as emergency alerts for storms, fires and more, as well as bilingual reporting, that are “tremendously beneficial” to the listener.
Federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting also supports KPCW’s public affairs programming, including “Mountain Money,” “This Green Earth,” “Lost & Found,” and “The Community Campfire,” as well as all the music played. Allely said those programs were created based on interests and community needs across Summit and Wasatch counties.
About 25% of the $264,000 KPCW receives is restricted to national programming such as NPR and the BBC. The rest is used for public media, programming, arts and education. Salaries are the biggest line item for KPCW, which employs 19 full-time staff, including reporters and producers.
“Whatever the community says is important, we try to make that a priority,” Edwards said. “That’s why this funding cut is extremely concerning, because to continue to offer the services that the community has told us are important, we’ll have to look at some of those and determine what the priorities have to be if we lose that funding.”
So far, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has opted to ignore the executive order, saying there is no legal validity.
President and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Patricia Harrison said in a statement the day after the order was signed that Congress directly authorized and funded the private nonprofit corporation “wholly independent of the federal government,” and it is therefore not subject to the president’s authority.
“In creating CPB, Congress expressly forbade ‘any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over educational television or radio broadcasting, or over [CPB] or any of its grantees or contractors…’ 47 U.S.C. § 398(c).” the statement said.
KPCW is financially sound right now, but it would have to ask the community for help making up what it lost if the executive order stands. Donor support makes up about 60% of the budget.
Allely said the radio station would look at other grant opportunities related to news organizations. She’s looking at budgeting now and has been relying on a flow chart of possibilities to determine potential avenues.
There likely wouldn’t be dramatic cuts for the next couple of years if public media is defunded, according to Allely. However, the money for the next two years has already been planned and allocated.
NPR reported that the White House intends to request that Congress rescind the funding for the Corporation for Public Media, which would require a vote within a 45-day window to approve the funding cuts or allow the money to be restored. Legal action surrounding the executive order is also expected.
“What the White House and Washington seem to be attacking is journalism. No matter whether it’s Town Lift, KPCW or The Park Record, it’s just tragic that they feel the need to attack like that,” Allely said.
Community members concerned about the proposed rescission are encouraged to contact their congressional representatives. Visit www.protectmypublicmedia.org to send an email and access more resources.