Cutting public media funding would not impact our nation’s debt level. But it would leave Americans without consistent funding to one of the most reliable and widespread engines for distributing emergency information. In the St. Louis region especially, where tornados and severe storms are frequent, emergency alerts are vital. The storms move quickly, and up-to-date information is key, according to metrologist Scott Connell when he was interviewed on Living St. Louis earlier this year.
For just $1.40 a year, each American invests in the backbone infrastructure of emergency alerts, public safety, first responder, and homeland security services.
Lawmakers did not include funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in a spending bill proposed in July 2023. If the bill were passed, a 47-year-old bipartisan practice of funding an independent public media system would be disrupted.
Though public media is associated with popular television figures like Rick Steves or Daniel Tiger, a portion of the $535 million allocated to the CPB each year goes to vital public service announcements and emergency alerts. Public media funding represents less than one-hundredth of one percent of the federal budget. Federal funding for public media’s distribution system, Interconnection, is also on the chopping blocks. The system can function even when the internet and power systems are down. With its funding at risk, Americans risk reliable access to emergency alerts.
Save Reliable Access to Emergency Alerts
Many stations serve as their state’s principal Emergency Alert Service hub for weather and the AMBER Alert Program, according to CPB’s website. With the increasingly frequent natural disasters, public media collaborations like the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network are vital in distributing multimedia updates during hurricane season.
The 13-station cohort developed the Florida Storms app to provide free geotargeted information on evacuation routes, shelter details, and the current forecast. Through additional grant-funding from CPB, 63 public radio stations across 17 states that are vulnerable to hurricanes, tornados, and earthquakes received new software and training to provide text and graphic alerts to their region.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, public media stations reinvested in accessible emergency alerts. TPT NOW is the nation’s first 24/7 TV channel broadcasting emergency alerts in English, Spanish, Hmong, and Somali. The PBS station in Minneapolis also broadcasts continuous weather forecasts and alerts. Weather and COVID-19 alerts are not the only way TPT NOW protects Minnesotans. Last year, the program was recognized by the FBI for their ability to raise awareness about hate crimes with multilingual videos and graphics.
Part of public media’s mission is to ensure universal access to every American, no matter where they are or what language they speak. KYUK in Alaska exemplifies that with its emergency broadcasts in the Yup’ik language. There are less than 10,000 proficient speakers of the language but it is one of the only Alaska Native languages being spoken by children as a first language. KUCB, serving Unalaska and the Aleutian Islands, translates emergency alerts with and for the Qawalangin tribe.
Nine PBS's funding from CPB is a small slice of our overall funding, 85% of our total funding comes from our supporters in the St. Louis region. But a cut in national funding would be detrimental to stations that serve smaller, rural populations, like KUCB and KYUK.
Protect public media. If you’d like information about how to contact members of Congress to let them know where you stand, check out resources from Protect My Public Media.
Contributed by Molly Hart, Social Media Coordinator