by Peter Weinberger

In an unprecedented move, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced last week it will shut down national operations this fall following the Trump administration’s $1.1 billion rescission of all federal funding for public broadcasting.

For millions of Americans — including tens of thousands of viewers and listeners in Claremont — the impact will be swift and dramatic. The CPB has been the central pipeline through which federal funds flow to NPR and PBS stations nationwide for nearly six decades. With that funding now gone, more than 1,500 local TV and radio stations face layoffs, programming cuts, and, in many cases, the threat of permanent closure.

“This isn’t just belt-tightening,” Andrew Russell, president of PBS SoCal said in a statement. “This is a broadcast extinction event.”

Claremont will feel impact

Residents of Claremont have long relied on PBS SoCal (KOCE) for educational television, documentaries, and public affairs programming, and on NPR affiliates LAist (89.3 FM) and KCRW (89.9 FM) for trusted news and cultural coverage. Those stations are now scrambling to fill the hole left by the loss of federal funds.

PBS SoCal, which reaches 18 million viewers across LA, Orange, and Inland counties, announced it will cancel all local content by October and begin laying off staff as early as next week. Children’s programming — including Sesame Street, Curious George, and Wild Kratts — will go dark unless emergency funding is secured.

Pasadena’s LAist has issued a public appeal to donors and warned it may reduce its newsroom by more than 30%, cut back on live talk shows, and end some regional reporting partnerships. San Bernardino’s KVCR, which serves the Inland Empire and eastern LA County, has already signaled it may shut down entirely without CPB support, which made up more than 40% of its annual budget.

KLCS, operated by LA Unified School District, has been an in-classroom educational tool for decades. The district is now weighing whether it can continue to support the station without federal dollars.

Claremont Unified School District, which incorporates PBS content into classroom learning and relies on KLCS for supplemental instruction, may also feel downstream effects — especially in K–5 education.

National blow to a local lifeline

Both PBS and NPR have served as noncommercial alternatives to increasingly partisan and ad-driven media. In Southern California — where local journalism has already seen deep cuts in print and radio — public broadcasting has remained a critical pillar of education, civic engagement, and emergency communication.

Now, the Rescissions Act of 2025 combined with an executive order targeting public media has zeroed out all remaining federal support, citing “wasteful government duplication” and “left-leaning ideological influence,” parroting an opinion popular with right-leaning voters and politicians long before Trump took office. So why has public broadcasting been given a death sentence after 55 years?

Public broadcasting’s fact-based reporting remains popular in rural communities where there are news deserts with little to no local news. It’s been especially popular during weather emergencies. Republicans say with the influx of media, and especially social media, coverage areas for emergencies are already covered.

The key question to ask is whether the public believes public broadcasting leans left in the political spectrum. Or, is their programming broad enough that politics — left or right — should be left out of the equation with catastrophic federal budget cuts looming?

PBS responded last week by confirming it will cease national operations by December. NPR has not yet made an announcement, but has warned its infrastructure — including satellite feeds, shared newsroom content, and member station support — is in immediate jeopardy.

Fragile future

Southern California is home to more than a dozen public broadcasting stations, more than any other region in the country. It is also among the most demographically diverse, with large multilingual audiences that rely on public media for:

• Wildfire and earthquake alerts.
• Free educational content for children without broadband access.
• In-depth statehouse and civic reporting.
• Cultural and arts coverage not carried by commercial networks.

The loss of PBS removes a trusted, free source of information for families who can’t afford cable or streaming services, and severs links many have to nonpartisan, factual programming. Public broadcasting is considered mainstream media, even though they operate primarily on federal dollars.

Public media without public money?

Some stations are racing to raise emergency funds. Others are calling on California lawmakers and philanthropic foundations to step in. LAist has seen increased public donations since the August 1 announcement from the Trump administration, but layoffs are still going forward as it assures the public it will remain in business.

But the scale of the annual loss — $1.1 billion nationally — may simply be too large for some to absorb. Since the percentage of federal dollars varies from organization to organization, some will feel the cuts deeper than others. That said, cuts are coming, the question is exactly how big they will be locally.

“We built a media system on the idea that public service was worth investing in,” KPCC host Larry Mantle said in a statement. “Now that promise is being broken.”

For Claremont residents, it means more than just losing a favorite program. It’s about losing a resource that informs, educates, and connects.