Stephen Colbert backs public media groups amid federal budget cuts

The public media is rushing to prepare for a future without Washington’s help.

In the wake of the Trump administration’s more than $1.1 billion in cuts to public broadcasters, New York Public Radio has turned to private donors to fill the gap. The organization raised $1.7 million Tuesday night at the Stand With Public Media gala, honoring “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert and his wife, Evelyn McGee Colbert, for their continued fight for freedom of expression. Colbert says he hopes this erosion of federal support doesn’t continue under future administrations.

“I have no idea if this will continue in the future, and I hope it doesn’t,” Colbert said Variety inside the gala. “So many people appreciate what public media can offer them. In many communities across the United States, public radio is the only local news because local newspapers have failed. It gives people a sense of community, lets them know what’s happening in and around where they live. And so it’s really critical that these stations continue to exist.”

But organizations like New York Public Radio have no choice but to prepare for a scenario in which federal appropriations may never return, according to president and CEO LaFontaine Oliver.

“We have to look for new sources of income,” Oliver explains. “We need to connect with our communities and audiences in different ways. It means we’re looking to institutional funders and philanthropists who can ideally go the extra mile. We’ll be looking for ways to monetize the content we produce. This is a time of reinvention for our system. And that spirit of reinvention will serve us well even if federal funding comes back somehow.”

In some parts of the country, the withdrawal of federal aid has become urgent. Local leaders in Alaska have described the loss of public media funding as “a matter of life and death.” In dozens of remote communities with limited roads and broadband internet access, public radio is often the only channel for emergency warnings and rapidly changing weather conditions. Owners of stations in Alaska warn that they could lose 40% to 90% of their funding, and that without backup sources of income they risk disappearing into thin air.

At the same time, if confidence in national and local news is declining, surveys show Americans view public media more favorably and credible compared to commercial media.

“I think people in the public media are telling us the facts,” McGee Colbert said. “It is now very difficult to go to places that are unbiased, independent and based purely on facts.”

Colbert and McGee Colbert, who call themselves public radio loyalists, say they get most of their news from WNYC. “And because it’s commercial-free news,” Colbert explained, “you get a longer exploration of the story.” You could spend 20 or 30 minutes on a story instead of seven minutes. That would take a long time on cable news. And I can also cook while I’m at it. I don’t have to look at anything.”

Colbert’s appreciation for independent reporting comes at a complicated time for his own relationship with broadcast television. CBS labeled the sudden cancellation of its late-night show a “financial decision,” but several prominent media voices and organizations — including the Writers Guild of America — have questioned whether the move was related to Colbert’s criticism of Paramount’s $16 million “60 Minutes” settlement with President Donald Trump. Earlier this month, Colbert said it was “reasonable to think” that the cancellation of his show was a politically motivated decision, but that it was not “fruitful” for him to “participate in that speculation.”