Why Your Voice Matters for Public Media in the New Congress

By Cait Beroza |

Why Your Voice Matters for Public Media in the New Congress

The 119th Congress convened on January 3, 2025, bringing more than 70 newly elected Members, leadership changes, and new committee assignments. This marks the start of our critical effort to safeguard essential federal funding for public radio and TV stations – but your swift and decisive action is needed. Now is the time to urge Congress to continue investing in public media. Send a message to Congress now.

Early engagement with Members of Congress is vital to demonstrating the full force of the public’s support for this funding, especially as new threats emerge and a congressional funding deadline quickly approaches. Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 funding for government programs, including support for public media, expires on March 14. Congress must pass another stopgap funding bill or finalize its appropriations bills before that date to avoid a government shutdown.

The Power of Viewers and Listeners to Protect Public Media Funding

Federal funding for public media has been successfully protected for years because of viewers and listeners – like you – who consistently communicate its immense value to Congress. However, we’re facing multiple possible threats to funding over the next few months.

When countless constituents speak with a unified voice, Congress takes notice. By contacting our lawmakers, we can show Congress that most Americans support federal funding for public media. Together, our collective action can preserve this essential service for communities today and for future generations.

Why Public Media Funding Matters

Public media is not just another media outlet or channel – it’s a lifeline. More than 1,500 local public radio and televisions provide:

  • Geotargeted life-saving emergency alerts and warnings, ensuring they reach your cell phones and the airwaves when every second counts.
  • Safe, parent-approved educational content and local outreach to families, backed by 100+ studies, that help children make significant strides in literacy, math, and science.
  • Resources for job seekers and educators, equipping communities with tools to build stronger, brighter futures.
  • Facilitated community dialogues addressing local issues like the opioid crisis and youth mental health challenges.
  • Powerful local journalism and storytelling, delivering essential information and invaluable insights about our communities.
  • Cultural preservation, ensuring our unique local stories and histories are told.

These indispensable services offered by some of the last locally managed public media stations have unmatched reach – nearly 99% of the U.S. population – and strengthen communities in ways no other media can. Federal funding, amounting to about $1.60 per person annually, is essential to ensuring access to your local public media stations. Without it, your stations could face devastating cuts to valued programming, life-saving emergency communications, educational and public outreach services, or even closure – directly impacting the trusted, local resources you rely on every day.

Continued, robust federal funding is the only way to preserve this irreplaceable public service.

How You Act to Protect Public Media Funding

As the new Congress begins its work and considers funding for FY 2025, significant outreach from public media viewers, listeners, and supporters to Members of Congress will be vital to secure funding.

You have the power to make a difference! Send a quick message to your Members of Congress and let them know that you value and depend on your local public media stations. You can even customize your message to share your unique perspective. And spread the word – the more messages we can send to Congress, the better.

Stay informed about when and how to act by subscribing to our email list or following us on Instagram, X, or Facebook.

Thanks to the actions of numerous public media supporters, we’ve secured critical funding in the past. In this uncertain moment, we’re counting on everyone to boldly advocate for these essential investments in public media until they’re signed into law.