Update 6/3/2025:
Dear supporters of WDIY,
Earlier today, President Trump took another step to eliminate funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) for Fiscal Year 2026 and 2027 through a “rescission request” that was sent to Congress. This would claw back $1.1 billion that was already appropriated for the CPB for the next two years. Congress will have 45 days to vote, although we expect the vote will come much quicker than that. It will then go to Senate for a majority vote. This would be a major blow for WDIY and all public radio stations.
Contrary to reports, there is no federal funding earmark for NPR or PBS programming. The CPB receives around $106 million — $9.58 million for radio and $96.78 million for TV — in annual funding that is set aside for public media program producers. If either PBS or NPR want to access this funding, they must apply to CPB in a competitive grant application process. This is also how WDIY accesses funding from the CPB. Therefore, this clawback would directly and immediately impact local public radio stations like ours.
This is the fourth hit that this administration has taken against public media. Trump previously sought to take control of CPB's board by ordering the firing of three of its five members. This is being challenged in court.
Trump signed an executive order in May titled Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media. The order instructs the CPB to prohibit both direct and indirect federal funding to NPR and PBS. This is not legally binding unless Congress acts on it.
Also, in May, Congress voted on the budget that would eliminate federal funding for public media starting in Fiscal Year ’28, so as of today, Fiscal Year 26-28 funding is at risk.
Bipartisan support for public broadcasting has been in place for 50 years and now the margin is very, very slim so we have reached a critical time in this fight.
The time for action is NOW
This is the moment that we all need to rise to the occasion. If you support public radio, if
you listen to WDIY 88.1 FM, if you listen to our 30+ community-created podcasts, or listen to the eclectic array of music – now is the time for action. We can’t save it without you.
Please go to Protect My Public Media and follow the prompts to take action. The most important, valuable thing you can do is call Congress and Senate. Calls are the most effective means of action. Call every day. Scripts are provided on the website.
We will also be reaching out with additional ways to support. If you’d like to learn more about these actions, visit https://www.npr.org/2025/06/03/g-s1-70346/congress-can-save-local-public-media.
WDIY has served your community for three decades, through changing technologies and political climates alike. These funding threats to public media's ability to operate present real challenges, but our commitment to providing you with trusted local content and experiences, opportunities for lifelong learning, and deep community connections is unwavering. We will continue to stand with—and report to—the people of the Greater Lehigh Valley ensuring that everyone is seen, heard, valued, and informed.
What the Executive Order does—and doesn’t—attempt to do:
It targets federal dollars only. Private donations, foundation grants, underwriting, and member support continue to be the foundation of WDIY’s near and long-term sustainability. (This means YOU are valued and needed!)
· It leaves public media's overall congressional appropriation unchanged—at least for now. How any federal funds are reallocated after removing NPR and PBS is not yet defined but is sure to have significant impacts on WDIY and all local public media organizations who rely on these national-to-local partnerships to provide some of the content you know and love.
· It does not close local public media stations. However, because most stations, including ours, rely on federal funding through Community Service Grants to pay for infrastructure, emergency‐alert services, and local journalism, the financial ripple effects could be significant, especially for smaller stations who serve more rural communities.
How federal support fits into WDIY’s budget:
Federal dollars flow to WDIY through an annual grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) that underpins our regional broadcasting infrastructure supporting the emergency alert system, local news coverage, and community affairs programming. Those grants account for about 15 percent of our annual operating budget, or roughly $100,000 each year – 15% of our budget. The remaining 85% of our funding comes from members, foundations, and business underwriting.
However, the CPB oversees and pays for multiple music licensing agreements on behalf of public radio stations who could never negotiate that on our own. 75% of our content on air is music. Without the licensing agreements, we can’t play any music.
Our mission and broadcast model remain steadfast:
These actions do not change our purpose: to nurture and protect the Greater Lehigh Valley’s public square—a space where people from diverse backgrounds come together through the exchange of news, music, arts, and culturally rich content. Everything we do is rooted in our commitment to building a community where everyone feels seen and heard. We live out our core values by building cultural bridges, elevating diverse perspectives, training broadcast and production volunteers (including youth), and sharing power with the communities we serve to operate this community-owned and driven local station that our residents advocated for 40 years ago. This station was built by this community and for the last 30 years that we’ve been on air, community volunteers have been the heart of our station, hosting and producing music and podcasts. We couldn’t do this work without them—they are, without a doubt, the backbone of WDIY.
What happens next?
1. Continued Assessment, Planning and Legal Challenges – We are working with CPB, PBS, NPR, Protect My Public Media, and our fellow public radio stations across the country to plan for the future of public media and to protect our essential service to this community without disruption.
2. Advocacy – WDIY will continue working to protect the strong bipartisan support that exists for public media and will keep the Greater Lehigh Valley’s congressional delegation informed about how potential cuts would most affect our community.
3. Transparency – As soon as we have clarity on any legal challenges to or enforcement of the executive order, we will share major updates on our website and through ongoing email communication. As you likely know, the actions coming out of DC are fluid and can change daily. We pledge not to overwhelm you with information, but to ensure you have substantive updates along the way as things unfold.
4. Diversifying revenue – We have accelerated initiatives to grow membership and increase community philanthropy, business partnerships, and sponsorship so that critical services never hinge on a single funding source.
Most importantly, please take action on our behalf
- Stay informed. Bookmark our page for running updates and background context.
- Make your voice heard. Visit Protect My Public Media to share your story.
Update 5/20/2025:
