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cover of episode NPR CEO Katherine Maher on GOP Attacks, Editorial Criticisms & Digital Evolution

NPR CEO Katherine Maher on GOP Attacks, Editorial Criticisms & Digital Evolution

2025/6/9
logo of podcast On with Kara Swisher

On with Kara Swisher
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Kara Swisher
卡拉·斯威舍是一位知名的媒体评论家和播客主持人，专注于科技和政治话题的深入分析。
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Katherine Maher
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Kara Swisher: NPR的CEO Katherine Maher正积极应对来自特朗普政府的资金威胁，包括撤资计划、FCC调查以及总统的行政命令。Maher的科技背景使她成为NPR在数字化转型中的合适人选，但她同时也面临着如何平衡传统媒体与未来发展的挑战。 Katherine Maher: 作为NPR的CEO，我正努力应对来自各方的挑战。特朗普政府试图通过撤回资金来对NPR施加政治压力，这与公共媒体是否应该获得联邦资助的政策讨论不同。联邦资金对于维持普遍的新闻服务至关重要，尤其是在农村和偏远地区。我们正在积极与国会沟通，并寻找提高效率和节省成本的机会，以维持服务水平。同时，我们提起诉讼是为了澄清我们第一修正案的权利，防止行政命令造成混淆和寒蝉效应。我坚信，捍卫第一修正案是NPR作为媒体组织的爱国责任。

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The episode begins by discussing the imminent threat of federal funding cuts to NPR and PBS. The potential loss of funding is substantial and would severely impact NPR member stations, especially those in rural areas, leading to job losses and reduced services.
  • House vote on rescissions package to strip funding from CPB.
  • Executive order from President Trump halting federal funding for NPR and PBS.
  • Potential loss of $120 million annually for public radio.
  • Impact on local journalism, coverage, and broadcast stations.
  • Importance of federal funding for universal access and service in rural areas.

Shownotes Transcript

For the past five decades, every Republican president except Gerald Ford has tried to cut funding for public media. But NPR and PBS have never dealt with a moment like this, where the Trump administration is attacking them from every possible angle. A recent executive order demanded the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (or CPB) and executive agencies halt all funding for NPR and PBS; the FCC is investigating their corporate underwriting; and this week, the House is expected to take up a rescissions package that would claw back federal funding for the CPB.

Katherine Maher, the CEO of NPR, is fighting back. On May 27th, NPR and three Colorado member stations filed a suit challenging the president’s executive order. (PBS followed suit a few days later.) Suing the president is, obviously, an uncomfortable position for a media organization which has to cover him. But according to Maher, NPR is doing its patriotic duty to defend the First Amendment.

Kara and Maher discuss the potential effects the defunding would have on NPR, its member stations, and the communities that it serves; criticisms aimed at NPR and Maher, from both conservatives, on one hand, and some journalists, on the other; and her approach to innovation at NPR.

Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.

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