October 6, 2025
Urging Funding and Support of Public Media
Whereas, public media is a system of independently managed and operated local public radio and television stations; and
Whereas, more than 1,200 public radio stations and 365 public television stations receive Community Service Grants (CSGs) from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in a way that does not affect a station’s ability to operate independently; and
Whereas, on July 18, 2025, by a vote of 216-213, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the U.S. Senate-amended Rescissions Act that eliminated all previously approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in Fiscal Years 2026 and 2027; and
Whereas, the vote defunds public media for the first time in our nation’s history; and
Whereas, stations can choose to become member stations of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which provides children’s programming, national news programs like PBS News Hour, educational and cultural programming, or National Public Radio (NPR) which broadcasts national news programs such as Morning Edition and All Things Considered; and
Whereas, even though National Public Radio (NPR) receives less than 2% of its funds from federal sources, federal funding makes up a greater share of member stations’ revenue – on average 8% to 10%; and
Whereas, a recent report by the University of Vermont’s Center for Community News found 88% of NPR stations provide opportunities for college students to cover their communities, representing 91% of the U.S. population; and
Whereas, students at these public media organizations serve rural, suburban and urban audiences, many in news deserts; and
Whereas, as part of their Professional Freedom and Responsibility, AEJMC members advocate for both free expression and public service.
Now, therefore, be it resolved that AEJMC and its membership reiterate its longstanding support for public media and urge members of the U.S. Congress to restore funding for public media; and
Be it further resolved that as the nation's largest organization of college journalism and mass communication educators, AEJMC and its members in their teaching use every opportunity to emphasize the funding sources and structures for public radio and television outlets; and
Finally, be it resolved that AEJMC through its Broadcast and Mobile Journalism Division and the Community Journalism Interest Group sponsor programming in upcoming annual conferences and regional meetings that spotlight the role and relevance of public media in 2025.
CONTACT:
Samantha Higgins, AEJMC Communications Director, 803-798-0271
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) is a nonprofit scholarly organization with more than 2,000 members in about 40 countries who teach and research journalism, public relations, advertising, digital media, film, and media literacy. Founded in 1912, AEJMC is the oldest and largest alliance of communication educators and administrators at the college level. AEJMC’s mission is to promote the highest possible standards for journalism and mass communication education, to encourage the broadest possible range of communication research, to promote the implementation of a multicultural society in the classroom and curriculum, and to defend and maintain freedom of communication in an effort to achieve better professional practice, a better-informed public, and wider human understanding.
AEJMC 2025 Resolutions