This month we issued our opening ClassACTion Alert, the first of our ongoing alerts about the unfolding threats to the press as well as the ways that we all can stand up for this essential freedom.

We hope to protect National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Services from the proposed elimination of federal funding now before Congress. Losing that money – approximately $535 million last year – would expand the “news desert” across all 50 states. In many rural communities without broadband or cell phone service, radio is the only source of news. The Department of Education abruptly cancelled the grant for PBS’s Ready to Learn programming. This loss of federal funds directly affects the Emmy- award-winning PBS children’s shows that have prepared generations of American children for elementary school.

The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 gave birth to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS, and NPR. Over the past 11 Presidential terms, representing both Democratic and Republican presidents, the now 1350 PBS and NPR stations have provided equal and free access to educational, cultural, news and children’s programming to each and every viewer and listener. PBS and NPR are non-profit membership organizations. Each station is independently owned and operated, and makes national and local programming decisions that best serve their local audiences.

We are asking you to contact your representative and senator in Washington ASAP to ask them to vote against this proposal to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the nonprofit that allocates federal funds to NPR and PBS stations in both red and blue states across the nation.

Here is a link to the telephone numbers of the House of Representative members.

Here is a link to the phone numbers of all one hundred U.S. Senators.