CPB revives $36 million NPR deal killed after Trump’s pressure : NPR

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting agreed Monday to honor a $36 million, multi-year contract with NPR that it terminated after pressure from the Trump White House.

The agreement resolves a lawsuit brought by NPR accusing the corporation of illegally complying with Trump's demands to financially punish the network for its news coverage. The argument, part of a broader lawsuit by NPR and several stations against the Trump administration, centered on CPB's funding of NPR's operation of a satellite distribution system for local public radio stations. On Monday, NPR announced it would waive all station fees associated with the satellite service.

The judge in the case explicitly told CPB's legal team that he did not find her defense credible. CPB's lawyers argued that the decision to award the contract to the new public media consortium was driven by a desire to promote digital innovation more quickly.

“The settlement is a victory for editorial independence and a step toward protecting the First Amendment rights of NPR and the public media system in our legal challenge [Trump's] Executive Order,” Catherine Maher, NPR President and CEO, says the statement. “While we entered into this dispute with CPB reluctantly, we are pleased to resolve it in a manner that allows us to continue to ensure the stability of the public radio satellite system, offer immediate and direct support to public radio stations across the country, and continue our strong and substantial claims against this unlawful and unconstitutional executive order. We look forward to our day in court in December.”

In its statement to the court on Monday evening, the CPB did not admit that it acted unlawfully or that it succumbed to political pressure from the administration.

Instead, in statement published on his websiteThe PBC said its side “prevails” in the settlement.

“This is an important moment for the media,” said Patricia Harrison, CPB president and CEO. “We are very pleased that this costly and unnecessary litigation has ended and that we are investing in the future through [Public Media Infrastructure] marks an exciting new era for public media.” CPB entered into a competing contract with PMI, a newly formed public radio consortium of several large stations, to ensure the proper functioning of the digital distribution system. This contract will continue, CPB said.

Federal subsidies for public broadcasting ended on October 1 due to the party's position. summer voting in Congresscalled a recession. Only the skeleton crew remains at the control centerwhich was created as a nonprofit corporation more than half a century ago to direct federal subsidies to public media. While PBS has seen layoffs and NPR has its finances under control, many local stations across the country have been hit hard.

During the trial this fall, mounting evidence emerged that CPB's board chairman and executives acted against NPR in what turned out to be a futile attempt to save the corporation's own future.

At a hearing last month in Washington, U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss told CPB's legal team that they did not provide convincing evidence why the corporation backed out of the contract just a day after a senior White House official warned senior PBC executives against doing business with NPR. The trial was scheduled to begin on December 1.

CPB's change of heart—and NPR's subsequent lawsuit—has caused confusion and anxiety in the broader public media ecosystem. The two organizations have been partners for decades. But that relationship soured earlier this year when the system came under attack by the Trump administration.

Trump's public campaign against NPR and PBS began in earnest shortly after his return to the White House. Trump gave it momentum in late March with a series of social media posts.

In early April, CPB leaders tried to get money before Trump took action against state media. On April 2, the CPB board approved a contract extension with NPR to distribute public radio programs, including those not produced by NPR. The agreement lasted four decades. This amount includes millions still owed under the then-current contract.

The next day, CPB's board chairman and two top executives met with a senior White House budget official, who reiterated his “strong dislike of NPR.” The budget official told them that CPB was not required to do this.throw out the child along with the bath“,” according to testimony from CPB chief Clayton Barsoum presented as part of NPR's legal filings.

And the next day—just 48 hours after the board voted—CPB reversed its decision. CPB executive director Kathy Merritt told NPR's top satellite and distribution official that it needed to be spun off: it couldn't be part of NPR. NPR refused to do so. CPB reviewed the scope of the contract and solicited new bids. The NPR pitch was unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, the White House ratcheted up the pressure. He accused NPR and PBS of bias. For example, on April 14 it released official statement they called their proposals “radical, woke propaganda disguised as “news.” Executives at NPR and PBS rejected accusations of bias.

On May 1, Trump issued an executive order that no federal money should go to the two public broadcasting networks. NPR and Colorado's three public radio stations then filed a lawsuit against the White Housesaying they were wrongfully punished because the president didn't like their news coverage. They argued that the order constituted a violation of First Amendment protections. Their lawsuit also names the CPB as a defendant because, in their opinion, it is subject to the will of the president. In a statement Monday, CPB agreed that the order was exactly the kind of government interference that Congress sought to prevent in creating the CPB.

Over the summer, Republican leaders in the US Congress, at Trump's insistence, withdrew all $1.1 billion for future public broadcasting, which had already been approved and signed by the president.

Throughout the legal battle, NPR has said that regardless of the outcome of the case, it will work with the public media infrastructure.

NPR's broader constitutional case against Trump's executive order banning federal funding for public media continues. A substantive hearing is scheduled for December.

Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR's David Folkenflik. It was edited by deputy business editor Emily Kopp and managing editors Gerry Holmes and Vicki Walton-James. Per NPR's protocol for self-reporting, no NPR corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was published publicly.