Growing up, NPR was always playing in the background of my life. 

Whether that be in the car on the way to school or in the kitchen while we ate breakfast as a family, public radio has been a constant presence. It’s my primary source of news and the reason I consider myself well-informed. I distinctly remember being in my father’s car one morning in 2016, learning that Donald Trump won his first term as president. I recall getting home from swim practice the day before my 12th birthday, my mother asking Alexa to play NPR, and her face astounded hearing about the January 6th attack on the capitol.

To this day, when I drive to school and make my breakfast in the morning, I still turn the radio on. Not only do I get to stay in the know about current events, but I am simultaneously comforted by the familiar sound.

On July 18, 2025, the House approved President Trump’s plan to cut $1.1 billion in federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), entirely eliminating federal support for NPR, PBS, and member stations. On January 5, 2026, CPB’s board of directors voted to disband. In the months following the explosive orders, PBS reduced its budget by 21% and NPR by $5 million. Although they are not immediately facing total shutdown, this does mean that associated properties may be. 

Rural and local stations have faced the harshest consequences. It’s been estimated that 245 public broadcasting grantees are now at risk of closure due to the cuts, many of which operate in remote areas and serve as vital methods of communication. In Kentucky, Kentucky Educational Television (KET) has laid off nearly a quarter of its staff and WKU Public Media nearly a third. 

Public media is a hugely important source of news, entertainment, culture, and information for individuals young and old across the country. I, along with many of my peers, were disturbed to learn about the careless slashing of its operations. Blue Snowden, a junior at Atherton High School in Louisville, Kentucky, says that he probably listens to NPR at least once a week. 

“It'll be on in the car a lot,” he said. “I have speech and debate practice every week, so usually I look at it if I'm doing research.” 

People all across the country rely on NPR as a reputable and trustworthy news source. With free, unbiased news becoming harder and harder to come by, it's essential that its stations are sustained. Literacy rates, both media related and otherwise, are continuing to fall, meaning it is now more urgent for our government to support accountable, reliable, and accessible sources of news and information than ever. It’s especially crucial for young people, who surveys show have lost trust in traditional media in recent years. Further, local public media provides information without a paywall, making it easier to access for youth.  

“I think that by cutting that, it could be very detrimental to the general public's education, but also just the general public's awareness of the world,” Snowden said. 

Cypress Feehan, a junior at J. Graham Brown School, stated that it is important for people to be aware of what’s going on, so that they can “be able to form their own opinions about it.” They added that public media allows for people to find their own voices and opinions in the issues that affect them. 

I have found so much value in public media throughout my life. People all around the country do, especially those who rely on it for emergency information and crucial news updates. NPR and its member stations provide listeners like me with what we need to stay informed, safe and entertained. When our government made the decision to end its decades-old funding agreement with the CPB, not only did they endanger the awareness of the American public, but they also endangered a daily ritual for millions. I consider myself lucky to have grown up with the radio on in the background — and I want our next generation of young people to have that privilege too.