Majority of U.S. Voters Oppose Eliminating Federal Funding for Public Media as the Budget Rescission Deadline Nears
WASHINGTON, DC (July 14, 2025) – As the U.S. Senate prepares to vote on the Rescissions Act of 2025, that would cancel $1.1 billion in already approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a new national survey finds that U.S. voters place more trust in public media than media overall and hold a more favorable opinion of public media compared with for profit media.
According to the poll, conducted online by Peak Insights from June 29 to July 1 among 1,000 likely voters, voters highly value public media’s core services and programming such as emergency alerts (82 percent) children’s educational programming (66 percent), local programming (66 percent) and national news reporting (60 percent).
The survey reveals voters more widely trust public media compared with media in general when it comes to reporting the news “fully, accurately and fairly” – only 35 percent of voters trust media in general, but 53 percent of voters trust public media networks and local stations.
The survey also finds that 53 percent of U.S. voters oppose eliminating all federal funding for public media, compared with 44 percent in support.
“Public media is a trusted, vital part of American life, available free of charge and commercial free,” said Patricia Harrison, President and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. “It delivers early learning resources to families, life-saving emergency alerts to communities, and trusted local and national programming to keep citizens connected and informed.”
In addition, a majority of voters hold a favorable opinion of local public television and radio stations (65 percent favorable), PBS (61 percent favorable) and NPR (54 percent favorable) – while for profit media is widely unpopular (61 percent unfavorable).
The survey points to strong support for public media benefits:
- 68 percent believe public media serves as a lifeline for rural and underserved communities
- 66 percent believe public media provides quality educational programming for children
- 62 percent believe public media should remain available free of charge
The survey also found 64 percent of voters support appointing an independent ombudsman to ensure news and informational programming is fair, balanced, and free from political bias.
As steward of the federal appropriation for public media, CPB is committed to continually improving public media’s service to the American people including providing accurate, unbiased and nonpartisan news and information. Local public media stations are also committed to continual improvement through new technologies and services that strengthen civic engagement and ensure their content is relevant and reflective of local voices, needs and issues. Public media continues to fulfill a critical public service to communities across the nation.
“The path to a better, more trusted public media is only possible with continued federal support, which drives our commitment to serving the American public,” said Harrison. “Federal funding compels CPB to continually strengthen efforts to deepen trust and fulfill the mission envisioned by Congress through the content and services provided by local stations.”
About the Survey
This survey was conducted from June 29-July 1, 2025, by Peak Insights. A total of 1,000 interviews were conducted among a representative sample of likely voters nationwide, using text-to-online methodology. Potential sampling error is +/- 3 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.
About CPB
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation authorized by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,500 locally managed and operated public television and radio stations nationwide. CPB is also the largest single source of funding for research, technology and program development for public radio, television and related online services. For more information, visit www.cpb.org and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and subscribe for email updates.
