NPR CEO discusses suing Trump administration over order targeting funding.
This transcript segment is from the Public Broadcast Service News Hour.
Geoff Bennett serves as co-anchor and co-managing editor of PBS News Hour. He also serves as an NBC News and MSNBC political contributor.
These are the closing statements in a PBS News Hour story of 5-17-25, titled: NPR CEO discusses suing Trump administration over order targeting funding.
Katherine Maher is the president and CEO of National Public Radio.
Geoff Bennett:
So, in your view, there is a public right and a democratic imperative to government-funded journalism and media?
- Katherine Maher:
I believe that there is a clear democratic imperative.
We know that when communities lack local media, when they lack access to a broadcaster or an outlet, you see higher rates of polarization, lower rates of civic engagement, lower rates of voter turnout. Where you have local media, there is higher confidence and trust in democratic institutions and less suspicion of one another as citizens.
So, as we talk about the fractures in the nation, part of what allows us to be in conversation with each other is not necessarily national news, but really starting at the basics, the local conversations that matter to our communities, and that’s what public media serves and does.
The full interview link is here: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/npr-ceo-discusses-suing-trump-administration-over-order-targeting-funding