The Colorado Sun originally published this story at 3:59 AM MST on Feb 4, 2025.
Public media leaders in Colorado expressed concern about the possible impact of a new federal investigation launched by the Trump administration.
Trump-appointed Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr sent a letter to the heads of National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service on Jan. 29 notifying them that the agency’s Enforcement Bureau is investigating the programming of their roughly 1,500 member stations for allegedly running commercial advertisements. The FCC does not regulate NPR or PBS, but does regulate the broadcasting licenses of individual stations that use public airwaves to transmit radio and television programming.
Federal law prohibits public media outlets from airing commercials that ask audiences to buy, sell, or lease products and services from for-profit businesses. Instead, these outlets air what’s known as corporate underwriting announcements. An underwriting announcement sounds like, “Support for this station is provided by …”
Each station also has its own rules guiding underwriting announcements. NPR prohibits sponsors from using “overly promotional language,” scripts that could be interpreted as endorsements, or “references to political candidates.” PBS prohibits sponsorships from including “comparative or superlative language” and discount offers or other pricing information.
In the letter, Carr said “it is possible” that NPR, PBS and their affiliate stations are airing commercials, but he did not provide specific examples. Carr included his personal opinion in the letter, stating that Congress should not send taxpayer dollars to NPR and PBS “given the changes in the media marketplace since the passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967.”
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia who leads the new House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, added some specifics in two letters she sent to PBS CEO Paula Kerger and NPR CEO Katherine Maher on Feb. 3.
Greene said PBS falsely characterized a gesture by Tesla CEO Elon Musk as a “fascist salute.” She also said NPR’s decision to not report on the Hunter Biden laptop story was evidence of bias.
Greene said in the letters that both news organizations “should provide reporting that serves the entire public, not just a narrow slice of like-minded individuals and ideological interest groups.”
The announcement also riled other members of the FCC. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said in a news release that the investigation gave him “serious concern.”
“Any attempt to intimidate these local media outlets is a threat to the free flow of information and the marketplace of ideas,” Starks said.
Underwriting is audited regularly
Public media leaders in Colorado told The Colorado Sun that they can do little right now since the investigation is still in its infancy. However, they expressed confidence that their sponsorship and underwriting practices meet federal guidelines.
Rocky Mountain PBS CEO Amanda Mountain told The Sun in an email that her outlet has not received any direct communication from the FCC about the investigation. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides funding for NPR and PBS, also conducts regular compliance audits. Mountain said audits of RMPBS have found no issues with its programming or corporate underwriting practices in the 70 years that the station has held a broadcast license.
“We are always standing by to engage appropriately to answer any questions they may have,” she added.
Stewart Vanderwilt, CEO of Colorado Public Radio, said CPR has not directly communicated with the FCC about the investigation, and no audits have found issues related to its programming or underwriting practices. He added that it remains unclear how the investigation will be implemented nationally or locally.
“There’s still a lot to unpack, but for now it’s public service as usual here at CPR,” Vanderwilt told The Sun.
Even if the investigation goes nowhere, Vanderwilt said there could be some impact on the local media ecosystem. Underwriting makes up about one-fifth of revenue for many public media stations. About 22% of CPR’s revenue comes from underwriting, according to its audited financial statements. Smaller stations like KUNC in Greeley or KAFM in Grand Junction earn between 20% and 25% of their revenue from underwriting, respectively.
Aspen Public Radio Executive Director Breeze Richardson said in an email that her station is working closely with NPR and other affiliates as the investigation progresses. She is confident that the station’s underwriting complied with federal regulations.
First Amendment attorney Steve Zansberg described the investigation as a threat to public media entities that critically cover the Trump administration. There also seem to be some First Amendment concerns about the government retaliating against those with whom the current administration disagrees, he added.
“This isn’t being done in isolation,” Zansberg said. “It’s part of a concerted, broad assault on the free press and I don’t suspect this will be the first and last. I think there’s much more of this to come.”
Trump frequently lashed out against the news outlets for what he described as unfair coverage of him during his first term. In 2017, Trump tweeted, “With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!”
Trump then told CBS 60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl in 2018 that he took these steps to “discredit you all and demean you all so when you write negative stories about me, no one will believe you.”
Trump has also repeatedly called for the federal government to stop funding public media. He repeated his threat to revoke the licenses of outlets he doesn’t like in 2024 when he posted on Truth Social, “CBS should lose its license, and it should be bid out to the Highest Bidder, as should all other Broadcast Licenses because they are just as corrupt as CBS — and maybe even WORSE!”
Project 2025, a 922-page document compiled by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, also calls on conservative leaders to “strip the CPB of taxpayer funding.” Trump tried to distance himself from Project 2025 on the campaign trail but has subsequently implemented many of the document’s policy recommendations. For example, he withdrew environmental rules on forever chemicals like PFAS, ended federal subsidies for electric vehicles, and limited aid to refugees. Trump also appointed Project 2025 authors including Carr, Russell Vought, John Ratcliffe, and Tom Homan to lead the federal agencies they criticized in the document.
“This investigation continues a dangerous pattern of weaponizing the FCC’s regulatory authority to advance partisan goals,” John Bergmayer, legal director at Public Knowledge, a national communications policy nonprofit, said in a news release. “Rather than focusing on legitimate oversight priorities, Chairman Carr appears intent on using his position to pressure broadcasters, whose political coverage he has been critical of.”
