tax reform so we can have a good budget for the whole
state of Wisconsin. >> The Trump administration
issued an executive order last week directing the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting to halt direct
funding of PBS and NPR, PBS Wisconsin is a member
station of PBS, the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting is not a federal agency under control
of the administration. Instead, it's a private
organization created and funded by Congress. Congress
has appropriated $535 million for the CPB. Much of
that funding flows down to member stations across the
country. Approximately 10% of our budget at PBS
Wisconsin comes from that funding. The leadership at
PBS and NPR have vowed to fight this order in court,
calling it illegal. The Trump administration has
also said it plans to introduce a rescission
packaging Congress, a method to eliminate congressionally
authorized spending. It's been reported that package
would include future funding for the CPB. Those are the
facts we've been asked by our viewers what the cuts
would mean to PBS Wisconsin, and for that, we wanted you
to hear directly from our leadership team. So I spoke
with Jordan Siegler, executive director of
Wisconsin Public Media. >> At the federal level. A
lot of these cuts are are at this point, they're ideas,
and they certainly do threaten aspects of our
funding. But everything is speculative. This is perhaps
the biggest threat to public media funding that we're
facing currently, at least in recent memory. However,
the system is very strong. Our message is very strong.
Our service to the state and to this nation is proven.
And so right now we're really focused on telling
our story of impact. Of course, we're paying
attention to the threats that we face, but we're
really focused on serving our audiences through
through our education services, through community
connections, and through local content that reflect
the state and the priorities the state and the priorities