By Paul Bean
Federal budget cuts could remove up to $2 million of Vermont Public’s annual budget, threatening the operations of the partially publicly funded media group, including Vermont Public Radio and Vermont PBS.
Last night, the Trump administration sent out a press release signaling they might pursue those cuts, writing: “For years, American taxpayers have been on the hook for subsidizing National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.’” For more info on the press release check out VDC’s coverage from earlier today (4/15).
About $2 million (10%) of Vermont Public’s annual budget comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The CPB, is an independent nonprofit created by Congress in 1967 to fund public broadcasting and ensure access to high-quality, commercial-free content.
According to a February 2025 article on Vermont Public, losing this 10% could mean cuts to local journalism or educational programs, with rural stations hit hardest. The article also said CPB’s funding is set two years ahead via the federal budget’s annual appropriations process to shield it from political influence, with a current allocation exceeding $500 million.
“Even though member and local business support makes up the bulk of Vermont Public’s funding, federal funding — which costs an average of $1.60 per American per year — makes public media as you currently know it possible,” wrote Vermont Public in an article on March 26.
Using Grok AI to crunch Nationwide CPB financial information, data from 2023 suggests public radio stations rely on federal funds for about 6% of their budget on average, and public TV stations for about 17%. Applying this to Vermont Public, if their budget is, say, $10 million (a rough estimate based on similar stations), a 10% cut could mean a loss of $1 million annually. Smaller stations, like those in rural Vermont, could face up to 25% revenue loss if CPB funds vanish entirely, risking closures.
Potential cuts to the NPR/PBS comes at a time when Vermont is struggling financially amidst waves of federal cuts across many facets of government.
State-funding and potential maneuvers to make up for those cut seems unlikely. VTDigger reported late last month: “the state’s ‘rainy day’ fund has just shy of $100 million in it today. Some state agencies have already reported losing federal funds, or learned that appropriations they’ve been expecting to receive are under review, including money to support vaccine programs, electric vehicle infrastructure, forestry projects and resources for local libraries.”
Vermont Public also reported on April 2 “House lawmakers approved a state budget–but it relies on federal funds that could be cut,” pointing out that a federal budget reconciliation vote around Memorial Day could significantly alter state funding, potentially affecting public media. “It’s possible the Legislature might opt to reprise the approach they took to the fiscal uncertainty at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when lawmakers passed a six-month state budget, and then reconvened in September to finalize spending for the remainder of the fiscal year,” wrote Peter Hirschfeld.
Despite these discussions and potential cuts, no specific announcements have been found regarding direct budget cuts to Vermont Public for 2025 and beyond. The $2 million figure from CPB funding remains the most recent and reliable estimate, based on Vermont Public’s own reporting.