It was just past 2 a.m. when Congress passed legislation late last week to claw back more than $1 billion in federal funds from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps financially support public radio and television programming nationwide.

Craig Swagler, CEO of Baltimore Public Media, stayed up into the early morning hours, watching as legislators in the House and Senate debated cuts to vital funds for his industry. Swagler said he felt disappointed and — in an odd way — relieved as the bill narrowly passed.

“Disappointment in the sense that public broadcasting has been core to America and a core tenant of public service and access to information across the nation, and the role that Congress has had in funding that,” he said. “Relief in the sense that we have some understanding of where we now need to go, as this has been a very long process playing out for a period of time.”

The November election of President Donald Trump — not a fan of the media, especially publicly funded media — essentially put the Corporation for Public Broadcasting on notice.

And public media became an official target when Trump signed an executive order in May calling the federal government’s support for public news media “outdated,” “unnecessary” and “corrosive.”

National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service have been at the forefront of the battle to preserve funding for their organizations, facing unspecified accusations of bias from Trump and many Republicans.

But the decision to defund public media has a trickle-down effect on local radio and television operators, leaving multimillion-dollar gaps in their budgets and putting emergency alert systems at risk.

Congress had previously funded the CPB, and therefore public broadcasting, through September 2027, but the passage of the Rescissions Act of 2025 after midnight on Friday rips those dollars away.

About 6% of Baltimore Public Media’s budget, or $600,000 annually, comes from the CPB. That money is used to serve Baltimore’s WYPR, Fredrick’s WYPF, Ocean City’s WYPO and Towson’s WTMD.

The move last week by Trump and Congress eliminates federal funding in 2026 and 2027 — and Baltimore Public Media is preparing for an overall hit of around $2.5 million over the four years of Trump’s term.

As a result, the organization foresees impacts on its live events, community engagement efforts and programs.

Despite the disappointing news, Swagler said he has “a lot of confidence that we will be fine.”

As public radio diehards already know, one financing pathway involves on-air fund drives, and a lot of them.

Swagler told The Banner in May that Baltimore Public Media had the funding it needed to ensure no disruptions to its programming and staff for at least the next year. He said this week that that’s still the case.

But, in anticipating a Trump-inflicted budget hole, Baltimore Public Media in February launched its “Fortifying The Future” fundraising campaign. The organization has so far raised about $1.3 million, according to Swagler.

Maryland Public Television, headquartered in Baltimore County’s Owings Mills, is facing the loss of $4 million each year, MPT President and CEO Steven J. Schupak, said in a statement.

Schupak became the leader of the station earlier this month, following his predecessor’s planned retirement just days before the vote in Congress.

“This is devastating news to communities across the country who count on the services of their public TV stations,” the statement reads.

How viewers will feel the loss of funding is still being evaluated. MPT said it is seeking alternative sources of money while taking cost-cutting measures.

“It will, unfortunately, require adjustments to our delivery of educational services, reductions in Maryland-focused TV programs, fewer community engagement activities across the state, and possible impacts to our public safety and emergency communications services,” Schupak’s statement continues.

The Rescissions Act is also impacting NPR affiliates such as Morgan State University’s WEAA.

WEAA is celebrating its 50th anniversary in two years, but “sticking around for another 50 years won’t be easy,” said Jaqueline Jones, dean of Morgan State’s School of Global Journalism and Communication.

“After some major adjustments in the past few years by the station to programming and to personnel, we’re looking at the possibility of having to make significant changes yet again,” Jones’ statement reads. “Our listeners have held steady with us, but we know frequent change can also be destabilizing.”

WEAA has not said what it expects to lose from the federal cuts.

The station has seen strong financial support from donors so far this year, Jones said, including from corporate partners, “even as some of those same corporate partners face cuts on the federal level themselves.”

Public radio stations’ ability to play some of the nation’s favorite tunes is also at risk, Swagler said. The CPB bargains on behalf of public radio for the licensing to play songs over the radio waves.

Americans have conflicting feelings about supporting NPR, PBS and public broadcasting through government spending.

A March survey from the Pew Research Center found that 43% of Americans said NPR and PBS should continue to receive funding, but 33% were not sure. Republicans were significantly less supportive of keeping the funding.

But a July Harris Poll, on behalf of NPR, found that 66% of Americans supported federal funding for public radio and that it was a good value for taxpayer dollars. Republicans and Democrats strongly agreed that public radio was a valuable service for their communities, and rely on its emergency alerts and news for public safety.

“There’s a lot of data that speaks contrary to the action we saw taken — an extreme action that rips away already appropriated funding," Swagler said. “And so I don’t believe the story is 100% done.”

The Baltimore Banner is a media partner with WYPR.