Schumer Goes to Bat for Public Broadcasting in New York

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling on his colleagues to block a federal rescission bill that would claw back $1.1 billion previously allocated to public radio and television stations nationwide. During a July 9 press conference, Schumer started by outlining his personal connections to public media, citing memories of watching Robert MacNeil on the original PBS News Hour. The Democrat believes the cuts would severely hurt rural parts of New York State that rely on public broadcasters as the only source of news.

“In many parts of rural Upstate New York, public broadcasting is the only source of news. Taking away this funding could blow a massive hole in the budgets of Upstate television and radio stations,” Schumer said.

According to the NYS Association for Public Broadcasting, 13 stations in Upstate NY receive funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and would therefore lose that money if the rescission bill were to pass. Of the 13 organizations, six would see six-figure or higher losses in funding, including Radio Catskill. Radio Catskill receives about 25% of its budget from CPB funding.

Schumer highlighted various effects that the cuts would have in different parts of the state, most notably how WAMC in Albany provides coverage on statewide legislation to other New York stations. He also mentioned how stations like North Country Public Radio and Buffalo Toronto Public Media are part of the national Emergency Alert System, vital for some rural areas that lack a strong commercial media presence.

After the bill passed narrowly in the House by a vote of 214-212 last month, Schumer is calling for Republicans to block the upcoming Senate vote, which would have to happen by July 18. Experts believe that Democrats would need four Republican Senators to flip the vote to “No.”

“Republicans must stop their plans to decimate funding for our television and radio stations,” Schumer said. “The cuts threaten the very existence of many of these stations and would devastate local communities in every corner of this state.”

Schumer and his fellow Democrats plan to hold the Senate floor at 4:30 p.m. today to protest the rescission package.

Radio Catskill is an affiliate station of NPR.

Story by Michael Loss/BTPM/New York Public Media

Image: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer held a press conference on Wednesday, July 9, to discuss how an upcoming Senate vote on a federal rescission package would affect public broadcasters in Upstate New York. (Credit: Mariam Zuhaib/AP)