Hi team,

This week, the U.S. Senate will vote on President Trump’s request to slash $1 billion in funding to public broadcasters NPR and PBS.

If you believe, like I do, that a free, fair, and independent press is a fundamental core of our democracy, please add your name to our petition calling on the Senate to PROTECT funding for NPR and PBS.

News outlets like NPR and PBS are highly-regarded public broadcast organizations with rigorous journalistic standards that emphasize accuracy, fairness, and independence. President Trump wants to undermine these bastions of free press to silence the truth, rather than face the facts.

President Trump’s proposed cuts would be catastrophic for local stations, particularly those in rural areas. In Colorado alone, nearly two dozen news stations would be at risk of losing funding, jeopardizing operations for stations like Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountains PBS, KOTO in Telluride, KSUT in Ignacio, KHEN in Salida—just to name a few.

As your Senator, I vehemently oppose these cuts, and I could use your help in this fight. Would you add your name to my petition telling the U.S. Senate to protect funding for public broadcasting networks?

This fight is personal for me. From 1983 to 1993, my father, Doug Bennet, led NPR as Ronald Reagan, the last Republican president to defund and undermine it, launched his attacks on public broadcasting. My dad was hired to manage the aftermath, and through his steadfast belief in accurate and accessible news, he helped expand NPR’s audience and operations.

And through his work, I learned just how invaluable it is for Americans to have access to essential, trustworthy, and, in some cases, lifesaving information at little to no cost to taxpayers.

These cuts could shut down some of the only local news sources in remote and rural communities in Colorado and across the county. That's not only unacceptable, it's dangerous.

I strongly oppose President Trump's attempts to diminish public media for his own political agenda, and I could use your voice in this fight. Please add your name to my petition today demanding that the U.S. Senate protect funding for public broadcasting networks.

Thank you,

Michael