John,
Recently, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced it would shut down — after Trump and a MAGA-controlled Congress gutted nearly all of its funding.
The consequences are already hitting local communities:
- In Michigan, Detroit Public TV and stations across the state are facing cuts so deep that some rural areas could lose a third of their budget — and with it, weather warnings, emergency alerts, and trusted local voices.
- In Wisconsin, the state’s only independent tribal radio station is in limbo. It’s the only signal carrying Indigenous language, cultural programming, and local news — and it could go silent.
- In North Carolina, stations are bracing for layoffs, programming cuts, and the loss of the only free news source in entire counties.
When these signals go dark, entire communities lose their connection to safety, culture, and truth.
Before that happens, will you chip in $25 or whatever you can to protect independent local news?
Here’s the good news: thanks to grassroots support, COURIER already has newsrooms in Michigan (The ‘Gander’), Wisconsin (UpNorth News), and North Carolina (Cardinal & Pine).
While public broadcasting is under attack, our reporters are still showing up in these communities every day — covering local government, amplifying underrepresented voices, and making sure the truth gets through where MAGA propaganda is ready to fill the void.
Our model works: grassroots-funded, values-driven, locally focused newsrooms that can’t be bought or silenced by MAGA. But to keep them strong — and to expand into more communities at risk — we need your help.
Give to support independent media now
When public service media disappears, it’s not just programming that vanishes — it’s trust, community, and democracy itself. Together, we can keep those lifelines alive.In solidarity,
—The COURIER Team