John,

Trump and MAGA gutted public broadcasting—slashing more than a billion dollars and effectively shutting down the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Now communities are paying the price.

From trusted local news to life-saving emergency alerts, millions of Americans—especially in rural and tribal areas—who rely on public broadcasting to stay informed and safe have suddenly been left without a lifeline.

In a moment, we’ll share the staggering list of communities that have lost not only the journalism they count on, but also the emergency response systems that public broadcasting has provided for decades. But first, we need your support. With your help, COURIER can deliver reliable, fact-based reporting to the communities hit hardest by these MAGA cuts—and make sure people aren’t left in the dark.

Chip in

Public broadcasting isn’t partisan. For millions of Americans—especially in rural communities—it’s one of the only sources for local news and emergency alerts. But Trump and MAGA smeared it as “left-wing propaganda,” and used those smears as an excuse to gut funding.

Now communities in every corner of the country are paying the price:

• West & Southwest: In Colorado’s Four Corners, station KSUT had to stop life-saving upgrades to failing broadcast towers after FEMA froze its grant dollars—towers that serve more than 300,000 people across four tribes and five counties. In New Mexico, KRZA is down to a skeleton crew, patching old equipment together just to stay on air. In California’s Central Valley, KVPR can’t install the backup transmitter it needs to keep emergency alerts flowing during wildfires, Radio Bilingüe canceled rural transmitters meant to serve farmworker communities without broadband, and the public television station is bracing for major cuts to children’s programming and local coverage.
• Upper Midwest & Plains: Tribal radio stations in northern Minnesota face a combined $600,000 annual loss—an existential blow to Indigenous news and language programming. In the Dakotas and Nebraska, small rural outlets that already operate on shoestring budgets warn they may not survive the year without CPB support.
• Appalachia & Rust Belt: Allegheny Mountain Radio, which serves isolated communities in West Virginia and Virginia, expects to lose more than half its budget, threatening multiple rural frequencies. West Virginia Public Broadcasting, an 11-station network, is bracing for deep cuts to news and cultural programming—the only statewide source of trusted public service reporting. Across Ohio and Pennsylvania, small-town stations are cutting staff and local programming to stay licensed.
• South & Gulf Coast: In hurricane-prone regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida’s Panhandle, stations that double as emergency alert systems are now at risk of going silent. With power outages common during storms, public radio is often the only way residents get evacuation warnings—and without CPB funds, that lifeline could disappear.
• Alaska & Remote Territories: Alaska’s 27 public broadcasting stations, many of which depended on CPB for more than half their budgets, are in crisis. KUCB in Unalaska has just one reporter left to cover an island prone to tsunamis and storms, while KSDP in Sand Point warns its AM signal—lifeline for fishers and families without broadband—may soon go dark. Across the state, Indigenous and rural outlets are cutting staff to the bone, leaving entire regions without local news or reliable emergency alerts.

And here’s the darker twist: Project 2025 lays out what could happen next. Once local public stations shut down, the Trump administration could take over their call signs and frequencies—then fill the airwaves with government-controlled MAGA propaganda.

Think about that. Instead of factual news and urgent alerts to keep communities safe, many Americans will be left with nothing but state-run propaganda praising MAGA and Donald Trump.

That’s why COURIER exists. While MAGA destroys the institutions that keep us connected, we’re building the nation’s largest network of independent, values-driven local newsrooms. But we can only keep going with grassroots support.

Chip in $25 today to help COURIER expand our local reporting and keep truth on the air.

FIGHT BACK

When local media disappears, it’s not just the news that vanishes. It’s community. Connection. Democracy itself.

Thank you for standing with us,

The COURIER Team

P.S. Every $25 helps us reach thousands of people with fact-based journalism in communities MAGA propaganda is targeting right now. Please chip in if you can.