BREAKING FIRST AT FOUR— THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING.. WHICH HAS HELPED SUPPORT LOCAL PUBLIC T-V AND RADIO ACROSS THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING IN MAINE, FOR NEARLY 60 YEARS.. ANNOUNCING TODAY.. IT WILL SHUT DOWN.. THIS COMES AFTER IT LOST FEDERAL FUNDING.. MOST JOBS WILL BE CUT BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER.. THE PRESIDENT AND C-E-O OF PUBLIC BROADCASTING SAYS.. PUBLIC MEDIA IS ONE OF THE MOST TRUSTED INSTITUTIONS IN AMERICAN LIFE.. SO.. WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING HERE IN MAINE? SCOTT MCDONNELL JUST SPOKE WITH THE C-E-O OF MAINE PUBLIC.. SCOTT.. WHAT DID HE HAVE TO SAY? HE CALLED IT A SAD DAY TO THINK THAT WE ARE AT THE POINT THAT THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING IS SHUTTING DOWN… BUT HE ALSO WANTED REASSURE LISTENERS AND VIEWERS THAT THIS IS NOT THE END OF PUBLIC BROADCASTING….PBS, MAINE PUBLIC OR NPR. ITS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIP HERE…. CPB OR THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING IS THE NON PROFIT THAT RECEIVED FEDERAL MONEY FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING AND THEN DISTRIBUTED THAT MONEY TO LOCAL STATIONS. SO BASICALLY….NOW THAT THE MONEY IS NO LONGER THERE TO BE DISTRIBUTED… UNFORTANLTEY THERE IS NO JOB TO DO. TWO BIG CHALLENGES EXIST FOR MAINE PUBLIC…ONE- IS THE LOSS OF 2.5 MILLION DOLLARS OF FEDERAL FUNDING THIS YEAR AND 5 MILLLION OVER TWO YEARS…. THEN THERE IS THE IMPACT BEYOND MAINE – ACROSS THE NATION. 2:39-3:06 THE SECOND HALF OF THIS STORY.. IS WHAT IT WILL MEAN FOR PBS AND NPR PROGRAMS NATIONALLY AS STATIONS FEEL THE IMPACT OF THIS CUTS AND THATS SOMETHING THAT STATIONS WILL HAVE MANAGE…I AM INVOLVED ……AND REASSURANCE THAT MAINE PUBLIC WILL STILL BE HERE. ITS ABOUT 12 PERCENT OF THE BUDGET FOR MAINE PUBLIC – WHICH IS NOW GONE… SCHNEIDER SAYS AN IMPORTANT RADIO PLED

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The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which has helped support local public television and radio across the country for nearly 60 years, including in Maine, announced Friday that it will be shutting down.The decision to shutter CPB comes just over a week after President Donald Trump signed a bill that canceled $1.1 billion in federal funding for the corporation.In the announcement, CPB said the majority of staff positions will be cut by the end of September.”Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country,” CPB president and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a statement. “We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.”Maine Public president and CEO Rick Schneider called Friday “a sad day,” but also wanted to reassure listeners and viewers that this is not the end of public broadcasting, Maine Public, PBS or NPR.CPB is the nonprofit organization that received federal funding for public broadcasting and then distributed that money to local stations. So now that the federal funding is no longer there to be distributed, there is no job for CPB to do.Schneider said two big challenges exist for Maine Public. One is the loss of $2.5 million in federal funding this year and $5 million over two years.”The second half of this story is what it will mean for PBS and NPR programs nationally, as stations feel the impact of this cut,” Schneider said. “That’s something that we as a system will have to manage, and I’m involved with a lot of my national colleagues in these discussions. But my messages throughout this have been both gratitude for the tremendous outpouring of support from people and reassurance that Maine Public will still be here.”Schneider said about 12% of the budget for Maine Public is gone, and that an important radio pledge drive is coming up in August to try to make up some of that shortfall.