KET, KY public radio say future in doubt as House votes to ax funding
Kentucky’s public radio and television networks say their future is in doubt after the U.S. House voted Thursday to cut funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides grants to public television and public radio.
Kentucky Education Television, KET, receives 14% of its approximately $30.4 million budget from federal funding, KET officials have previously said.
“We are extremely disappointed by (Thursday’s) vote in the House to eliminate federal funding for public broadcasting as the loss of this funding will substantially diminish all of KET’s programs and services,” said Shae Hopkins, executive director of KET.
Executives with KET had previously said the loss of federal dollars would severely impact all of its statewide programming including “Kentucky Edition” and weekly series “Kentucky Tonight,” “Kentucky Life,”“Kentucky Health,”“Comment on Kentucky” and “The Farmer & The Foodie.”
Louisville Public Media, which operates multiple public radio stations, also urged listeners and supporters on Thursday to contact U.S. senators, who will next vote on H.R. 4, which would claw back $1.1 billion in funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
That money had already been allocated to hundreds of public broadcasting television and radio networks across the country for the next two years.
In total, the bill would claw back $9.4 billion in spending including cuts to foreign aid. The Senate is expected to vote on the Rescissions Act by July 18.
“It could be the end of public media as we know it,” Louisville Public Media officials said in an email.
The amount public radio stations receive from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting varies. Typically more rural stations— which in some areas are the only daily local news source in Kentucky —receive a larger portion of their budgets from the federal government.
Appalshop’s WMMT 88.7 out of Letcher County receives roughly one-third of its funding from the federal government. The radio station offers local programming such as “Mountain Talk.” It also is critical in providing emergency weather and other alerts, a need in Eastern Kentucky which has been devastated by multiple floods in recent years.
“Without federal funding, which accounts for a third of our budget, WMMT may no longer be able to deliver lifesaving alerts, essential programming, or the resources you rely on,” Appalshop officials said.
How Kentucky Congressmen voted
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio have been in the cross-hairs of President Donald Trump’s efforts to slash federal spending since he took office in January. In early May, Trump signed an executive order halting all funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Trump has repeatedly attacked PBS and NPR, which receive funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as left-leaning organizations that have spread falsehoods rather than news. It’s an argument shared by conservatives nationwide, dating back to the Nixon administration.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told CBS News Thursday that no news organization should receive federal funding after the House vote.
“There is no reason for any media organization to be singled out to receive federal funds,” Johnson said. “Especially those who appear to have so little regard for the truth.”
The majority of Kentucky’s congressional delegation voted for the bill.
Kentucky Republican House members — U.S. Reps. Andy Barr, James Comer, Brett Guthrie, Thomas Massie and Hal Rogers —all supported the measure.
U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, is the sole Kentucky Democrat in the U.S. House. He said KET and public radio are essential to emergency management.
“Kentuckians rely on public broadcasting for disaster and extreme weather alerts, especially in rural parts of the Commonwealth. Donald Trump’s plan to cut these services by $1.1 billion makes us all less safe. I voted no,” McGarvey said.
Public television and radio not only issue alerts, they help emergency managers communicate.
KET’s 15 transmission towers house multiple federal, state and local emergency management communication systems. When cell and other towers go dark due to electrical outages or storm damage, KET’s network allows emergency management to continue to communicate, according to KET’s website.
This story was originally published June 13, 2025 at 10:21 AM.
