Attorney General Neronha co-leads coalition in support of lawsuits challenging NPR and PBS funding cuts
Published on Friday, June 20, 2025
Attorney General Neronha today co-led a coalition of 22 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of two lawsuits brought by National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) that seek to block proposed funding cuts to their organizations and local affiliates.
“Make no mistake: when the Trump Administration attacks NPR and PBS, they are attempting to severely limit the public’s right to receive critical information,” said Attorney General Neronha. “NPR and PBS are American institutions responsible for delivering emergency information, educational programming, and reliable news, all of which Americans use to inform how they live their lives. These massive cuts would have dramatically negative impacts on the flow of public information, especially in rural and tribal areas, with potentially life-threatening consequences. We must fight to protect every American’s ability to access information, regardless of income level or zip code. We must fight to protect our public stations.”
At issue in the case is an executive order signed by President Trump on May 1 directing the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and executive branch agencies to end federal funding for NPR and PBS. On May 27, NPR and three Colorado public radio stations—Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio, and tribal-serving KSUT in southwestern Colorado—sued to block the proposed cuts. PBS and a Minnesota-based affiliate filed a separate lawsuit on May 30.
The coalition of attorneys general led by Rhode Island, Colorado, Arizona, and Minnesota argue that public broadcast stations serve a critical role in delivering information to the public and the proposed cuts would gravely harm Americans. The coalition says the funding cuts would create risks to public safety and erode trust by threatening coverage of local news, creating disruptions to the distribution of emergency notifications, reducing critical educational services, and limiting public media’s unique reach to rural and tribal audiences.
In the brief, filed concurrently today in both lawsuits, the coalition outlines some of the harms people in their states will face if the cuts move forward. These include threats to emergency notification systems like the Emergency Alert System, or EAS. Many states, including Rhode Island, rely on public broadcast stations to serve as primary or secondary stations to deliver EAS messages to the public during emergencies. Additionally, other infrastructure provided by NPR and PBS serve as important backups for emergency notifications in the event of electrical or internet outages.
Other emergency notifications disseminated via public media include Amber Alerts for abducted children, Blue Alerts for notifying the public of suspects who have killed or seriously injured law enforcement officers, Silver Alerts used when older people or people with developmental disabilities go missing, and Missing Indigenous Person Alerts that are critical for tribal communities.
The brief also outlines how public broadcasters serve important educational roles. This past year, Rhode Island’s PBS and NPR member stations (which recently merged into Ocean State Media) won two Edward R. Murrow awards, including one pertaining to the coverage of Rhode Island elections.
Finally, the brief highlights the disproportionate threats to rural and tribal areas posed by the cuts. Ocean State Media is one of the only sources of news accessible without a paywall or other payment restriction, especially in underserved areas like Block Island, Pawtucket, and Tiverton.
Joining Attorney General Neronha in filing the brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.
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