A judge has blocked an executive order from Donald Trump that sought to end federal funding of “biased media” outlets NPR and PBS.
Last May, the president signed the order, which directed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) – the body that sends funds to the two radio platforms – to “cease federal funding” to them.
The order stated that “Americans have the right to expect that if their tax dollars fund public broadcasting at all, they fund only fair, accurate, unbiased and nonpartisan news coverage”.
Now, US District Judge Randoph Moss has ruled that the order had targeted news organisations over their editorial viewpoints, something he said was “unlawful and unenforceable”.
The court found that the order violated the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which “does not tolerate viewpoint discrimination and retaliation of this type”.
“It is difficult to conceive of clearer evidence that a government action is targeted at viewpoints that the President does not like and seeks to squelch,” Moss said. “The First Amendment draws a line, which the government may not cross, at efforts to use government power – including the power of the purse – ‘to punish or suppress disfavored expression’ by others.”
He noted that while the government is not required to fund media organisations, once a funding system exists, it must be administered in a neutral way.
The judge’s decision is limited in its scope, however. It blocks the executive order but it cannot restore funding that has already been withdrawn through other means, and Congress has rescinded $1.1billion (£830million) to CPB.
“We’re thrilled with today’s decision declaring the executive order unconstitutional,” PBS said in a statement. “As we argued, and Judge Moss ruled, the executive order is textbook unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination and retaliation, in violation of longstanding First Amendment principles. At PBS, we will continue to do what we’ve always done: serve our mission to educate and inspire all Americans as the nation’s most trusted media institution.”
In November, a court settlement called for NPR to receive approximately $36million in government funding, partially resolving a dispute between NPR and the CPB.
Previously, NPR received roughly 1 per cent of its funding directly from the federal government, while its 1,300 member stations get an average of 8 to 10 per cent of their support through the CPB.
Meanwhile, PBS and all its affiliated stations relied on the CPB for around 15 per cent of their revenue, with media representatives already warning the slice to the federal budget would disproportionately affect rural outlets and areas currently underserved by commercial broadcasters.