Gomez Condemns Senate Vote to Defund Public Media

RADIO ONLINE | Friday, July 18, 2025 | 1:54pm CT

FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez

FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez strongly criticized the Senate's recent vote to eliminate federal funding for public media, calling it a politically motivated effort to silence independent journalism and warning of severe consequences for small and rural communities.

In a sharply worded statement, Commissioner Gomez said the defunding measure marks "a key step in a coordinated campaign to silence public media" and accused the Administration of using financial leverage to censor dissenting voices. "This has never been about saving money," Gomez said. "It's about silencing those who report the news accurately, without fear or favor."

The Senate's late-night vote would effectively eliminate federal support for organizations like NPR and PBS, potentially forcing public broadcasting stations in underserved areas to close their doors. Gomez warned that the move would deepen the country's growing "news deserts," particularly in rural regions where public media is often the only source for local news, emergency alerts, and civic engagement.

"In many hard-to-reach areas, these stations may be the only source for the public to receive emergency alerts, traffic updates, and information about local events," she said. "Defunding them strips away these essential services and further isolates the very communities these stations seek to serve."

Gomez also took aim at the FCC's current direction, saying the Commission's own actions have added to the threat against public broadcasters. "The FCC is playing a dangerous game with its own baseless attacks on public broadcast stations," she said. "Its role should be to protect and expand the public's access to timely, accurate news that is free from political interference."

She vowed to continue opposing what she described as "politically motivated efforts to investigate and harass these stations."

If enacted into law, it would zero out federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for the first time since its founding in 1967.