Republicans in Congress may have voted to defund publicly funded media outlets in the United States, but American citizens are trying to fill the gap.
The New York Times reports that donations to public media have surged ever since the GOP voted to eliminate $550 million in annual funding for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR).
Citing numbers from the Contributor Development Partnership, a firm that provides analysis of public media fundraising data, The Times reports that donors this year have so far contributed $70 million more to NPR and PBS than they did over the same period the year before. The numbers also show that "over the last three months, as the prospect of the cuts intensified, roughly 120,000 new donors have contributed an estimated $20 million in annual value," writes the Times.
Contributor Development Partnership CEO Michal Heiplik tells the Times that these donations, while impressive, are still a long way from being able to fill the $550 million hole left by GOP cuts.
"It is still early, and we hope the support will continue to grow," he said. "Next few weeks will be telling."
Heiplik also tells the Times that more donors in recent months have signed up to become sustaining members, which he says will be helpful in ensuring both entities have sustained finances instead of having to rely on one-time bursts of donations.
The vast majority of funding for public media has long come from donors, with only a small percentage coming from the federal government.