: [POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: In this report, we incorrectly say KSUT was founded by the Ute Tribe. In fact, KSUT was founded by the Southern Ute Tribe.]
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Now a report about NPR in the news and in court. NPR filed suit this morning against President Trump and other administration officials over his executive order seeking to ban any federal funds going to NPR or PBS. Three Colorado public radio stations joined NPR in the lawsuit. NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik is covering all this. And I will note, as with all our coverage of our own network, no corporate officials, no news executives have reviewed our report here. David, hi.
DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Hey.
KELLY: On what grounds are NPR and these local stations suing?
FOLKENFLIK: So there was this executive order that the president put out on May 1 and then was accompanied by a memo the next day in which, essentially, he said the coverage on NPR and PBS was biased and that he was acting to ensure that that would not be subsidized by federal taxpayer money. And the accompanying material made clear that he thought they were biased against the right, that they were woke, they were left-wing propaganda - choose any epithet that you - or denigration that you want that's popular these days in his circles.
NPR and the stations are making two arguments in the court filings fundamentally. One is that he's trying to - the president is trying to usurp congressional power and authority to pass laws, to set budgets, to determine where money should be spent and how, and to even set certain kinds of protections for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public broadcasters in law - the corporation being how money is funneled to public broadcasters like NPR stations. The second, and in some ways more fundamental element, is that NPR is arguing this is a violation of NPR's free speech protections in the Constitution, that by grounding his executive order in the accusation of bias, he's saying he doesn't like that speech. Those aren't grounds he can act, is their argument.
KELLY: I mentioned there are three stations - all Colorado stations - that have joined NPR in this suit. What is their role here?
FOLKENFLIK: So in a sense, they're very representative. Our CEO Katherine Maher put out a call and said, who'd be interested in joining? Three stations from Colorado each joined - one with Colorado Public Radio, effectively a statewide network; one, Aspen Public Radio, reaches predominantly a rural audience; and one, KSUT, was founded by the Native American Ute Tribe some decades ago, now serves four federally recognized tribes in the four corners area of the American Southwest. Each says they have a lot at stake, that federal funding isn't the majority of their funding, but it's a lifeline to help them keep afloat to get, yes, NPR programs, but also do important coverage of news and culture that's vital to their listenership there.
KELLY: OK, so this is an effort to make clear what the stakes are for local audiences, local communities. The White House has responded. What is it saying?
FOLKENFLIK: So a spokesperson told me this morning that the president is acting within his lawful authority to ensure that taxpayer dollars don't go towards funding bias. PBS is not part of this lawsuit but tells me today it's weighing its options. And interestingly, the Corporation of Public Broadcasting itself, which is technically a private corporation, is not suing over this, but has already sued the president over his efforts to fire 3 of their 5 board members. They say he doesn't have the authority to do that.
KELLY: We've got a little less than a minute left but just give us the broader context here. The Trump executive order is part of a broader attack on public media, on media writ large. Where do things stand?
FOLKENFLIK: Well, there's - no money has been frozen yet by the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. They say he just doesn't have the standing or power to do that. We'll see what a judge says. Currently, the Federal Communications Commission is investigating the corporate underwriting spots you hear on this program and others. And there's been, of course, a call from the president and his allies in Congress to eliminate all funding for public media. And as you say, it's part of a larger, essentially, assault on the standing and financial grounding of both public media and the media writ large.
KELLY: Thank you, David.
FOLKENFLIK: You bet. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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