Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford has joined a coalition of 22 state attorneys general in filing a court brief supporting lawsuits that challenge proposed federal funding cuts to National Public Radio (NPR), the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and their local affiliates.
"Public media is a vital tool to keep our communities informed — not only of local news, but of critical emergencies and missing persons reports,” said AG Ford. “In a state like ours, where many members of our Nevada family live in rural or frontier areas, the reach of these outlets into both these rural areas and into our tribal communities is essential. I am proud to stand with my colleagues to defend this necessary funding from unlawful attacks.”
The lawsuits stem from an executive order signed by President Trump on May 1, which directed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and executive branch agencies to end federal funding for NPR and PBS. In response, NPR and three Colorado public radio stations—Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio, and KSUT—filed suit on May 27 to block the proposed cuts. PBS and a Minnesota-based affiliate filed a separate lawsuit earlier in May.
The coalition, led by attorneys general from Colorado, Arizona, Minnesota, and Rhode Island, argues that public broadcasting stations play an important role in providing information to the public. They contend that eliminating funding would harm Americans by threatening coverage of local news, disrupting emergency notification systems such as the Emergency Alert System (EAS), reducing educational services, and limiting access for rural and tribal communities.
In their brief filed today in both lawsuits, the coalition outlines potential impacts if funding is cut. Many states depend on public broadcast stations as primary or secondary sources for EAS messages during emergencies. These stations also provide backup infrastructure for emergency notifications when electrical or internet outages occur.
Public media also disseminates other alerts such as Amber Alerts for abducted children; Blue Alerts concerning suspects who have harmed law enforcement officers; Silver Alerts for missing older adults or people with developmental disabilities; and Missing Indigenous Person Alerts relevant to tribal communities.
The brief highlights how public broadcasters serve educational roles and notes that rural and tribal areas could be disproportionately affected by any reduction in funding: “Each of the [states] contain rural population areas that support economic and cultural contributions far bigger than their population density alone might indicate…”
Attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin joined AG Ford in filing the brief.