WGLT and more than two dozen other NPR stations joined a newly filed amicus [friend-of-the-court] brief in the lawsuit that aims to block the Trump administration’s executive order to defund public media.
A separate court filing in the case cites WGLT reporting in arguing against the executive order that would impact NPR and PBS stations across the country.
WGLT, which is licensed to Illinois State University, is the only media outlet affiliated with a four-year public university that joined in the court filing coordinated by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press [RCFP]. WBEZ in Chicago was the only other Illinois station to join the filing directly.
RCFP argues that defunding NPR and blocking stations from purchasing NPR programming with funding approved by Congress would violate the First Amendment and constitutional separation of powers.
“If any President has the power to revoke funds both to NPR and any local stations that air NPR programs because of stories he does not like — a tactic that forces stations to choose between journalistic independence and financial support — the foundation for that kind of independent journalism is eroded and may be hard to regain,” the filing states.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a separate amicus brief in the case that cites reporting from WGLT and other media outlets across the country. Raoul joined 22 other state attorneys general is filing to block the executive order.
“The president’s illegal attempt to cut off federal funding to public broadcasting stations would eliminate high-quality educational programs for children, lifesaving emergency alerts in times of severe weather and other public safety events, and an essential source of news and information for rural residents,” Raoul said.
The filing cites multiple examples where public media has disseminated information about local emergencies, including WGLT’s breaking coverage of a shooting on the Illinois State University campus on April 27 that prompted an emergency alert from the university.
No hearing date has been set in the case.
These legal efforts continue as Congress considers an effort to claw back $1.1 in funding already approved for PBS and NPR.
The measure narrowly passed along party lines in the U.S. House earlier this month. A vote in the Senate is expected in July.
