Wife of LA Clippers owner and billionaire Steve Ballmer steps in to help save the future of NPR with $80M gift; Independent, April 19, 2026

 Graig Graziosi  , Independent; Wife of LA Clippers owner and billionaire Steve Ballmer steps in to help save the future of NPR with $80M gift

"NPR received its largest-ever donation from a living donor this week when billionaire philanthropist Connie Ballmer gave $80 million to the media organization.

Ballmer — a former member of the NPR Foundation's board — told the Wall Street Journal that she poured money into NPR because “we need fact-based journalism, and we need local journalism.”...

"I support NPR because an informed public is the bedrock of our society, and democracy requires strong, independent journalism," Ballmer said in a statement on Wednesday. "My hope is that this commitment provides the stability and the spark NPR needs to innovate boldly and strengthen its national network."...

Her donation comes at an important time for NPR. Last year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending federal funding for public TV and radio organizations."

Judge rules Trump order eliminating NPR, PBS funding is unconstitutional; The Washington Post, March 31, 2026

 Scott Nover , The Washington Post; Judge rules Trump order eliminating NPR, PBS funding is unconstitutional

Trump’s order violated the First Amendment rights of the public media giants, a federal judge in Washington found.

"A federal judge in Washington struck down part of President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting funding for NPR and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) on Tuesday, ruling that it was unconstitutional retaliation that violated their press freedom rights under the First Amendment.

The May 1, 2025, executive order, titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media,” cut off funding to public media — with Trump calling out what he perceived as left-wing bias in NPR’s and PBS’s news reporting.

“The message is clear,” U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss, a Barack Obama appointee to the federal bench, wrote in an opinion. “NPR and PBS need not apply for any federal benefit because the President disapproves of their ‘left-wing’ coverage of the news.” He added that the action amounted to “viewpoint discrimination.”"

GOP-led Senate votes to cancel $9 billion in funding for foreign aid, NPR and PBS; NBC News, July 16, 2025

 Sahil Kapur, Frank Thorp V and Brennan Leach , NBC News; GOP-led Senate votes to cancel $9 billion in funding for foreign aid, NPR and PBS

[Kip Currier: Notice how Trump 2.0 and the GOP (except for a couple of legislators) are going after sources of information: cutting funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Voice of America, PBS, NPR, etc. 

Control the information sources and you can more easily influence and control how people get their information and what they think.

Autocracies restrict access to information; democracies don't.]

[Excerpt]

"The Republican-led Senate Republicans voted Thursday morning to pass a package of spending cuts requested by President Donald Trump, sending it to the House. 

The rescissions package cancels previously approved funding totaling $9 billion for foreign aid and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS. Republicans passed it through a rarely used process to evade the 60-vote threshold and modify a bipartisan spending deal on party lines.

The vote of 51-48 followed a 13-hour series of votes on amendments, with two Republicans joining Democrats in opposition to the final bill: Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska."

NPR sues Trump administration over executive order to cut federal funding to public media; AP, May 27, 2025

 DAVID BAUDER, AP; NPR sues Trump administration over executive order to cut federal funding to public media

"National Public Radio and three of its local stations sued President Donald Trump on Tuesday, arguing that his executive order cutting funding to the 246-station network violates their free speech and relies on an authority that he does not have.

Earlier this month, Trump instructed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies to cease funding for NPR and PBS, either directly or indirectly. The president and his supporters argue their news reporting promotes liberal bias and shouldn’t be supported by taxpayers.

Retaliation is Trump’s plain purpose, the lawsuit argues. It was filed in federal court in Washington by NPR and three Colorado entities — Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio and KUTE, Inc., chosen to show the system’s diversity in urban and rural areas...

The lawsuit says 11% of Aspen Public Radio’s budget is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It is 6% for the Colorado Public Radio, a network of 19 stations, and 19% of KUTE’s budget. That station was founded in 1976 by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe."

Reporting ‘with neither fear nor favor’ earns ethics award for MPR, NPR reporters; Minneapolis Public Radio (MPR), July 30, 2018

Bob Collins, Minneapolis Public Radio (MPR); Reporting ‘with neither fear nor favor’ earns ethics award for MPR, NPR reporters

"To uphold the SPJ Code of Ethics, reporting on your own company is to tread in uncertain territory. You don’t produce a story like this, for example, without taking a fair amount of personal and professional risk.

That’s also true in the case of Folkenflik and Kelly, who outed their bosses’ apparent ability to look the other way with rumors of news boss Michael Oreskes’ behavior toward female subordinates. 

Kelly’s interview of NPR CEO Jarl Mohn remains a textbook example of how to ask tough questions."