CPB’s Board of Directors vote to dissolve organization

(NBC, KYMA) - The Corporation for Public Broadcasting's (CPB) Board of Directors has voted to dissolve the private, nonprofit corporation after 58 years of service.

This means the CPB is officially shutting down months after Congress passed spending cuts that stripped it of more than $1 billion in funding.

Organization President and CEO Patricia Harrison released a statement saying in part, "For more than half a century, CPB existed to ensure that all Americans regardless of geography, income, or background had access to trusted news, educational programming, and local storytelling."

Harrison added that in light of a reduction in funding signed by President Donald Trump, the board's final act would be to "protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving, rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks."

Over the summer, the Republican-led House and Senate passed a package of funding cuts targeting CPB and other government agencies, canceling money Congress had previously allocated to them and fulfilling a request by the Trump Administration.

CPB, which was created by Congress in 1967, helped support more than 1,500 local radio and television stations nationwide.

It also funded popular programs such as "Sesame Street," "Frontline," and "All Things Considered."