Research
SPOTLIGHT
Public media's federal funding reliance
In a study of station financial disclosures from FY23 conducted in early 2025, Semipublic found that stations relied on federal funding for an average of 14% of their total budget - a figure not previously known.
Semipublic’s research identified three major indicators of high average reliance:
Alternative affiliation: Reliance among stations affiliated with the African American Public Radio Consortium was double that of their peers, while reliance among those affiliated with Native Public Media was more than triple.
Population density: By comparing the average reliance of public media stations to the population density of the towns and cities in which they’re based, Semipublic found that stations in rural areas rely more on federal funding than stations in dense urban areas.
Location: The state with the highest average reliance on federal funding among its stations was West Virginia, followed closely by Alaska. Semipublic’s analysis also found that stations located in U.S. territories, as well as the West, were significantly more vulnerable, on average, than any other region.
