President Trump asserted on Monday that he had fired three members of the board that directs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, including an Alaskan with deep roots in public media.
Diane Kaplan ran the Alaska Public Radio Network before leading Alaska's largest philanthropic organization, the Rasmuson Foundation.
A judge paused Kaplan's firing from the CPB board, as well as two fellow board members — Tom Rothman and Laura Gore Ross — while a lawsuit plays out in court.
In 2022, President Biden appointed Kaplan to the CPB board, which oversees the annual distribution of more than $500 million to public media organizations, which includes Alaska Public Media.
Kaplan's term wasn't set to expire until 2026. But on Monday, a memo from the Trump Whitehouse said she and two other board members were fired, effective immediately.
"I was surprised," Kaplan said. "I don't want to conjecture about the legal implications. I'm not an attorney. But my understanding has always been that only Congress could remove a CPB board member. But these are different times, and things are happening in a different way. So we'll see."
Kaplan says "we'll see," because the CPB sued, and on Tuesday a judge
issued an order stopping the firings, at least until another hearing
set for mid-May.
The move to oust Kaplan and the two other board members comes amid talks that Republicans in Congress might push to rescind funding already appropriated for public media.
That would be devastating for rural TV and radio stations in Alaska, Kaplan said.
"For some of the stations in Alaska, federal funding through CPB represents up to 70, 80, 90% of their operating costs," she said. "And these are very small operations. One person, one staff, and a lot of volunteers. So their ability to continue on is very unlikely."
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