Today is Protect My Public Media Day
RENO, NV (JUN 4, 2026) – Today is Protect My Public Media Day, a coordinated day of advocacy and awareness to show why local stations are worth protecting and to call for restored federal funding for public media.
In 2025, Congress rescinded federal funding from PBS Reno and more than 1,500 other TV and radio public broadcast stations around the country. PBS Reno alone lost $1.3 million, which amounted to 17% of its annual operating budget. It had cost about $1.60 per taxpayer per year to provide federal funding to all public media stations around the country, which represented .01 percent of the federal budget.
Congress is beginning to advance federal funding legislation for the 2027 federal budget, which begins October 1, 2026. On this Protect My Public Media Day, viewers are encouraged to contact their members of Congress and ask them to restore vital federal funding.
“Protect My Public Media Day takes on added importance given the loss of our federal funding,” said Kurt Mische, PBS Reno President & CEO. “We treasure the financial support of so many in our region who understand the value of what PBS Reno does on the air and in local classrooms. We hope that those who appreciate our work will not only support us financially but reach out to our members of Congress and insist that federal funding for public television be restored.”
In addition to reaching out to Congress, PBS Reno asks viewers to consider making a gift of financial support in any amount. PBS Reno is now fully funded by the community it serves; each financial contribution over the past nine months has helped PBS Reno survive the initial financial impact of losing its federal funding. Making an additional contribution in any amount will sustain PBS Reno and strengthen its services down the road.
“PBS Reno has always been grounded in service to this community, and that work is only possible because people continue to believe in it,” said Emma Glenn, PBS Reno Vice President of Development. “Protect My Public Media Day is an opportunity to remind our leaders that public media matters, and to thank the viewers and donors who continue to stand with us during this important moment.”
About PBS Reno
In fiscal year 2024-2025, PBS Reno reached 592,189 monthly viewers in northern and central Nevada and northeastern California across several platforms including three broadcast channels (PBS Reno 5.1, Reno Create 5.2, and PBS KIDS on PBS Reno 5.3), a YouTube channel, YouTube TV, online, livestreams, and digital platforms. PBS Reno provides PBS national programming and award-earning, locally-produced content, with many local segments posted weekly to PBS Reno’s YouTube channel. PBSReno.org provides engaging interactive content, including the video portal at watch.PBSReno.org that streams all locally-produced content and most PBS national content. PBS Reno serves students, teachers, parents and caregivers through immersive educational services including Curiosity Classroom workshops that bring classroom lessons to life with standards-based lessons and activities. Through the support of local corporations and foundations, as well as thousands of individual members, PBS Reno has been delivering public television and educational services to the communities it serves since September 29, 1983.
About Protect My Public Media Day
Protect My Public Media is managed by APTS Action, Inc., an affiliated organization of America’s Public Television Stations. APTS Action, Inc. serves as the managing organization for Protect My Public Media Day.
Contact us:
Membership Questions: membership@pbsreno.org
Programming Hotline: programming@pbsreno.org
Phone: 775.600.0555
Address: 1670 N. Virginia St. • Reno NV 89503