Healthy communities stand on a foundation of trust. Trust springs from knowing your neighbors and their concerns, knowing that officials and institutions are honest and reliable and knowing there are forums where your voice can be heard. Trustworthy information is vital in emergencies. Trustworthy journalism is essential when change comes so fast it’s hard to keep up.

For decades, New Hampshire Public Radio and New Hampshire PBS have earned Granite Staters’ trust by delivering independent journalism, emergency services and educational and public affairs programming. Always for free. Always in the public interest. Filling gaps that commercial media cannot address.

Now, though, these bedrock New Hampshire institutions are at grave risk.

The White House wants to eliminate federal support for public media. Congress will vote soon on a proposal to slash millions from NHPR’s and NHPBS’ budgets. About 6% of NHPR’s annual budget and 18% of NHPBS’ is at risk. This funding sustains our statewide emergency alert system, local watchdog reporting, and shows like “Morning Edition,” “PBS News Hour,” “Granite State Challenge” and “Civics 101.” 

These cuts would deliver a devastating blow to public media nationwide and to local news, information, and educational services that hundreds of thousands of New Hampshirites rely on. And while NHPR and NHPBS are hardly the only institutions facing steep reductions, we are the ones that keep Granite Staters informed about the scope of change and its effects on you.    

Now is the time to speak up for public media. Talk to your friends and family about the value public media brings to your life and your community. Raise your voice by contacting your representatives in Washington. Go to ProtectMyPublicMedia.org to find easy links. 

A free press is essential to a healthy democracy. Together we can keep New Hampshire strong.

Jim Schachter is New Hampshire Public Radio president and CEO, and Peter Frid is New Hampshire PBS president and CEO.

These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.