Public broadcasting forms an essential part of the fabric of Alaska’s rural communities. From emergency broadcasting to cultural programming to educational services, Alaska’s 27 public radio stations and four public TV stations provide critical resources to villages across our state, from Metlakatla to Point Hope. Scores of villages rely entirely on several small, scrappy public radio stations, which count on federal funding for the lion’s share of their annual budgets. These stations depend even more on federal support today after the complete loss of state funding for public broadcasting five years ago.
A sitting Alaska Congressman voting against public broadcasting, as did Rep. Nick Begich on H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025, in Congress this week, demonstrates a heartless lack of concern for the residents of rural Alaska. Not since statehood has a member of Alaska’s Congressional Delegation voted to strip funding from public broadcasting. It hurts even more to consider that Begich was the deciding vote on the bill, which wouldn’t have passed without his support.
Indeed, Congressman Don Young and Senator Ted Stevens served as some of the greatest champions for public broadcasting to ever walk the halls of Congress. Rep. Begich’s vote tarnishes their lasting legacy and pays poor tribute to their years of dedicated service. Senator Lisa Murkowski has taken up their banner, though, and has staunchly defended public broadcasting in the U.S. Senate, even helping to make up the gap in state funding for Alaska’s rural broadcasters.
We sincerely hope that Senator Sullivan will follow in these hallowed footsteps as he confronts the rescission vote in the U.S. Senate. We believe that he understands the needs of rural Alaskans and supports the critical services of Alaska’s rural public stations. We pray that he has the fortitude to resist the pressures that will surely be placed on him by those wishing to de-fund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The reality is this: If the rescissions bill passes the U.S. Senate, it will be the death knell of rural radio stations across Alaska, from McGrath to Galena, from Kotzebue to Barrow, and dozens of villages in between. We encourage Alaskans throughout the state to contact their Senators today to help save our stations.
Brenda Hewitt, Wasilla
Marc Wheeler, Juneau
Carl Berger, Anchorage
• Hewitt, Wheeler, and Berger each served as co-chairs of the Alaska Public Broadcasting Commission, spanning 1999 to 2025.
