The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which will shut down in January after losing federal funding under President Donald Trump, will receive the 2025 Governors Award from the TV Academy.
The Emmy will be presented to Stacy Harrison, the longest-serving president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Under Harrison’s leadership since 2005, CPB has guided public media through digital transformations to help stations adopt new technologies and leverage multimedia platforms to ensure high-quality content reached audiences across television, radio and online. In 2011, CPB launched the longest-running public media initiative to successfully address the national high school dropout crisis, transforming educational access and graduation rates across the country.
The award will be presented during the 2025 Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony on Sept. 7.
“The Governors Award recognizes and celebrates extraordinary contributions that transcend television and transform society,” said Television Academy Chair Cris Abrego in a statement. “For more than half a century, CPB has been a steadfast champion of storytelling that informs, educates and unites us and ensures public media remains a vital space where diverse voices are heard and communities are served. With this award, we honor CPB’s enduring legacy and its extraordinary impact on the cultural and civic life of our nation.”
The Governors Award honors an individual, company or organization that has made a profound, transformational and long-lasting contribution to the arts and/or science of television.
Established in 1967 by the Public Broadcasting Act, CPB is a private, nonprofit corporation authorized by Congress to serve as the steward of the federal investment in public broadcasting and support more than 1,500 locally owned and operated public radio and television stations across the United States.
CPB has supported independent filmmakers and innovations in storytelling, creating a cultural legacy for all Americans with iconic and Emmy-winning series, such as Sesame Street, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, The MacNeil/Lehrer Report and PBS NewsHour, NOVA, Finding Your Roots, Reading Rainbow, Molly of Denali, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, FRONTLINE, and Independent Lens.
Today, public media connects the country, serving 99% of the U.S. population free of charge and commercial free, over the air and online in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and Native communities in American Samoa, and rural and urban areas. It is often the only media available to residents of remote areas.
In July, Congress voted to eliminate all funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, marking the end of nearly six decades of federal investment in America’s public media system.
