WASHINGTON – March 1, 2023 – America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) today presented the Champion of Public Broadcasting Award to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Senator Schumer has been central to the successful efforts to increase public media funding in each of the past four appropriations cycles, by a total of $90 million, and his support was essential to public media securing $250 million in emergency COVID relief funding that helped public television stations survive the severe economic downturn that accompanied the COVID pandemic.
“Leader Schumer has been a long-time friend of public broadcasting, and he has championed our work for decades,” said APTS president and CEO Patrick Butler. “America’s public television stations are immensely grateful his support and leadership over the years, and especially for his central role in securing significant increases for public media funding – our first in over a decade.
“The Senator’s advocacy on our behalf was especially important in sustaining public television stations during the pandemic, when stations’ financial support fell sharply even while we stood up emergency remote learning services in all 50 States for students whose schools had suddenly shut down. This relief funding also helped our stations enhance live-saving public safety communications during those challenging months and provide critical direct connections between government officials and their constituents for authoritative information on the disease and best practices for dealing with it.
“Senator Schumer and most of his colleagues in the Congress understand that public television stations have a very different mission than others in the media world,” Butler said. “While we’re very proud of the educational programming our stations and PBS provide the American people, these essential local public services are the heart of our work, and they fully deserve the federal investment that has been the foundation of our financing for more than fifty years, through both Democratic and Republican Administrations and congressional majorities.”
“Americans rely on public television stations for up-to-date, accurate information each and every day, and with the uncertainty that the COVID-19 pandemic brought, the role of public broadcasting became more important than ever before,” said Senator Schumer. “When funding for public broadcasters drastically fell during the pandemic, I fought hard to ensure that stations received the support and resources they needed to survive the economic fallout and continue providing essential education, public safety and news. Public media is the glue that keeps communities informed and stitched together. I am always proud to stand with public broadcasting, and I look forward to continuing my work to support the vital services that public television stations provide for the American people.”
The Champion of Public Broadcasting award is America’s Public Television Stations’ highest honor, given annually to our greatest champions in Congress, the Administration and State government for their support of our public service missions.
Senator Schumer was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, where his dad owned a small exterminating business and his mom was a housewife. He attended public school and graduated from James Madison High School before heading to Harvard University, and then Harvard Law School. Senator Schumer has two daughters, Jessica and Alison, and he still resides in Brooklyn with his wife, Iris Weinshall.
After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1974, Senator Schumer was elected to the New York State Assembly, where he soon made his mark with his trademark vigor and relentless advocacy. In 1980, at 29, Senator Schumer was elected as a congressman from the 9th Congressional District.
In 1998, Senator Schumer was elected to the U.S. Senate; he became New York's senior senator when Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan retired in 2000. Senator Schumer kicked off his first Senate term by announcing he would visit each of New York's 62 counties every year, a tradition he continues today to keep in touch with voters from every corner of the state.
After New Yorkers re-elected Senator Schumer in 2004, 2010 and 2016, his colleagues elected him to serve as Leader of the Democratic Caucus, the first time a New York Senator has held the position. In 2021, Senator Schumer became Senate Majority Leader.
The Champion of Public Broadcasting Award was presented to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) during the APTS Public Media Summit on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.
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About APTS
America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) is a nonprofit membership organization ensuring a strong and financially sound public television system and helping member stations provide essential public services in education, public safety and civic leadership to the American people. For more information, visit www.apts.org.
Contact:
Stacey Karp
202-654-4222
skarp@apts.org