WNYC, New York’s top public radio station, is launching a major fundraising initiative in the wake of the Trump administration’s successful rescission of funding for public media.
The initiative will include this year’s Stand with Public Media gala, which will honor CBS Late Show host Stephen Colbert and his wife, producer and arts advocate Evelyn McGee Colbert; New Yorker editor David Remnick; and Ford Foundation president Darren Walker.
And it will also launch a new tagline for WNYC: “You Can’t Defund The Truth.” The new tagline will begin running Wednesday in conjunction with the pledge drive kick-off (and WNYC says that it will also be available on tote bags for generous donors).
The Stand with Public Media gala will be held on Tuesday Nov. 18 in New York, with the Colberts receiving the Cultural Advocacy Award, Remnick the Media Innovation Award and Walker the Philanthropy Leadership Award.
Actor Richard Kind will host the gala, with special appearances and performances from Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen, The Politician), Tony Award-winning and Emmy and Grammy Award-nominated actress Annaleigh Ashford (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Happy Face), Independent Spirit Award nominee Noah Galvin (Theater Camp, The Real O’Neals), and classical pianist and composer Conrad Tao.
There will also be a separately ticketed after-party, where Questlove will serve as DJ.
Colbert, of course, saw his CBS show canceled earlier this year, with the network citing financial concerns. The timing of the decision, however, just days before the FCC approved a takeover by Skydance, raised eyebrows across the industry.
And public media across the country is still reeling from the $1.1 billion in cuts to federal funding.
The gala and fundraising campaign are meant to help offset some of those losses, though NPR and PBS stations across the country are all trying to grapple with ways to try and fill that gap.
