Not surprisingly, Donald Trump’s May 1 executive order to cut federal funding for PBS and NPR stations was a prime topic of conversation at the annual gala in New York April 28 of the WNET group.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 28: (L-R) Jim Attwood, Kellie Specter, Neal Shapiro, Alan Cumming, Vanessa Wise, and Stephen Segaller attend The WNET Group 2025 Gala Celebrates the Arts and Public Media with Alan Cumming at The Edison Ballroom on April 28, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for WNET Group)
Getty Images for WNET Group
The group is the home of PBS stations Thirteen and WLIW, NJ PBS and Long Island’s only NPR station, WLIW-FM.
At the gala, James Attwood, chairman of WNET’s board of trustees, said, “We are in truly unprecedented and turbulent times… and we are relying on our individual supporters to help us face these new challenges.”
He added, “We continue to serve our communities by bringing viewers the quality content that commercial media can’t, particularly the absolute best in the performing arts and trustworthy journalism.”
WNET group president and CEO, Neal Shapiro, discussed the diversity of WNET’s programming, ranging from nature documentaries with “breathtaking views of the natural world” to “transcendent” arts and culture performances that “lift your soul.”
“It’s especially true that we’re here to recognize the vital role that public media plays in the health of our democracy and the future of our country,” he added.
Hari Sreenivasan, host of Amanpour and Company, suggested that “art has the opportunity to bring us together and unite us, so that we can share and understand how people see the world in a different way. That’s what public media does so well.”
At the gala, multi-award-winning, multi-talented Alan Cumming—who hosts PBS’ Masterpiece Mystery and has appeared on other of its programs—sang songs from Broadway shows, including Cabaret (for which he won a Tony Award in 1998 for best actor in a musical), Wild Party, Company and Applause.
He also discussed what he feels is “the need for kindness and compassion in the current climate” and talked about his immigration to the U.S. and the core values he still holds dear, noting “I will always be an American.”
Speaking with Forbes.com before the gala, Cumming said, “What I love about PBS is that they are concerned with quality, they are concerned with telling stories that are for everyone, even though we’re told they’re for the elites. They are accessible by everyone, and there are fewer and fewer things that are accessible by everyone in this country, and I think that is a great detriment.
“So for me,” he concluded, “PBS is a symbol of what America should be.”
The Tony Awards administration committee announced on April 28 that WNET’s Great Performances will receive a special Tony recognizing excellence in theater; this has brought performing arts programming to PBS stations nationwide for over 50 years.
WNET’s 2025 “Broadway and Beyond” lineup includes a special collection of programs such as Great Performances, American Masters, ALL ARTS and many others. Its 2025 Great Performances will offer a “Broadway’s Best” lineup of recent productions, Next to Normal, Yellow Face, Girl from the North Country and Kiss Me, Kate.
Through its channels and streaming platforms, the WNET Group brings arts, culture, education, news, documentary, entertainment and DIY programming to over five million viewers each month.