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The Television Academy today announced the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as the recipient of the 2025 Governors Award. The award recognizes the organization’s more than five decades of service in enriching America’s media landscape. This has been achieved through funding and support for educational, cultural, and public-interest programming.
The Emmy® statuette will be presented to Patricia de Stacy Harrison. She is the longest-serving president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Since 2005, under Harrison’s leadership, CPB has guided public media through digital transformations. It helped stations adopt new technologies. CPB leveraged multimedia platforms to guarantee high-quality content reached audiences across television, radio, and online. In 2011, CPB launched the longest-running public media initiative. This initiative successfully addressed the national high school dropout crisis. It transformed educational access and graduation rates nationwide. The award will be presented during the 2025 Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 7.
The Governors Award is bestowed by the Television Academy’s Board of Governors. It honors an individual, company, or organization that has made a profound contribution to the arts and/or science of television. This contribution is both transformational and long-lasting.
Established in 1967 by the Public Broadcasting Act, CPB is a private, nonprofit corporation. It was authorized by Congress to serve as the steward of the federal investment in public broadcasting. It supports more than 1,500 locally owned and operated public radio and television stations across the United States. CPB has supported independent filmmakers. It has driven innovations in storytelling. This creates a cultural legacy for all Americans. It includes iconic and Emmy-winning series. Some examples are Sesame Street, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, The MacNeil/Lehrer Report, and PBS NewsHour. Other examples include NOVA, Finding Your Roots, Reading Rainbow, Molly of Denali, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, and FRONTLINE, and Independent Lens.
Public media has a long and distinguished history. It is filled with outstanding journalists, storytellers, and documentary filmmakers who raised the bar for excellence. This list includes Robert MacNeil, Jim Lehrer, Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff, William F. Buckley, Diane Rehm, Terry Gross, Ira Glass, Bill Moyers, Ken Burns, Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Stanley Nelson Jr.
Since its establishment, CPB has built public media into a nationwide service. It funds programs for all ages that educate, enlighten, and entertain. CPB also supports local and national newsrooms that deliver fact-based information. Additionally, it funds a technological infrastructure for content distribution and emergency alerts.
Today, public media connects the country, serving 99% of the U.S. population free of charge and without commercial interruptions. It is available over the air and online. Public media reaches all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Native communities in American Samoa. It serves rural and urban areas as well. It is often the only media available to residents of remote areas.
CPB supported public media’s pioneering work in closed captioning. It contributed to the development of descriptive video services and radio technology. These advancements allowed live-captioned and Braille radio programs to be more accessible to persons with disabilities.
In July, Congress voted to remove all funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This decision marks the end of nearly six decades of federal investment in America’s public media system.
“The Governors Award recognizes and celebrates extraordinary contributions that transcend television and transform society,” said Television Academy Chair Cris Abrego. “For more than half a century, CPB has been a steadfast champion of storytelling that informs, educates and unites us. CPB ensures public media remains a vital space where diverse voices are heard. Communities are served. We honor CPB’s enduring legacy with this award. Its impact on the cultural and civic life of our nation is extraordinary.”
Over the last 20 years, CPB’s funding has enabled stations to embrace new technologies. It has expanded public media’s reach to new audiences. CPB uses trusted content to amplify public media’s uniquely American story. It covers voices from all walks of life. CPB has consistently met the ever-changing needs of the communities that local public radio and television stations serve. “This is our legacy,” said Harrison. “CPB will serve as the foundation for the future of America’s public media.”
Previous recipients of the Governors Award include LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization GLAAD. The award was first presented in 1978. Other recipients include the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, Debbie Allen, and Greg Berlanti. Tyler Perry, Star Trek, and American Idol are also among the recipients. William S. Paley, Hallmark Cards Inc., Masterpiece Theatre, Comic Relief, and PBS have also been honored.
The 2025 Creative Arts Emmy® Awards will be held over two consecutive nights, Saturday, Sept. 6, and Sunday, Sept. 7, at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE, helmed by executive producer Bob Bain and Bob Bain Productions. An edited presentation of the ceremonies will air Saturday, Sept. 13, at 8:00 PM PDT on FXX. Available to stream on Hulu through Oct. 7.
The 77th Emmy Awards will telecast live from the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. The event will air from 8:00-11:00 PM EDT/5:00-8:00 PM PDT on the CBS Television Network. It will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
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