Heads of troubled Public Broadcasting Corporation, National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) defended the Trump administration’s efforts to cut taxpayer funds, all told Sunday’s political talk show that they were looking for legal options.

PBS CEO Paula Kerger told CBS News what the face of the Republican-led threat of withdrawing federal funds from public broadcasters has been around for decades, but “this time is different.”

"They follow us in many different ways... We've never seen this, and obviously we're going to postpone it very hard because there's a risk that is our radio station, our public television station, our public radio stations all over the country," Kerger said.

Donald Trump issued an executive order last week that prevented NPR and PBS from obtaining taxpayer funds through the public broadcaster (CPB) through companies.

The White House said that unlike the company was founded in 1967, the media landscape is now full of news options, and the concept of government-funded news media is "not only outdated, unnecessary, but also corrodes the emergence of journalism independence."

The order added: "What view is that NPR and PBS promote views does not matter. Nothing matters."

On Sunday, Kerger warned that some stations in smaller communities across the United States could lose 40% to 50% of their funds. “For them, it exists, and if this fund goes away, it’s risky,” she said.

NPR CEO Katherine Maher was grilled by Republicans on the capital hill last month, claiming both actions were politically biased and her organization was “looking for any options we have available.”

But she added: “I think it’s a bit preliminary to us to talk to the specific strategies we might adopt.”

Maher warned that the impact on local radio stations is direct, “especially as we see progress in the national news desert, 20% of Americans don’t have access to another local news source. This can really be devastating, especially in rural communities.”

But the NPR boss also tried to boycott the U.S. president's claim that her actions were left-leaning, noting that Trump administration officials were reluctant to participate in the NPR program.

Mach said the focus of public broadcasting is “to bring people together, so we have a lot of conservative voices lately”.

Maher added: "We have been asking the Trump administration to ask their officials to air. We want more people to accept these invitations. It's hard to say that when people don't join us, we can speak for everyone."

Trump told the journalism major in his opening speech in Alabama last week that he wasn't sure if he liked the press, but acknowledged that liberal media was important, even though he repeatedly called American journalists "the enemy of the people."

"We need a great media. They are like a supervisor. They are very important. You can go out and follow the new track. Help save the country. The people of this country, they know the truth when they hear it. That's why the ratings, the number of media recognition is so low."

But Kerger warned that ongoing debates about media bias and threats to grant funds to public broadcasters pose a threat to children’s programs, including those who do not attend formal tuition fees.

“That’s what Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers think, and everything after that is to make sure kids who don’t have access to the full resources have the opportunity to learn… It’s risky,” she said.