A proposal before the Senate to strip funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting could be catastrophic for local stations, particularly those in rural areas.

More than a half-century ago, the federal government took a big step toward the media business when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act into law.

Because of that bill, PBS, NPR and other public broadcasters in the United States receive more than $500 million annually from the government-funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

That support is now hanging in the balance. The Senate is planning to vote this week on a proposal to strip the funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a move that could be catastrophic for radio and TV stations across the country.

Here’s what you need to know.

Would NPR and PBS survive?

Yes. NPR gets about 2 percent of its annual budget directly from federal grants, including from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; for PBS,