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America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) today presented the Champion of Public Broadcasting Award to Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.).

The Champion of Public Broadcasting Award is the organization’s highest honor, given annually to champions in Congress and state government for their extraordinary support of public television.

APTS said: “Congresswoman Debbie Dingell has shown unwavering leadership as a champion of public television for her entire Congressional career and beyond, recognizing the valuable services public broadcasting provides to the people of Michigan and throughout our nation.”

Kate Riley, APTS president-CEO, added: “Congresswoman Dingell has been a stalwart and effective supporter of public media. Time and again, Congresswoman Dingell has shown steadfast leadership on our issues by consistently supporting our annual funding requests, helping stations address pressing infrastructure needs, supporting the efforts of stations like Detroit PBS to meet the challenges of the COVID pandemic and provide the highest quality resources to their communities when they were needed most.

“We greatly appreciate Congresswoman Dingell’s keen understanding of the unique role of local public television stations in the media marketplace and our extraordinary public services from education as demonstrated by the Michigan Learning Channel, to our role in public safety through the PBS WARN system and all that our local stations do to connect communities to each other and highlight the stories, history and culture that are uniquely theirs.

“America’s Public Television Stations are profoundly grateful for Congresswoman Dingell’s leadership and support, and it is my honor to present her with the well-deserved 2025 Champion of Public Broadcasting Award.”

Dingell said: “Public television stations provide an irreplaceable service by sharing public safety, educational and local programming, every day, for free, and remain among the most trusted sources of information for their communities. We must continue to invest in public broadcasting, which benefits every American, especially those in rural communities. I am honored to be a Champion of Public Broadcasting, and will continue to advocate for strong federal support for public TV.”

Dingell represents Michigan’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Natural Resources Committee.

Before being elected to Congress, Dingell – a self-proclaimed car girl – worked in the auto industry for over three decades, where she was president of the General Motors Foundation and a senior executive responsible for public affairs.

An active civic and community leader, Dingell is a recognized national advocate for women and children. She successfully fought to have women included in federally funded health research and advocated for greater awareness of women’s health issues overall, including breast cancer and heart health. She is a founder and former chair of the National Women’s Health Resource Center and the Children’s Inn at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).