Dozens of California public broadcasting stations will lose millions of dollars in funding after Republicans in Congress voted to strip them of their federal support.

The move cuts off a vital lifeline in rural communities and limits access to locally focused news in an era of hyper-partisan national media.

In late July, Congress finalized President Donald Trump's request to rescind $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides grants to National Public Radio, the Public Broadcasting Service, their affiliates, and other independent public media creators.

Now, roughly 35 stations from San Diego to Hoopa in Humboldt County have lost critical funding.

Station leaders warn that the cuts will disproportionately harm locally produced programs that inform millions of listeners and viewers.

Smaller stations whose budgets relied disproportionately on federal dollars to make ends meet are the most at risk of closure.

The local stuff that's so important to people is probably the stuff that will go away.

If we're not here, the Inland Empire is just hearing about what's happening n Los Angeles.

We want to know what's happening in our backyard, what's happening at the schools around us.

Public media providers, especially in rural areas, begged Congress to spare their funding and pointed to the importance of life-saving services they provide, such as emergency weather alerts.

The loss of CPB funding will also jeopardize independent creators who aren't affiliated with NPR or PBS.

The consequences go beyond newsroom staff and programming, too.

The federal government currently funds repairs to transmission infrastructure and plays a role in helping negotiate artist royalty fees on behalf of local stations.

For CalMatters, I'm Maya C. Miller with additional reporting by Kayla Mihaljevic.