The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced Friday that it will begin shutting down, weeks after Congress canceled previously approved funding for the nation's steward of public media access.

The company is among the first casualties of a vote to strip roughly $500 million in federal funding from NPR, PBS and local stations across the country.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a cornerstone of American culture for three generations, announced Friday it would take steps toward its own closure after being defunded by Congress — marking the end of a nearly six-decade era in which it fueled the production of renowned educational programming,