SAVING PBS
“Can’t have the kids being groomed by Antiques Roadshow.” This statement is from a cartoon by Jen Sorensen talking about the defunding of public broadcasting. The humorous, but perceptive, cartoon explains the ridiculous reasoning behind Republican attacks on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Back in 1961 Newton Minow, the Federal Communications Commission Chairman, famously described commercial television as a “vast wasteland.” Television, like radio before it, was a wonderful communication tool for providing quality information, education, entertainment and cultural programming. But Minow believed its potential was being squandered and he was correct.
As we have all experienced, most commercial broadcasting is mediocre entertainment, shallow, misleading news with little educational programming and a massive dose of deceptive advertising. Commercial broadcasting prioritized ratings and profits with little regard for the public good.
This is why in 1967 Congress created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). It was funded by annual appropriations by congress (a minuscule $535 million in FY 2025). The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR) are independent, public-private partnerships. These local public television and radio stations get about 10% of their funding from the CPB and the rest from multiple, mostly private sources like foundations, universities, business sponsors and public donations.
PBS and NPR became the standard for quality broadcasting. Their example encouraged commercial broadcasters to do better but only a few networks ever matched the quality of programs like Sesame Street, American Experience, Frontline, NOVA, Nature, Morning Edition, All Things Considered, The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour, American Masters, Great Performances, Firing Line, Washington Week, This Old House or even Antiques Roadshow. This is just a partial list of the high quality programming from public broadcasting.
Comedian and actress Carol Burnett once said about Sesame Street, “I loved being exposed to all that goodness and humor” (she performed on Sesame Street many times). This description of “goodness” fits many public broadcasting programs.
Phillip B. Levine, a professor of economics at Wellesley College, researches the impact on disadvantaged children from early childhood interventions. His studies show that watching Sesame Street produced better academic achievement in elementary children. On the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street, he said that on commercial TV, “There was nothing even remotely… educational…at all for children…Sesame Street was 100% about education.”
Yet Sesame Street has been a major target of Republicans. They claim it is fostering “liberal bias” and “grooming” children by portraying people with different beliefs, ethnicity and lifestyles living together in a harmonious community. Exposing children to tolerance is “woke” and unacceptable “liberal propaganda” for these bigots.
With the advent of cable TV, the Internet, social media, and massive media conglomerates the situation has became even worse. Today we have large segments of the population mired in this swamp of “infotainment” and woefully ignorant and misinformed on many topics of importance.
Republicans claim eliminating funding for public broadcasting is needed (along with all the other social program cuts) to eliminate waste and reduce the national debt. But the numbers don’t support their claims. The attacks on numerous federal activities in the newly passed budget are clearly motivated by radical anti-government ideology and conservative social beliefs and have nothing to do with sound fiscal policy or a rational restructuring of the federal bureaucracy to save money or be more “efficient.” The cuts to public broadcasting are only one example of the Republicans budget hypocrisy.
There is nothing “fiscally responsible” about Trump’s recently passed budget. Analysis by numerous reputable sources, including the Congressional Budget office, show their budget will significantly increase the deficit and add trillions to the national debt. Trump’s $1.69 trillion discretionary budget includes a $119.3 billion increase in Pentagon spending. Department of Homeland Security will get $107.4 billion (a $42.3 billion or 64.9% increase). At the same time all non-defense spending is being cut by 22.6%.
It is not hard to illustrate the the irresponsibility of Trump’s budget. Public broadcasting was $535 million in FY 2025 and has been cut to zero. But military bands are untouched at an estimated cost of $437 million a year. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced it will cease operations at the end of October. But in the same week Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation and recently appointed head of NASA, announced plans to put a nuclear powered electrical generator on the moon. This totally useless waste is expected to cost $2-3 billion. Why? Because we have to get there before the Chinese! More serious waste is in the $46 billion budgeted for building more of the border wall. And these are just three small examples of fiscal stupidity.
Clearly we can easily afford 0.03% of the $1.69 trillion annual budget for public broadcasting. Public broadcasting is being defunded for political not economic reasons.
The current wrecking crew in Washington is destroying many, much more important government activities than PBS and NPR. Literally we are in the middle a fascist, authoritarian take over of the country. The long term consequences for people, a civil society, the environment and democracy will be severe. All the checks and balances are failing and stopping or reversing the many unwise, illegal, dictatorial actions of this administration are going to be very difficult and time consuming.
The good news is we can save PBS and NPR. There is a simple solution we all can do. Donate! Sign up to make regular donations!
Collective action can be very powerful. Seventy five million people voted for Kamala Harris. An average contribution of just $10 per year from these people would raise $750 million to save public broadcasting (a 43% increase). We can easily make the system well funded and independent from all political interference.
A 2025 Harris poll says 66% of Americans (58% of Republicans and 77% Democrats) support federal funding for public radio and television and think it is a good value for their taxes. These folks contributing would easily raise $2 billion or more
This is not just my crazy liberal idea. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board (reprinted in the Duluth News Tribune) recently wrote, “Until America resumes electing actual public servants instead of the cultural arsonists currently running the show, those donations from the public will be more urgent than ever.”
We should think of saving PBS as a massive act of civil disobedience. It is non-compliance and a passive-aggressive act of non-violent resistance. Join the anti-Trump revolution and make your contribution today.