Part of the current administration’s efforts to slash most of the government agencies and spending is $1.1 billion marked for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that provides a small portion of the budget’s for public television and radio around the country. The funding was earmarked for PBS and NPR over the next two years!
The media in general and especially those outlets he deems as “biased” is seeing executive orders and legislation to systematically erode First Amendment rights of Freedom of Speech.
PBS and NPR are being targeted as not “presenting fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens”; however, the entertainment network who calls themselves FOX News has admitted in court under oath that what they broadcast is NOT news but meant for entertainment only; yet, there has been no mention or efforts to curtail them.
President and CEO of PBS Paula Kerger issued a statement saying the bill, “goes against the will of the American people, the vast majority of whom trust PBS and believe we provide excellent value to their communities. These cuts will significantly impact all of our stations, but will be especially devastating to smaller stations and those serving large rural areas. Many of our stations which provide access to free unique local programming and emergency alerts will now be forced to make hard decisions in the weeks and months ahead.”
The $500 million per year the CPB receives is divided between PBS, NPR, and some 1,500 television and radio stations around the country designated to support their member funded budgets and grants.
The result of the lost funding will force many smaller stations and stations in scarcer population areas off the air; as well as, fewer original programs and series.
And those programs that are not made for PBS must be bought in order to broadcast them.
Ken Burns who has a number of special documentaries aired on PBS noted that some 20 percent of his budget for those programs came from the CPB.
Many public broadcasting designated radio stations are operated by colleges where students volunteer to get work experience in broadcasting and allow the stations to operate with a smaller budget.
Republicans, conservatives, and libertarians have long accused NPR, PBS, and public radio stations of being biased towards liberal attitudes.
Ken Burns noted, “A PBS station is really like the public library. It’s one of those important institutions that may be the only place where people have access to local news. There’s a kind of sense of local accountability, and as news becomes nationalized and even internationalized, there’s a loss there.”
One other area targeted by the current administration is the National Weather Service; Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski pointed out “my colleagues are targeting NPR but will wind up hurting — and, over time, closing down — local radio stations that provide essential news, alerts and educational programming in Alaska and across the country.” The state recently experienced an earthquake and tsunami warning.
Not only will the cuts close down some stations and prevent programming from being presented; it will also put a lot of people out of work.