As the Trump administration pursues a policy of selective federal austerity, defunding public media represents a drop in a very large bucket. But that drop makes a big difference in the health of our democracy, the early development of our children and the civic awareness of the public.
According to recent reporting, Hampton Roads’ National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service stations are confident they can endure a loss of federal support, even if they shouldn’t have to. Other communities, including many in Virginia, won’t be as lucky as these actions needlessly rob them of public media programming that challenges, entertains, informs and educates.
From its earliest days of television, like radio before it, proponents argued that the medium could bring people together by making information and entertainment more accessible. Suddenly people wouldn’t need to live in a big city to see performances by world-class actors, musicians, dancers and other artists; so long as they could get a signal, viewers could watch from the comfort of home.
In the United States, the airwaves used for radio and television broadcasts are public resources. So while private companies moved toward advertiser-supported programming, there was a noble belief that these mediums should serve the public good with content that enriches and informs rather than shocks and titillates in the pursuit of profit.
That remains the heart of public media’s mission. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting was created by an act of Congress in 1967 to provide federal support for that endeavor, manifesting in the organization of PBS in 1969 and NPR in 1970.
These outlets are responsible for a host of programming — the drama of “Masterpiece,” the storytelling of “This American Life,” science of “NOVA” and the music of “Austin City Limits,” among so many others. But it’s in news and education where public media shines the brightest.
Generations of children have learned important life lessons and the basic building blocks of a sound education by watching “Sesame Street” and “Mister Rogers Neighborhood.” And plenty of Americans begin their day by tuning into radio programs such as “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.”
Countless studies have confirmed the benefit, from children who get a jump on reading and vocabulary through educational programming on PBS to the fact that countries with strong public media systems tend to have more robust and healthier democracies. There is value to this comparatively modest investment and it’s clearly evident.
That makes the White House campaign against public media so insidious. President Donald Trump has called NPR and PBS programming “radical propaganda,” tried to fire members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting board — a move immediately challenged in court — and signed an executive order this month seeking to cease funding for public media. Simply put, Trump wants to put NPR and PBS under his thumb so he can influence what they broadcast.
As anyone who’s watched or listened knows, Washington provides funding for public media — $535 million in this fiscal year — in concert with donations from foundations, businesses and, of course, viewers like you. Support for PBS and NPR is wide and deep, but federal money is a lifeline to many stations, especially in rural and traditionally underserved areas.
Locally, WHRO Public Media, which operates Hampton Roads’ NPR and PBS stations, told The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press this month that it believes it can endure the loss of federal funding, which represents only 9% of its annual budget. But WHRO CEO Bert Schmidt told reporter Colin Warren-Hicks that smaller communities lacking robust support from a large donor base would be challenged to survive without Washington’s help.
This is yet another area in which Congress should assert its authority under the Constitution.
Appointments to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting board and funding appropriations for NPR and PBS are decisions reserved for lawmakers, not the president. And members of the federal legislature should recognize the value of supporting public media, which benefits their constituents at relatively little cost.
PBS and NPR have served the nation well since their creation and should be protected against these baseless, misguided attacks.