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House Republicans are threatening to defund public media. Help us fight back: Take action.
Friend,
Bad news: Republicans in Congress just proposed eliminating all federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a main revenue source for the hundreds of local NPR and PBS stations that air Sesame Street and PBS NewsHour.1
The cuts, voted on during a House Appropriations Education Subcommittee hearing, would zero out the $535 million the Biden administration proposed to help underwrite these and other popular programs like Democracy Now!, Fresh Air, Frontline and the PBS Kids lineup.
We've beaten back these kinds of threats before. And we can do it again. Join Free Press Action and tell Congress: Protect public media.
Public-media outlets in the United States reach communities that aren’t served by commercial local news — and are consistently rated among the most trusted media sources in public-opinion surveys.2 That means something in our increasingly polarized media landscape.
Our nation’s public-media system produces great journalism but is one of the most poorly funded in the world. While the $535-million investment the Biden administration proposed is essential to keeping local public-television and radio stations on the air, it amounts to just 0.03 percent of the $1.7 trillion of total annual discretionary spending in the president’s FY 2023 proposal — or approximately $1.60 per person.
By comparison, the United Kingdom spends more than $81 per person and France more than $75.3 The spending figures are even higher in Denmark, Finland and Norway.
Studies show that the health of a country’s democracy is directly connected to the strength of its public media. More robust funding for public media would strengthen U.S. democracy, leading to lower levels of extremism and deeper public engagement in civic life. That’s exactly what the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 intended.
Lawmakers should listen to the voices of their constituents instead of trying to slip into the budget this disastrous plan to silence NPR and PBS. Add your name to our petition calling on Congress to protect funding for public media.
Thanks for taking action,
Candace and the rest of the Free Press Action team
freepress.net
P.S. We need more funding for public media — but House Republicans want to slash funding for NPR and PBS altogether. Urge Congress to protect public media.
1. “House Subcommittee Proposes Zero Funding for Public Broadcasting,” TV Tech, July 14, 2023
2. “PBS and Member Stations Named ‘Most Trusted’ Media Organization for 19 Consecutive Years,” PBS press release, March 17, 2022
3. “Do Countries with Better-Funded Public Media Also Have Healthier Democracies? Of Course They Do,” NiemanLab, Jan. 24, 2022
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