Dear Friend,
One year ago this week, Congress voted to rescind federal funding for public media. While public attention on this issue has shifted, our annual funding gap is still here.
That vote didn't just usher in the most challenging year in PBS News history—with many difficult decisions that impacted programming and staffing—it left PBS News with a $4 million hole in our budget, every single year, going forward.
There is no one-time magical fix for that. Now, at the start of our new fiscal year, one thing standing between that gap and the trustworthy journalism you rely on is people like you.
Please help us reach our goal of 500 donors by midnight on the anniversary of the rescission, tomorrow, July 17. The best way to support PBS News is as a monthly donor, providing the crucial, reliable funding we count on to plan ahead and deliver the quality journalism you trust.
Our scope of work ahead is significant. We're heading into an election season that will not only test our country but also the press covering it. Voters need reporting they can trust precisely in the moments when misinformation runs rampant, and trust is hardest to find.
We will be there, as always, doing the hard work. That's our mission, our calling, and these are the moments we are made for.
The main reason we're still here, still reporting, still asking hard questions of people in power, is because you stepped up when Congress stepped back.
Here's what your support made possible this past year:
- Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett anchoring nightly coverage of a country in the middle of historic change, night after night, with unwavering clarity and focus
- Nick Schifrin and a deep bench of special correspondents reporting from the ground on the conflicts and international affairs shaping the world order—the kind of on-the-ground journalism that's disappearing almost everywhere else
- Lisa Desjardins untangling what's actually happening on Capitol Hill, in plain language, no jargon, no spin
- William Brangham pushing into the science, health, and technology stories that matter enormously to people's lives
- Liz Landers covering the stories coming out of the White House with great care and rigor
None of this happens without a newsroom that's fully funded and fully independent. Not independent from accountability—independent from pressure. From advertisers. From political power. From anyone who'd rather we dilute the truth.
Every single gift helps us close part of that $4 million gap. There is real power when people like you, who believe in this kind of journalism, decide that it's worth funding.
If you've already given recently, thank you—genuinely. If you haven't given, this is the moment. The funding crisis didn't end when public attention waned—it’s our new normal and why your gift matters even more now.
Please help us reach our goal of 500 donors by midnight Friday with your monthly gift. Thank you.
With gratitude,
|
|
