Fred Rogers of “Mister Roger’s Neighborhood” once sat before Congress and gave a moving statement as to why the Nixon administration should not cut federal funding to PBS. But long gone are the days when Republicans and Democrats alike could rally behind one singular figure and beacon of goodness like Mister Rogers. Just last March, leaders of both PBS and NPR were brought before Congress for an ugly hearing in which everyone from Elmo to Elon Musk were invoked.
Again this week, public broadcasting is under attack. President Donald Trump late on Thursday signed an executive order aimed at “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media,” accusing both PBS and NPR of producing biased, “left-wing propaganda.” The order specifically says that the Corporation of Public Broadcasting must stop the direct or indirect funding of PBS, NPR, and its affiliates using taxpayer funded dollars.
But even Clifford the Big Red Dog won’t roll over without a fight (or a bone).
Patricia Harrison, the president and chief executive of the CPB, explained in a statement that it is “not an agency subject to the President’s authority,” and is instead funded by Congress two years in advance as a nonprofit organization in order to prevent from exactly this sort of political maneuvering.
Paula Kerger, the president and CEO of PBS, also called Trump’s executive order “blatantly unlawful.”
“The President’s blatantly unlawful Executive Order, issued in the middle of the night, threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years,” Kerger’s full statement reads. “We are currently exploring all options to allow PBS to continue to serve our member stations and all Americans.”
NPR in a statement too said, “Eliminating funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would have a devastating impact on American communities across the nation that rely on public radio for trusted local and national news, culture, lifesaving emergency alerts, and public safety information.”
According to PBS, public broadcasting costs the American taxpayer roughly $1.60 per person, per year. Much of both NPR and PBS’ funding comes not from taxpayers alone but from donations and sponsors. So it’s unclear the exact extent of what Trump’s executive order will be immediately.
The Trump administration, along with the order, produced its own “fact sheet,” accusing the outlets of biased coverage that involves all the right-wing buzzwords of the day, from DEI to Hunter Biden’s laptop to transgender issues.
Trump previously took over the Kennedy Center because of some of the events it had involving trans individuals and drag shows. For one, the Trump administration really didn’t like this NPR report on Valentine’s Day discussing the queer animals found in nature and the article’s suggestion that it might’ve been more accurate to nature had the dad Marlin from “Finding Nemo” had become female. Clearly that sentence was triggering for some folks.
While still searching for its next major hit in the vein of a “Downton Abbey,” PBS in June has a look at Angel Blue making her debut as “Aida” at The Met, a special called “Walking with Dinosaurs,” and an “American Masters” on “At Seventeen” singer Janis Ian.
