The end of publicly funded television and radio programming could be devastating for Americans. Perhaps that sounds hyperbolic, but it is not. Programs like National Public Radio (NPR), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) are not the entertainment-based, liberal subsidies that the conservatives in Congress pretend they are. In fact, they provide vital services to all Americans.
PBS offers unique programming for young children through PBS Kids. Programs like Sesame Street, Arthur and Cyberchase provide educational television for preschoolers and elementary school students. Where else could this sort of early-education television be found? The fact is, no other network provides for children what PBS does. Families that cannot afford early education may find some substitute in the math and reading-centric shows PBS carries.
NPR, too, provides a valuable service to Americans. In a radio format, NPR is able to truly break down news and make it understandable to average people, while also delivering world and local news as well as giving a voice to issues that media that has to pay for itself cannot afford to cover. Cutting NPR funding means cutting off easy access to news and information to thousands of people. NPR remains one of the most comprehensive and investigative journalistic outlets in the United States, so cutting NPR funding means eliminating one of today’s few journalistically responsible news organizations.
Ending funding to federally funded broadcasting companies is one of those political choices that has no real benefits and serious ramifications. In a world without PBS and NPR, low-income children are at an even greater disadvantage than they are now; the achievement gap grows beyond recognition; good journalism is punished in favor of weakly constructed political fights; Americans lose trusted news. This is not worth cheap political points.