Paula Kerger, president of PBS, is responding to a potential $500 million cut in government funding that is at risk in a rescission bill that would affect its funding for the next two years.
The funding mostly supports 330 stations, with cuts potentially removing 10-15% of stations' funding. Kerger noted that for stations in rural areas, up to half of their funding could be eliminated because of the rescission bill.
"This is why we are so focused on trying to make the case that if these cuts go through, it's about eliminating the possibility of funding and sustainability, frankly, for many of our stations," she said.
The funding cuts could also impact numerous National Public Radio stations throughout the U.S. In all, nearly $1.1 billion in funding could be cut if the bill is signed into law.
She said the impact of funding cuts would be particularly felt by families with young children.
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"Our kids programming is designed for young children, particularly the 50% of kids in this country that do not attend formal pre-K. And those programs are not just safe and fun for children to watch," she said. "They have educational curriculum embedded in them with the idea that children that watch our programming will pick up the basic skills that they need to be successful the first time they enter school and put them on a path for success in life."
The White House has targeted public television and radio stations that use PBS and NPR services, respectively. President Donald Trump had signed an executive order preventing CPB from funding NPR and PBS, as well as organizations that utilize NPR and PBS programming.
But given that funds for the CPB were already approved by Congress, it would likely take an act of Congress to rescind that money.
The Trump administration argues that government funding of news media in "this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence."
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Kerger emphasized the independent nature of PBS stations and their crucial roles within their communities.
"We're not a network. Our stations are all independent. They're supported by their communities," she said. "And our job is to support their work and to give them the resources that they want from us. And so we'll be working closely to see what we can do. But I really worry very deeply that if these cuts go through, this isn't like a newspaper that goes away and then another newspaper could come back and start up again.
"These are television broadcast licenses. And once they're gone, they're gone."
