January 7, 2025
Cutting PBS and NPR.
Trump’s Effort to Make Americans Less Thoughtful and Less Happy
Philip Kotler
I am offended enough by Donald Trump’s intention to reduce or nullify our two economic bedrocks, Social Security and Medicare. If Congress and the courts let him succeed, our people will become more unhappy and poorer.
Now Trump wants to add insult to injury. He wants to cut off US federal funds supporting two of America’s most popular programs, namely Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR). Both carry news about the world as well as entertainment. The public trusts these organizations to provide honest unbiased news and opinions. Both media companies are run by nonprofit organizations. They contrast to most of today’s news sources that are run by billionaires such as the Murdochs and Elon Musk who control much of the information that reaches the public. PBS and NPR aim to provide the public with a larger and more objective menu of news and opinions.
Let’s first examine the two media organizations and then comment on their plight and possible ways to save them.
Public Broadcasting System (PBS)
PBS provides its member TV stations with programming in cultural, educational, and scientific areas, in children’s fare, and in news and public affairs.
PBS is a leading provider of educational programs for public television stations. PBS KIDS helps prepare children for school success.
PBS offers a news magazine called Need to Know that provides insight and perspective on the week’s most compelling stories.
PBS offerings include Sesame Street, America’s Test Kitchen, NOVA, This Old House, Nature, Great Performances, and Sherlock Holmes.
PBS is a home for documentary storytelling. PBS offers over 200 hours of new documentary content, seen by more than 50 million people.
PBS does not produce programs; the programs are produced by the member stations, independent producers, and other program producers worldwide.
PBS is viewed by over 130 million people in the U.S. each year. PBS KIDS has 15.5 million monthly users and 345 million monthly streams across its digital platforms.
PBS is available on traditional television, as well as on the PBS website and app, and on social media.
Over the course of a year, 58% of all U.S. television households — more than 130 million people — watch PBS.
PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization. The federal government provides about 15% of PBS’s annual revenues. If eliminated, PBS will have to drop or reduce many of its programs.
National Public Radio (NPR)
NPR produces and broadcasts daily news programs on-air and online, that examine issues affecting communities, the nation, and the world.
NPR’s mission is to create a more informed citizenry, providing listeners with a deeper understanding of events, ideas, and cultures.
Some of NPRs most popular programs are Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Fresh Air, and To the Best of Our Knowledge.
NPR is a non-profit media organization that produces, acquires, and distributes programming for more than 1,000 public radio stations across the United States. NPR also has its own podcasts and website.
NPR’s headquarters are in Washington, D.C., and its NPR West headquarters are in Culver City, California.
NPR’s funding comes from (1) Dues and programming fees from member stations, (2) Private foundation funds, (3) Revenue from sales of NPR-related merchandise, (4) Corporate sponsorships, (5) Competitive grants from federally funded organizations and (6) fundraising drives directed at individual listeners.
NPR features Podcasts such as Alt. Latino, All Songs Considered, Jazz Night in America, and World Café.
NPR serves as a major source of news and cultural programs for more than 70 million Americans.
In 2022, National Public Radio (NPR) had 30.7 million weekly listeners. NPR has a larger audience than any other radio station in the United States. NPR’s audience is diverse with people of all ages, ethnicities, and party affiliations. NPR’s Morning Edition is its most popular program, with nearly 14 million listeners.
Why is Trump Choosing to Cut Funding to PBS and NBR?
Trump and the Republican Party have been targeting PBS and NPR for years. They are furious when these trusted public media organizations report stories exposing Trump’s lies. They accuse these organizations of being biased and run by the Democratic Party.
Trump presents a further argument. He told his audiences that the federal deficit is too high. He said that the federal budget is too high and cuts are badly needed. So Trump appointed Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to head a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut $2 trillion from US government spending! This amounts to 30% of total federal government spending. Musk and Ramaswamy are aiming to cut Social Security, Medicare and many other government agencies and expenses, including cutting federal funding of PBS and NPR.
Trump also hints that he wants to increase the military budget. This is ludicrous because the Pentagon can’t even account for 63% of nearly $4 trillion in assets. This is more than the entire budget Congress agreed to for the current fiscal year. The Pentagon just can’t pass an audit.
What is at stake? If Trump cuts federal funding for PBS and NPR, these media organizations will lose 15 percent of their budget. They would have to cut down their educational programing. They would need to increase their fundraising drives to make up for the 15% funds drain. Millions of Americans would lose free educational programming. Trump essentially wants more Americans to stop thinking about racial problems, poverty, hunger and job discrimination. He favors banning books that might incite opposition to his mindset. He opposed “woke” organizations. He is less interested in helping the working class get more educated than in helping the rich get richer.
What Can Be Done to Save Government Funding for PBS and NPR?
Many public organizations and corporations hopefully will pressure the government to continue their funding of PBS and NBR. There will be much complaining by employees during coffee breaks about the loss of popular programs. Hopefully some leading companies will take a stand in support of continuing federal support.
The is another solution that provides a more immediate solution. If the problem is the growing deficit, then the answer is to raise enough taxes to cover the rising costs of government operations. This can be done by getting Congress to raise taxes on the top 1% of richest Americans. The richest Americans have been the major beneficiaries of rising U.S. income. The economic evidence is clear that the wealthy have benefited significantly more than the middle class from the rise in income over recent decades, with the top earners experiencing much larger percentage increases in their income compared to middle-class households. Our income inequality has peaked.
The richest Americans still are only paying income taxes of about 8%. Yet the wealthy benefit like other Americans from the economic, social and cultural programs provided by PBS and NPR. Why should low income and middle-income households who are major consumers of PBS and NPR be deprived of these beneficial programs that broaden their education and entertain them.
The death or dying of PBS and NPR would only satisfy those who want to produce less happy, less thoughtful Americans.
