For over half a century, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has supported public radio and television, including National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Last week, CPB announced that it will be shutting down next month. This announcement came in response to President Trump rescinding $1.1 billion in funding for the nonprofit over the next couple of years. While Trump can hardly be considered a libertarian, he has at least downsized multiple government agencies, including the Department of Education, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and now CPB. I would prefer he tackle such major budgetary drivers as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. At least on this topic, Trump and I are on the same wavelength: the government has no business funding public media.
Let us start with the fact that PBS' and NPR's funding primarily comes from private sources. About 15 percent of PBS' funding comes from the federal government, whereas it is under 2 percent of annual revenue for NPR. To be fair, there are federal funds that flow into the affiliate stations and the affiliate stations in turn pay NPR or PBS. Government revenue represents about 10 percent of local affiliate revenue on average, although that could be upwards of 25 percent for rural stations. When factoring in that indirect support, that means that PBS gets about a quarter of its revenue from the federal government, whereas it is a bit over 10 percent for NPR. Since most of their revenue does not come from the government, the argument that PBS or NPR would automatically disappear is unconvincing.
I grew up watching Sesame Street. I have fond memories of Big Bird and learning to count from Count von Count. It was enjoyable and educational television. PBS and NPR have produced award-winning programming, so they have the potential to survive without the federal funding. This potential is greater given the median NPR-watching household makes $100,000, which is over $30,000 more than the median U.S. household. PBS and NPR already have the fundraising mechanisms in place to raise more funds, the brand loyalty and trust, and an affluent viewership. Their programming should be able to stand on their own if it really is that top-notch. Similar to the argument against student loan "forgiveness," is it really fair if the average worker is funding programming for people with six-figure incomes? Is this really the most efficient or even most equitable use of taxpayer money?
This brings me to my next point and stating the obvious: the year is 2025 and the media landscape is different than what it once was. Unlike in the 1960s, there are thousands of media outlets worldwide that the American people can access, including cable television, podcasts, streaming platforms (e.g., Netflix, Hulu, YouTube), newspapers, and magazines. Public media no longer fills the unique gap it once did. NPR and PBS are but two media providers in a diverse and competitive marketplace. If people want to consume programming from PBS and NPR that they consider high-quality, that is fine. I am not calling for PBS and NPR to be shut down. What I am asking is that NPR and PBS programming no loner be taxpayer-funded, but rather competes with the other media providers in the market.
This brings me to the theme of political bias. There is bound to be at least some bias in reporting the news. Editors make multiple choices, including what stories to cover or not cover, what perspective to take, and what language to use. There can be an argument made that there is a Left-leaning bias at NPR. This is not only because NPR is about 7 times more likely to be consumed for news by Democrats than Republicans. An insider of NPR, Uri Berliner, documented how ideological conformity and groupthink have eroded NPR's editorial balance.
Although Berliner's account corroborates bias, it would not matter if it had not. The deeper problem inherently remains that any news outlet funded by the government risks politicization, either because of perception of state endorsement or actual influence. Public trust erodes when journalism and government are financially entangled.
And once that bias creeps in, government funding is not merely questionable, but dangerous. At that point, you are not subsidizing the news, but a narrative. Media outlets have a right to air their perspective, but none are entitled to public funding because the government should remain neutral regarding public discourse. Would the NPR-listening crowd be okay with the government funding Fox News, Breitbart, or the Washington Examiner? I very much doubt it! Discontinuing funding for CPB does not violate the First Amendment. Rather, it reinforces it because free speech best thrives when it is free of state sponsorship.
During the Reagan years, former NPR chair Frank Mankiewicz tried to have NPR become independent of federal funding, and I think he was right to do so. Ultimately, this is not about silencing NPR or PBS. This is about having these media providers succeed on their own merits in an open, diverse, competitive market. NPR and PBS have the infrastructure, audience, and financial base to do so. Other media outlets did not require government subsidies and neither should NPR or PBS.
Much like I argued in 2017, taxpayers should not be on the hook for $535 million a year for programming that caters disproportionately to wealthier Americans or that carries a partisan tilt. In a country that is at least in theory supposed to support freedom of speech and limited government, it follows that public discourse should be shaped by the people, not underwritten by politicians in Washington, DC. If PBS and NPR are truly indispensable, they will survive without the largesse of the federal government.
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