(The Center Square) – An Illinois congressman opposed defunding PBS and NPR, backing public value claims, while critics say the taxpayer funding is outdated and unfair.
Standing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, Illinois U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Moline, said he cast a “no” vote on the recent rescissions bill backed by former President Donald Trump, which included over $1 billion in proposed cuts to public broadcasting.
“Public broadcasting is one of the few places where Americans can turn for trusted news like PBS NewsHour and quality education like Clifford the Big Red Dog,” Sorensen said, citing specific local stations like WTVP in Peoria and WGLT in Bloomington-Normal as vulnerable to the cuts.
Illinois radio and TV stations receive about $12.8 million in grant funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
But Tim Graham, executive editor of NewsBusters, argues that public media is no longer essential in the modern digital media environment.
“It starts from the idea that Americans under 35 aren’t watching broadcast TV and they aren’t really listening to broadcast radio,” said Graham. “If I can use my own kids as an example—my son is 35—and he told me, ‘Dad, I don’t watch broadcast TV, and I don’t listen to the radio in my car. I’ve got Spotify.’ Nielsen reported in May that streaming now accounts for about 48% of television viewing, while cable and broadcast combined have dropped below 50%.”
Graham noted that many of the children’s programs often cited by defenders of public media are no longer exclusive to PBS and that they are the property of streaming services like HBO Max or Netflix.
“Democrats always run to the kiddie shows, but Sesame Street isn’t even a PBS show anymore. It was on HBO Max and now it’s on Netflix. Sure, reruns may air on PBS, but that’s not the point,” said Graham. “They focus on morning kids’ shows to deflect from what really airs in the evening, programming that often paints the president of the United States as Hitler.”
Sorensen emphasized that the funding cuts come at a time when local journalism is already in crisis. He warned that newspapers, investigative reporters and broadcast news are facing what he called “near extinction,” describing them as “the endangered species” of today’s media landscape.
“These aren’t political outlets, they’re places for people to be entertained and educated. More importantly, they’re trusted. And I know a little something about earning people’s trust,” said Sorensen, a former meteorologist. “You invited me into your living rooms day after day for decades, not because I gave you a 30% chance of rain, but because I explained why things were happening the way they were.”
Graham dismissed that notion and explained NPR and PBS have a left-wing bias.
“My father worked his whole life, or almost all of his whole adult life at a commercial radio station in my little hometown of Wisconsin. He always resented NPR,” said Graham. “Eric Sorensen stands in front of the Capitol and says, ‘This is where we all go to have conversations.’ No, it’s not. They don’t even allow us into the conversation. They claim to be the guardians of democracy, but there’s no democracy in public broadcasting. They don’t let us speak or invite us in for interviews.”
Graham explained public broadcasters typically have higher than industry-standard salaries and better equipment than their commercial counterparts.
