PBS Under Pressure

For decades, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been the financial backbone of America’s public media system—providing crucial assistance to stations in small towns and rural communities where philanthropy simply isn’t enough. This week, that backbone collapsed.

With the close of the federal government’s fiscal year, the CPB has officially shut down, following a $1.1 billion rescission pushed by Donald Trump and Republicans over the summer. For NPR, PBS, and hundreds of local stations, the political fight in Washington has suddenly become a crisis at home: layoffs, program cuts, and existential questions about survival.

At the center of it all is Paula Kerger, the longest-serving chief executive in PBS history. This week, as PBS faces what she calls the most challenging moment in its history, Kerger spoke with Status about the stakes, the path forward, and why she still sees reasons for hope.

Below is our conversation, lightly edited for style.

This week marked the official end of federal support for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. What was your first thought when you woke up knowing the day had arrived?

Saddened for what has been a profoundly successful public/private partnership that has been challenged. There are great uncertainties about the future of stations serving smaller rural communities. That is why President Lyndon B. Johnson envisioned this partnership to ensure access to all with federal money shoring up areas where philanthropy will be challenged. That said, I do feel hope as I see people across the country stepping up to fill some of the funding gap left by the loss of federal dollars.

For those who might be confused, what impact will this have on PBS?

We are still here, providing the programming and content you know and love. My focus is to ensure that every decision we make going forward has the greatest positive impact on PBS member stations and the people we serve. I firmly believe public media is so important to American democracy that people will fight for it, fund it, and champion it no matter what obstacles we face.

You’ve been at PBS nearly two decades. How does this moment compare with other existential challenges you’ve faced? And how do you plan to weather this crisis?