When I first walked into PBS headquarters almost 10 years ago now, I had no idea what to expect. My experience of PBS, as is true of most young people, was almost exclusively Cyberchase, Dragon Tales, and Arthur. And of course, the Les Misérables 10th Anniversary Concert. My knowledge of Ken Burns was limited to the iMovie effect I used in my documentary film class. I had no idea when I walked onto the General Audience Programming floor and saw the giant wall art of some man with a camera (Ken Burns), just how much this place would come to mean to me.
I began my time at PBS as a program screener, meaning I spent my days watching TV (dream job, much?!). Never have I received a more thorough education than the 2 years I spent in this job. My mind was blown. Every day I learned new facts about history or the animal kingdom. I watched stories showcasing untold voices. I saw Broadway and opera performances I’ve only dreamed of seeing on stage. I was educated about politicians and the government, learned how to make new recipes, and how to build a chair. I vividly remember saying to anyone who could listen, “I can’t believe people my age don’t know that this is what PBS offers!”
And thus, a passion was born.
I was in the lowest job on the ladder, and I found myself brainstorming ways to reach new audiences. I told more senior employees, “If we only went to college campuses and showed them all of this, they would be amazed!”. I volunteered for anything that would help get the word out about PBS – the White House Easter Egg Roll, the NYC Book Con. I even asked to work with the PR department on external events we could do at bookstores to promote The Great American Read.
I met with my superiors across departments to hear more about their jobs and career paths so I could understand how to follow in their footsteps. I was determined that my career would be dedicated to bringing this amazing content to people who didn’t know it existed. And to serve audiences that need this content – the supportive, thoughtful, educational, fact-based content and information PBS provides. Over the course of my career thus far, I have lived out that mission every single day. I have moved across the country, tried jobs I did not feel ready for, read every book and article I could on leadership and content strategy and audience engagement. I have faced difficulties with management, employees, funding, audiences, partners, and more, and yet I have not stopped working.
I have not stopped because you don’t give up when you have a mission. Even in the hardest, darkest moments I will not give up when there are people out there to help, people to support, and voices to elevate.
Public media is not the narrative you’ve been hearing. It is not biased and it is not elitist. I and so many others have dedicated our careers to making sure this is so. It is not unnecessary. It is not a waste of taxpayer dollars. And it is not sustainable without federal funding.
So, what is public media?
Public media is an essential service. We are the only broadcasters that reach up to 99% of the American population - regardless of zip code, income level, or broadband access. We are one of the last uniquely locally owned, operated, and focused media entities providing distinct and essential local services.
We are beyond broadcast in communities. We work with local partners, parents, educators, and more to serve the mission of educating our area children. We are essential to public safety, providing emergency alerting systems and wireless emergency alerts to cell phones. Mobile networks are often one of the first things to go down in an emergency. So how do you access the critical information you need? Through public media.
The federal investment in public broadcasting represents 1/100th of 1% of the federal budget, about $1.60 per person per year. More than 70% of those funds go directly to the local stations who do the local work to support your local community. For over two decades, the American public has consistently ranked public television as one of the best investments the government makes.
Public media is essential.
The opposition narrative will give you few examples of why they think public media isn’t worth it. I’ll give you many examples of why it is.
On a national level, only 10% of the PBS schedule is news. PBS calls itself a “window to the world” and that is exactly what it is. If you lose PBS, you lose things like:
- Ken Burns Documentaries: where else can you find a more comprehensive, engaging view of key historical and American moments than from Ken Burns. Whether it’s The Civil War or The National Parks, Jackie Robinson, or Jazz, Country Music or Baseball, Ken Burns documentaries are a unique picture and celebration of what makes America, America.
- Free Performances: As ticket prices rise at almost every cultural event, PBS gives you free access to incredible stage performances, like Hamlet, musicals like Anything Goes, and operas like Land of Gold. Or concerts from Austin City Limits featuring artists like Chris Stapleton, Brittany Howard, Brandi Carlile, and more. PBS provides access to experiences often reserved only for those who can afford it.
- Nature and NOVA: Every week, PBS brings viewers incredible glimpses into the natural world in the series, Nature. Exploring the African savannah to the American arctic, hippos to horses, Nature gives you access to a world you can only dream of seeing. And NOVA brings you answers to the world’s biggest questions about technology, transformation, and life. From the Baltimore bridge collapse to the solar system to the building of the Eiffel tower, where else can you get answers to the questions you never thought to ask?
- Educational Programming: PBS brings audiences the highest quality, standards aligned educational content to families. Parents have named PBS KIDS the most educational media brand for children. These shows teach tangible skills from strategic problem solving and critical thinking on Lyla in the Loop to social emotional skills on Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. And PBS KIDS continues to innovate and provide new experiences and learning opportunities for children of any background. We’ve recently launched Carl the Collector which includes a main character with autism which celebrates and educates about neurodiversity.
- So much more! Think about Antiques Roadshow and Finding Your Roots, The French Chef with Julia Child and This Old House, Downton Abbey and All Creatures Great and Small. And some of my personal favorites like Native America, a documentary series exploring ancient indigenous history; American Veteran, a series examining the veteran experience; 9/11 Inside the Pentagon, a documentary interviewing the heroes and survivors of the Pentagon attack; and Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer which explored the reasons behind the extension of the human lifespan.
WKAR is also a member of NPR, and I’ve been grateful for the chance to learn about the array of incredible content provided on that side of public media. If we lose NPR, we lose:
- In depth news and information: Shows like Morning Edition and All Things Considered provide daily, balanced, in-depth news and information, both nationally and locally.
- Stories of humanity: StoryCorps offers unscripted conversation between two people about life, reminding us what matters most.
- Music: From Tiny Desk, to Alt.Latino and Jazz Night in America to Mountain Stage, NPR provides a variety of free musical entertainment.
- Information for life: Curious about the economy? NPR’s got you covered with Planet Money. Or scientific discoveries? Check out Short Wave. And of course Life Kit, for when you need a little help being a human.
- And even more! One of my favorite shows is Throughline, which puts the big issues today in the context of history, taking us on a journey of how we got to today.
And what we absolutely cannot forget is the local.
Yes there is “local news”, but in this day and age where news deserts are expanding and over 3200 newspapers have vanished since 2005, we cannot count on local news to give us all the information we need. Outlets are concentrating to urban areas, reporting on big picture issues and neglecting the city council meetings, boards of education and local school districts, town business, etc. As we lose local news, we see lower voter turnout, more corruption, waste, air pollution, and corporate crime. Public media stations are a solution. And if we lose public media, you’ll also lose things like:
- Education and family support: across the U.S., local stations provide direct engagement to our communities to support educators and families. Here at WKAR, we have provided over 100,000 books to support families building home libraries. At WUCF in Florida, they’ve created an initiative to introduce children to community helpers and practice emergency preparedness with Meet the Helpers. At KQED in California, they empower students to make their own media and then share their voices on a national platform with the Youth Media Challenge.
- State Legislative Information: In Minnesota and Kansas, PBS North broadcasts Minnesota Legislative Report and Smoky Hills PBS presents The Kansas Legislature, each giving community members an opportunity to call in and ask their questions to state legislators.
- High school sports coverage: Many public media stations, like Nebraska Public Media, cover high school sports, providing access that may not otherwise exist for families to see their children or grandchildren play.
- And so much more…like Michigan Out-of-Doors here at WKAR, Reflections on the Erie Canal at WMHT, Maryland Farm and Harvest at Maryland Public Television, and City Showdown at KLRN in Austin, TX.
If it isn’t clear by now, the value of public media far exceeds our cost to the federal government – again, 0.01% of the federal budget or $1.60 per taxpayer per year.
As we learned this week, the White House will soon be asking Congress to rescind the previously approved funding that supports the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and thereby the PBS and NPR systems. The ask will trigger a 45-day window in which Congress must decide whether to keep or eliminate funding for public media.
In those 45 days, so much is at stake. The mission I have dedicated myself to supporting for 10 years. Education. Information. Public Safety. Entertainment. Accessibility. And all of it free. If you are someone who values the truth. If you value not being told what or how to think, but rather being given the most widespread information necessary to make your own decisions. If you value the dedication of thousands and thousands of people in every state and many communities across the country, who have worked tirelessly for 58 years to make a difference… now is the time to show your support.
Call your representatives, mobilize your friends and families, and share your public media stories. What has public media meant to your life? To your children? To your community?
Because I know what it has meant to my life. It has meant opening up a world of knowledge, cultivating my curiosity, and continuing my love of the arts. It has meant having a deeper understanding of politics and government, locally and nationally, educating myself not just on politicians, but also the issues and the impact so I can be a more informed and engaged citizen. And it has consistently been one of the first things I think of in the morning and one of the last I think of before going to bed.
In my darkest, hardest days, when I’ve questioned whether the mission is worth all the difficulty it takes to provide, my answer is always yes. I’ll remember the laughter of a child getting free books or meeting Daniel Tiger. I’ll remember the words of thanks received after we tell someone’s untold story and the stories of people whose lives were forever changed when Mr. Rogers told them to “find the helpers”.
Public media matters. For the children who are struggling to learn how to read, for the people without broadband or in news deserts, for all community members during emergency situations, for the budding artist who can’t afford to see shows or attend art classes, for the people who want to consume truly balanced journalism, for the people who don’t ever see their stories represented on screen… public media is for them.
Public media is for you. Public media is for all of us. Please, help us protect it.
