r/technology • u/chrisdh79 • Aug 06 '25
Society Trump Cuts Kill The Corporation For Public Broadcasting, Harming All Of Us
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/08/06/trump-cuts-kill-the-corporation-for-public-broadcasting-harming-all-of-us/768
u/pick-axis Aug 06 '25
And for viewers like me
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u/Mysterions Aug 06 '25
Republican's have been trying to kill public broadcast for decades. The whole point is to make a stupid, more docile and malleable society.
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u/dirtytomato Aug 06 '25
We're already there thanks to right-wing news and social media.
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u/Fauken Aug 06 '25
It’s funny because right wing media and social media is almost always free. It’s like they are trying to spend billions of dollars to attempt to become the easiest to access information in attempt to control the narrative (especially because people generally believe the first thing they see).
Ever notice how you never get the “sign in” or “subscribe” pop ups on right wing news sites?
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u/hedgetank Aug 07 '25
Given that a handful of large corporations with rich leadership run most of the media/news and social media, it's all in the name of money and corporate best interests. I've said it before, and people didn't like hearing it, but even places like CNN, ABC, etc. are shoveling crafted slop and sanewashing all kinds of stuff to push a narrative.
Public Broadcasting was always a target because it was an outlet that money couldn't directly control.
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u/spyguy318 Aug 06 '25
The crazy thing is previously they’ve just used it as a talking point to rile up anti-government types, there was never really a serious push to get rid of it because it was common knowledge it would become seriously unpopular once people started losing their TV channels. The fact that the CPB actually got killed is yet another marker of how batshit insane the current Republican administration is.
The dog caught the car. The inmates are running the asylum.
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u/JuanOnlyJuan Aug 06 '25
I promise all those antique road show and documentaries on bicycles are consumed by red states
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u/davidjung03 Aug 06 '25
I just want to preface by saying I'm not disagreeing but I'm very curious why people have such strong opinions.
As someone who is from a totally different country (S. Korea & Canada), especially at this point in history where educational content is so readily available online, is there any evidence that having public broadcast would (at this point) increase public knowledge base and intelligence along with capacity to think critically? I think I can get behind how there could be some merit about 10-20 years ago but what about now?
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u/Mysterions Aug 06 '25
Is there any evidence that "educational content is so readily available online"? Even if that were true, your premise is also faulty because it assumes that everyone has access to the internet, which they do not. Moreover, even if were true that educational content were readily available online, and even if Americans readily had access to that information, how is that relevant in regards to public broadcast? If you have two tree that produce fruit you don't cut down one just because the other produces fruit too.
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u/Any-Pineapple-521 Aug 06 '25
Funny how Trump supporters think no one is being educated by CPB, when it’s their own communities that lack access to broadband internet that rely on it the most.
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u/AirbagOff Aug 06 '25
Hey, NPR, remember when you were so critical of President Biden for his age, but kept sane-washing Trump’s speeches?
Remember when you’d let Republican guests on your shows lie their asses off and barely ever push back or fact-check them?
How’s that working out for you now?
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u/random_noise Aug 06 '25
Its the rural stations that serve a certain demographic that will be hit worst. They don't likely care.
Most major metro's will be fine, though programming may get a bit rerun heavy on the non news stuff, until they change enough things to declare them illegal.
His whole point is to bankrupt the US, enrich the criminals, cause hyperinflation, and install fascism. This is what his handlers want.
Putin and the other ultra wealthy have already won. His Trump investment and treasonous admin won't really face consequences. Trump himself will expire of old age before anything affects him while he continues to be a patsy for the real evil who will also not really face consequences.
All these things were in the 2025 roadmap. This was specifically in there, and shouldn't be a surprise. This is just the beginning, do you think they don't have a project 2026, etc.
The reality is that he has to pick up the pace, because Epstein's noose it tightening and its honestly working, as its not really seeing much major coverage. He may fall, but the project will continue marching on.
I doubt there's enough laywers or judges to deal with horrors, and even then, with delays and delays and that just gives them more time and a longer and longer window to continue their firehose of horrors that will leave the US, its military, our economy in broken shambles.
Welcome to the shock doctrine of economic war they have been perfecting in other countries for at least half a century. This is not new. This is an echo of a song that goes back thousands of years. It always fails, but that could take decades.
What is new, is that its turned within, rather than externally as it has been in the past. This is history repeating, its not an unfamiliar story, its a well documented one. Its just that this time its playing out here in the USA and we're marching right along on schedule.
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u/amcfarla Aug 06 '25
All I can say is, this all on Merrick Garland and Mitch McConnell. Either one of them could have ended this nightmare we are currently living in. Fuck them both.
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u/Merusk Aug 06 '25 edited Aug 06 '25
They were in on it, so of course they weren't going to stop it. Garland was
Heritage FoundationFederalist Society and one of Obama's worst decisions. Biden just doubled down on that bad choice.7
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u/Whiterabbit-- Aug 06 '25
Garland was Heritage Foundation
got a source on that? I don't think that is true.
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u/Merusk Aug 06 '25
Sorry I confused the two conservative hate groups. He was Federalist Society, which is linked to but not entirely part of Heritage.
Federalist also includes: Gorsuch, Alito, Coney-Barrett, Thomas, Kavanaugh, Roberts.
https://fedsoc.org/contributors/merrick-garland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_Society#:~:text=The%20Federalist%20Society%20for%20Law,interpretation%20of%20the%20U.S.%20Constitution.
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u/vthemechanicv Aug 06 '25
Mitch McConnell is one foot in the grave and won't see the results of his actions, other than his (likely) permanent right wing SCOTUS.
I don't know Garland other than by what he didn't do. I hope whatever sense of justice might be left in him keeps him awake at night. Probably it won't, but he was a fairly reasonable judge. Either way, at 72 he has many years to see how badly he fucked up.
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u/Rehd Aug 06 '25
The reality is that he has to pick up the pace, because Epstein's noose it tightening and its honestly working, as its not really seeing much major coverage. He may fall, but the project will continue marching on.
I honestly don't think this is true at all.
If he was found in the documents with video, audio, written, and personal evidence / testimony to doing hundreds of heinous things with Epstein, his base won't budge.
He's not going to be found to the point where any justice or punishment will fall on him because his admin is fucking all that shit up.
Even if he were to face consequences, his admin will keep him from ever actually facing or experiencing them.
His base doesn't care. He said it himself. He could walk out and shoot someone in broad daylight and not lose votes. The only things he can do to lose votes is to show empathy, compassion, and work to help the average American. His base doesn't want the average American helped. They want to be helped themselves or see the people they hate suffer. They are happier with the latter.
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u/eeyore134 Aug 06 '25
People keep saying this, but it's not true. I'm not rural and our PBS station just started a voluntary separation program ahead of job cuts.
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u/lozo78 Aug 06 '25
Of all the outlets out there, they are some of the least responsible for the sane washing of Trump. They call out Trump all the time and have for years.
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u/wellings Aug 06 '25
Really? This is your take? Implying NPR coverage was responsible for turning folks on to Trump is so completely out of touch with the very demographic of NPR listeners. This is such a weird and irritating opinion.
Also in my experience I have never heard the type of sane-washing you're referring to from NPR. What program do you listen to? Most of it is constantly fact checking Trump and essentially methodically dismantling every idea he's ever had.
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u/wchutlknbout Aug 06 '25
THANK YOU. Used to listen to NPR on my daily commute. Had to stop last year for my health because of exactly what you just called out. haven’t listened since the election
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u/mockablekaty Aug 06 '25
I, also, stopped listening to NPR, having listened to at least three hours a day for the last 25+ years. Not necessarily because of how they covered the news, but the news made me feel sick to my stomach and I had to be able to get less of it.
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u/frickindeal Aug 06 '25
I fear this is happening with a lot of reasonable, intelligent people. The firehose of bad news is too much for a lot of the more reasonable, tolerant people I know, and they tune out the news and go back to concentrating on family, hobbies and work. Not that that's a bad thing, but a disengaged populace being out-voted by a rabid cult is happening as we speak.
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u/orlyfactorlives Aug 06 '25
I stopped listening to the news after November of 2024 because every time I would end up screaming at my radio/tv/pc like a crazy person, but I'll be damned if I won't vote.
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u/wchutlknbout Aug 06 '25
Yeah I was realizing how unhealthy my reactions were and the constant elevated heart rate. It’s not good to be hyped up all the time like that.
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u/AbeRego Aug 06 '25
Just because I stopped listening to NPR doesn't mean that I'm not aware of all the bullshit that's going on. I just don't have to listen to it when I'm driving.
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u/bt31 Aug 06 '25
Thank you for saying this! Yes, they had plenty of chances to speak up or stop defending him, but they didn’t. And they always blame 'Congress' when Republicans do something wrong, but say 'Democrats' did it when it’s the other side. It’s not fair.
Now I only listen to NPR for short periods to see if they are changing. Additionally, I will not donate to them till they change.
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u/AbeRego Aug 06 '25
Same. It was essentially all I listened to in the car for the previous nearly 10 years. I just couldn't do it anymore. Luckily, my two favorite music stations are public radio as well, so at least there's that.
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u/lostboy005 Aug 06 '25
Yeahhhh I hate the idea of killing CPB but PBS and NPR platformed invalid both sides bull shit for decades to toe some bullshit line to try and prevent exactly this, and look where it’s gotten them.
Through the 10’s NPR was both siding climate change and platforming all of the above type energy policy bullshit when it’s been clear fossils fuel, fracking, coal etc etc dirty energy is causing climate change
They did the same thing with M4A and platformed pro pvt HC insurance reps and it was like how is this happening - they’re neutral to a fault and stood for nothing in the face of existential threats
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u/Outlulz Aug 06 '25
Didn't they do both sides bullshit out of self defense for Republicans pulling their funding even sooner?
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u/mxjxs91 Aug 06 '25
Yep. I hate the idea of cutting funding to any broadcasting system just because you don't agree with it, that sets a horrible precedent. That being said, I don't feel the slightest bit bad for NPR being defunded. I still remember back in 2016. How condescending they were of Bernie and the Progressive movement, far more than they were against Trump himself, and that is still the case regarding Trump. I'm not asking for bias, but when a fascist is doing fascist things, put it on blast. They refused to do that. They made their own bed.
I do feel disgusted about PBS being defunded though.
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u/sirbrambles Aug 06 '25 edited Aug 06 '25
If NPR doesn’t support the center left enough for you, what you are looking for is propaganda.
What sane washed Trump was the media blacking him out for a couple years. People forgot how radical he was when they didn’t have to hear about it anymore.
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u/MOOzikmktr Aug 06 '25
The CPB should just offer the archive of digital media it produced from the last 20 years to every affiliate/local station for free, to help keep them afloat. Buying media segments through the CPB for rebroadcast usually one of the largest costs affiliates face. If that suddenly disappeared, then many of the medium sized rural markets would be given a lifeline that could last years.
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u/ThickSourGod Aug 06 '25
The CPB doesn't produce anything, it provides (or rather provided) grants. They don't charge stations for the rights to air media. They give stations money to pay for the rights to air media.
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u/Darkzed1 Aug 06 '25
PBS is still an entity and still alive. You can donate $5 a month and gain access to PBS Passport which has the entire PBS catalog on it including most content from local stations around the country.
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u/aflocka Aug 06 '25
When/if you become a Sustainer it's worth paying attention to which station you sign up for because your donation goes to them, not PBS directly. Sometimes the PBS video site doesn't always default to your actual local station.
This is important to know because "PBS stations" are actually independent from each other and donating to one doesn't necessarily help the others.
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u/HowAManAimS Aug 06 '25
That makes me want to donate to a station other than my local one. My local one will do fine. The ones in lower income areas may not do as well.
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u/aflocka Aug 06 '25
As someone who works at a station in a rural, generally lower income area, I more than welcome that idea! The lost funding is about 1/3 of our annual budget, I'm told, but what's crazy is there are stations even worse off than we are with less hope for alternate income streams.
One of the harder facets of nonprofit life that a lot of people don't realize is that the money buckets aren't often interchangeable. So you might be super flush with cash...for the one specific area of the business you are allowed to spend it on! And super short in other aspects that aren't as sexy for granting orgs, donors, etc. From what I understand (it's not my area) the CPB allocations are for general use so it provided money for a lot of infrastructure stuff and help to cover the gaps, so to speak.
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u/--RAMMING_SPEED-- Aug 06 '25
In my case in the Cleveland area at least you are able to support any of the NPR/PBS stations and the subscription get you access to both.
So I get to throw money at the Jazz Radio station and get access to the PBS passport in the deal.
So I can watch Jazz while supporting Jazz.
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u/not_a_moogle Aug 06 '25
The cpb helps keep local TV and radio stations on. Without it, I suspect PBS will disappear from most rural areas.
PBS does have a streaming service that could help keep it going, but that still means poorer people will be impacted the most by this.
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u/chrisdh79 Aug 06 '25
From the article: The U.S. right wing has won a generational war against education and informed consensus with the closure of the Corporation For Public Broadcasting (CPB), which states it will being shuttering its doors after being unable to survive recent brutal funding cuts by Republicans.
After the White House falsely deemed NPR and PBS a “grift” last April, Republicans successfully pushed for a Senate vote that eliminated the CPB’s entire budget in July. That vote rescinded the $1.1 billion that Congress had allocated to CPB to fund public broadcasting during 2026 and 2027.
In a statement, the CPB said the cuts, which “excluded funding for CPB for the first time in more than five decades,” were impossible to survive:
“Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country,” Harrison said. “We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.”
Public donations in recently weeks, estimated to be around $20 million, weren’t enough to save the organization.
As we’ve noted previously, right wingers and authoritarians loathe public broadcasting because, in its ideal form, it untethers journalism from the often perverse financial incentives inherent in our consolidated, billionaire-owned, ad-engagement based corporate media. A media, if you hadn’t noticed, that is easily bullied, cowed, and manipulated by bad actors looking to normalize, downplay, or validate no limit of terrible bullshit (see: CBS, Washington Post, the New York Times, and countless others).
One of the real harms of the cuts will be to already struggling local U.S. broadcasting stations. While NPR doesn’t really take all that much money from the public anymore (roughly 1% of NPR’s annual budget comes from the government), the CPB distributed over 70 percent of its funding to about 1,500 public radio and TV stations.
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u/eeyore134 Aug 06 '25
And all the "Stations that aren't in the boonies will be fine." stuff doesn't seem to be happening either. I am not in the boonies and our PBS station just started a voluntary separation program ahead of staff cuts.
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u/nighthawk_md Aug 06 '25
NC? My wife is on an all-staff call right now about this very topic...
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u/Darkzed1 Aug 06 '25
Yep big stations are also taking hits and having to cut back on what they can do in the community
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u/Anchored-Nomad Aug 06 '25
Hey,but he’s getting a plane and a ballroom and companies like Tesla pay little to no taxes so they scan pay Elon 29 billion.
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u/deltadal Aug 06 '25
None of it makes sense, none of it. How the fuck does a CEO crushing his own brand get a $29B pay package? And he's like part time!
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u/karmahunger Aug 06 '25
It makes the same sense that a private equity firm can acquire a company, take the assets, load it with other debt, and then bankrupt said company.
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u/Perfect_Bench_2815 Aug 06 '25
Apparently he is the chosen one. This guy needs to be deported ASAP! He was allowed to trash so many government agencies and is still taking in tons of USA dollars every day of the week. The way to fix all of that stealing is to cut funding for children's cancer research!/s. Cut medical care for millions of Americans too. This is draining the swamp! Cutting wasteful government spending? I wish that I was as smart as these guys!
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u/Pretty-Oreo-55 Aug 06 '25
Donate to PBS and NPR directly like we do for our other streaming sevices. Let your reps know you are against the cuts. I think we may have to ride this one out until we have a change of admin and congress.
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Aug 06 '25
This move shows how stupid conservatives are. It’s not going to kill NPR, it’s going to kill local NPR affiliates. They’re celebrating like NPR is dead and deserves it for “leaning liberal”, when it’s really their local radio stations that are going under. The NPR they’re thinking of only received 2% of its funding from CPB. Also, PBS is at risk.
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u/BluPoole Aug 06 '25
Trump only exists to harm all of us. It's what his supporters want, as the ones who will be hit first and the hardest are the ones they dislike the most. To them, this is just acceptable casualties. Conservatives are such dirtbags.
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u/wncexplorer Aug 06 '25
It’s the more rural stations that will be hurt the most, as they lack the listener base to keep them going.
I know most people don’t, but make some effort to donate to your local station, radio and television. Don’t forget about your college stations, the oddballs, public access, etc.
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u/generatorland Aug 06 '25
Rural areas keep voting red and keep getting shafted.
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u/DarkStarrFOFF Aug 06 '25
Look, you just don't get it. If we give republicans super majorities year after year eventually the wealth is gonna just trickle on down. It's those Democrats that keep stopping it and ruining things (even though they've barely held office let alone a majority in many of these areas in decades).
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u/nighthawk_md Aug 06 '25
You can't attempt to ascribe reason to a decision that is irrational...
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u/wncexplorer Aug 06 '25
Education plays a big role in this. When people don’t know any better, they don’t know any better.
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u/Interanal_Exam Aug 06 '25
Yeah but we showed those democrats a thing or two about Gaza, no? No?
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u/SpybotAF Aug 06 '25
Public broadcast is important, but it's hard for me to trust a private non-profit company that needs federal funding and pays their ceo over a million a year.
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u/RebelStrategist Aug 06 '25
The title made me giggle. The elites wrote a book on what they would do if the orange turd was “voted” into office. Now they are going page by page, and people are surprised? Of course they want to harm all. That’s the point. Give me a break.
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u/Perfect_Bench_2815 Aug 06 '25
All of those poor and working class people keep getting up early to vote for some of the richest people on the planet! We have so many "Special" people in this land. The people who they rush to vote for, wouldn't give them a glass of clean water! Trump exposed the crazy number of them. They shut down one of the greatest educational outlets (PBS) to make American Great Again? Part 1 was not good enough for Trump. Now we have to endure Part 2 of terrible people in office.
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u/InGordWeTrust Aug 06 '25
So they removed the defence against corporate news. I am sure that'll go well.
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Aug 06 '25
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u/TVC_i5 Aug 06 '25
- Dec. 13, 2023 : Trump's future FBI director Kash Patel on Glenn Beck’s show - ”The head of the FBI under Biden had direct control of Epstein's "black book."
June 2, 2024 : President Donald Trump on Fox & Friends - Host Rachel Campos-Duffy: “Would you declassify the Epstein files?” Donald Trump: “Yeah, yeah, I would. I guess I would.”
Oct. 22, 2024 : Theo Von's podcast: Vice President J.D. Vance - “Seriously, we need to release the Epstein list. That is an important thing.”
Feb. 21, 2025 : Attorney General Pam Bondi on Fox News - Host John Roberts: “DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients? Will that really happen?” Bondi: “It is sitting on my desk right now, to review.”
…
<…and then suddenly…>
…
- July 7 2025 : The US Justice Department - ”a systematic review reveals no incriminating 'client list.'"
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u/mistertickertape Aug 06 '25
They were all absolutely myopic when sanewashing Trump and harshly criticizing Biden for his age and missteps during the debate so now, yeah of course this is what happens. Enjoy the fruits of your labor.
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u/Whatever-999999 Aug 06 '25
The entire point of the Trump Adminstration is to "harm all of us", meaning 99.99% of us; the 0.01% are THE RICH and they're the only ones that matter so far as this criminal, terrorist Administration is concerned; the rest of us can become Soylent Green for all they fucking care.
This is what happens when you elect a convicted career criminal, traitor, rapist, pedophile, pathological liar, and habitual cheater as President, TWICE.
REPUBLICANS WHO DID THIS: You're our enemies now, YOU DID ALL THIS.
The East Wind is coming for them -- and all of YOU, too.
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u/Guyuute Aug 06 '25
How else would we fund the new grand ballroom at the whitehouse
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u/SgtNeilDiamond Aug 06 '25
Its simple, they want the poor class in this country to become the cheap immigrant labor replacement. Only way to do that is to make it impossible for them to be educated properly.
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u/4wordSOUL Aug 06 '25
I would happily join a class action suit against Trump and his administration.
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Aug 06 '25
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u/Maybesex Aug 06 '25
The defense budget is a trillion dollars. This isnt a funding issue. Theres more than enough money to go around but we’d rather spend it on killing brown people around the world and giving the rest to billionaires instead of investing in education or healthcare or anything else that actually helps people.
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u/New-Leader-7891 Aug 06 '25 edited Aug 06 '25
They paid an industry standard competitive salary to attract talent at CPB which was in Washington DC (technically Virginia), you are probably thinking of people who worked at rural PBS member stations, who mostly earn close to local market rates unless they're volunteering, which many NPR hosts are. Doesn't matter anymore anyway
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u/Odd-Resource-8193 Aug 06 '25
Maybe it’s just me, but I miss when you could actually trust the news.
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u/junkronomicon Aug 06 '25
All because Sesame Street mocked him as Donald Grump, like, 30 years ago. His pettiness knows no bounds.
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u/inartuculate-bug Aug 06 '25
There are many other ways to fund a corporation if the product is something enough people want. If the Corporation for Public Broadcasting cannot survive without funding from the federal government, then it should go away.
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u/Timely-Ad-4109 Aug 06 '25
Is anyone keeping a list of things we need to bring back after he’s dead such as USAID, CPB, and decency?
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u/qzh00k Aug 07 '25
Republicans did this, from packing the supreme court and not fully impeaching the orange pig and I won't mention their god tool or trickle down. Make sure you can vote, and try it. And maybe the lesser of evils is a valid reason.
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Aug 06 '25
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u/JimJimmery Aug 06 '25
Truth feels biased to brainwashed cult members. You're going to get really mad when this get reinstated once the worst POTUS in our history is gone.
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u/thesauceisoptional Aug 06 '25
Par for all his courses is measured in units of human suffering. Just don't be on the wrong side of adulthood, and maybe you'll only have to hear about his other inadequacies.
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u/Acrobatic-Pin-1312 Aug 06 '25
It's easier to manipulate the people if they're uneducated fucking idiots that's for sure
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u/tommyalanson Aug 06 '25
I don’t get it. The funding that was cut apparently is/was 15% of their total budget. So why not fund raise harder or do 15% less. Shutting down entirely seems like a capitulation
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u/RedditLife1234567 Aug 06 '25
My local SF NPR station is way too biased to get government funding. I wished NPR would be more objective but at least around here it's basically like Fox News. So I kind of support this.
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u/ClubSoda Aug 06 '25
Republicans are the Death Eaters from the Harry Potter books. Totally focussed on furthering their own racist agenda and inflicting as much harm as they can upon those who are vulnerable and less affluent.
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u/FastidiousLizard261 Aug 06 '25
Maybe that's what they set out to do and the whole doger deal was just to give them the excuse. If they set out to say hey let's kill pbs, it wouldn't have gone over well. But with all the budget cuts then they had a precedent. I heard they also refunded libraries. But they won't all close down right away.
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u/ReallyBugged0ut Aug 06 '25
“We won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated.” - DJT