Sesame Street‘S “Sunny Days” may not be as glowing if Elon Musk can get his way application to eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual funding given to PBS and NPR stations – home to Elmo and his gang and popular shows like Everything taken into account AND Fresh Air with Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley.
Musk has a unique opportunity to recommend a blackout of public media, a goal that Republicans, including one congressman from Pennsylvania, have wanted to achieve. After bringing clout and millions of dollars in surrogacy to President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign in Pennsylvania, Trump has named Musk to co-lead the proposed “Department of Government Effectiveness” with Vivek Ramaswamy. Given Musk’s position as the richest man in the world, his influence within Trump’s circle and in the government may pose a greater threat to public media than previous GOP attempts.
National Public Radio and Public Radio are preparing for the effects of funding cuts. After the 2024 election, leaders of NPR’s largest member stations circulated a report that concluded it would be “unwise to assume that events will unfold as they have in the past” regarding federal funding, – reported the New York Times.because PBS was informed of the situation by political consultants in early December. Station managers in some states began lobbying lawmakers.
WHYY is the Philadelphia region’s PBS/NPR member station, serving 2.9 million households in the Philadelphia, Delaware and South Jersey areas – one of the nation’s top 10 markets as of March. according to the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage. Fresh airone of NPR’s most well-known programs, is owned and produced by WHYY. It’s unclear how the potential cuts will impact WHY and whether the station is preparing for any impacts. New Jersey has it too own public media network — NJ PBS — which includes various outlets, including WNJN.
In a statement to The Inquirer, Gary Bramnick, senior director of marketing communications at WHYY, emphasized the importance of public media for educational content, cultural programming and news, regardless of a consumer’s income or location.
“By supporting diverse audiences, voices and viewpoints, public media is an invaluable asset to our society, offering a unique set of services that enrich our lives, support an engaged civic community and ultimately strengthen our democracy,” he said on Friday. “Investing in public media is investing in a more aware, engaged and fair society.”
A PBS spokesman echoed Bramnick’s sentiments in a statement Friday and said PBS is grateful for bipartisan support in Congress.
“We’ve earned this support through decades of work in local communities: providing all Americans with content they trust; curating a wide range of stories and programs that help citizens understand our past and shape our future; and helping children and families open up worlds of possibilities through educational programs,” the spokesperson said. “PBS stations also make sure emergency alerts can reach everyone who needs to hear them.”
NPR representatives did not immediately return a request for comment.
This is not the first time that public media have had to prepare their reaction. Republicans have been calling for cutting federal funding for public media for decades, and their main concern is a perceived liberal bias reports the Times.. In 2020 Trump has recommended cutting federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which contributes taxpayer dollars to NPR and other public media, to $0 by 2023.
This year, Republican Scott Perry (R-PA) and U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) introduced the Propaganda Prohibition Act to do the same. A spokesman for Perry, who represents the Harrisburg area, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Musk’s proposal.
“CPB cannot be allowed to continue to use hard-earned tax dollars to push a partisan and political agenda that is contrary to what is best for the American people.” Perry said in an April statement.
Bramnick said CPB “has played a critical role in ensuring a well-informed, diverse and democratic society.”
Trump’s recommendation four years ago proved ineffective and Perry’s bill was referred to a House subcommittee from April. And NPR and PBS stations they could utilize several factors to their advantageincluding their support for emergency notification systems. Perhaps CPB is also funded two years in advance making it harder for the GOP to take action through Congress.
But Musk’s political influence — which he recently caused lawmakers to kill and rewrite the bipartisan spending deal during government shutdown negotiations – could provide a potential ray of hope for Republicans and present up-to-date challenges for public media.
The billionaire has never been shy about expressing his disdain for various media sources, often baselessly suggesting his social media platform X as a more trustworthy source of news than accredited news outlets. on Sunday, he said: “Older media must die.”
During the 2024 election, Musk frequently used the X to spread misinformation about voting integrity in Pennsylvania, as well as his pro-Trump rhetoric. Combined with his unwavering loyalty to the president-elect and the creation of America PAC and town halls in Pennsylvania and the petitions they sponsor, some Republicans say Musk’s influence helped Trump to victory on the battlefield.
Now Musk has been rewarded with more authority and access. It could also help Republicans get closer to achieving their long-term goal.
