If you grew up watching Sesame Street, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, or The Odd Squad, then you were probably watching it on the PBS channel. Here’s some background information: PBS was created so that kids in low-income and/or rural neighborhoods had access to educational, cultural, and informational programs. The network was non-profit, meaning it doesn’t operate for profit but rather is funded by the Federal Government under the 1967 Public Broadcasting Act. This act created funding for public educational networks such as PBS.
Unfortunately, in July, the defunding of these programs was announced by the Trump administration. The administration explained itself by saying that PBS was supplying biased, unfair, or inaccurate information and thus needed to be defunded. But as the American Civil Liberties Union states, “[it] clearly violates the First Amendment. Government officials should not be able to withhold taxpayer dollars, designated by Congress to promote private speech, from news outlets whose coverage they disapprove.” Many other organizations were also defunded, notably NPR.
What this means is that over the course of several months, these stations and/or organizations may not have enough funding to keep themselves running. For example, PBS has already announced that it is in danger of shutting down. This defunding takes away opportunities for cultural and educational learning for younger generations, and is especially devastating for children living in rural areas that already lack funding, since they will lose access to free educational programs.
With PBS being defunded, it also creates an opening for another network to take its place. MSNBC shares how PBS being defunded could allow PragerU to come in and replace it. PragerU, which is considered a controversial educational content provider, shared in 2022 that it would like to be “toe-to-toe” with other youth media companies, like PBS. But this has concerned some, as PragerU has been accused of downplaying certain historical events, for example, the horrors of chattel slavery and the killings of Indigenous people. The founder of PragerU also stated that “ his goal is to ‘indoctrinate’ children with a right-wing ideology.” (MSNBC). This leaves many concerned as to what PragerU intends to teach and how accurate those teachings are.
Networks like PBS have been around for over 50 years, providing educational, cultural, and informational programs for millions of kids. From Mr. Rogers to Elmo to Rick Steves, PBS has impacted and shaped the lives of many viewers. It’s unfortunate that it’s being defunded and possibly replaced with an online outlet that outwardly downplays significant historical atrocities to benefit their ideologies.
Works Cited
Irvin, Renee. “Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).” Britannica, 7 October 2025, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Public-Broadcasting-Service. Accessed 18 October 2025.
Jones, Ja’han. “Trump’s gutting of PBS opens the door for PragerU’s propaganda.” MSNBC News, 18 July 2025, https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/prageru-pbs-cuts-john-adams-video-trump-rcna219645. Accessed 18 October 2025.
Stelter, Brian. “Trump’s victory over PBS and NPR ‘bias’ will be ‘devastating’ for rural areas, station leaders say.” CNN, 18 July 2025, https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/17/media/pbs-npr-trump-rescission-devastating-public-media. Accessed 18 October 2025.
Taormino, Ellessandra. “Trump’s Attacks on Press Freedom Escalate: NPR, PBS Funding Cuts Explained.” ACLU, 5 August 2025, https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/trumps-attacks-on-press-freedom-escalate-npr-pbs-funding-cuts-explained. Accessed 18 October 2025.
