Public Broadcasting Under Attack
Public broadcasting is perpetually under attack in Washington by those who would cripple public-spirited alternatives to the commercial media and muzzle the critical voices and diverse fare that PBS, NPR and other public media offer.

Virtually every year, proposed cuts to funding for journalism, educational and community programming at more than a thousand stations threaten the survival of public broadcasting in communities that need it most.

Restoring this funding is important. But Free Press' public broadcasting campaign goes beyond short-term fixes to advocate for increased and ongoing support for a system that is routinely underfunded and under assault by partisan opponents. The operating model of public broadcasting must be recast to fulfill its founding mission to serve as "a forum for debate and controversy" and "a voice for groups that may otherwise be unheard."

Saving Public Media
Free Press is assembling a coalition of policymakers, reform-minded public TV and radio stations, and local citizen activists to advocate for a public broadcasting system that offers more independent programming, harder-hitting journalism, and the educational, ad-free content that is missing from commercial media.

Several policy remedies to the crisis in public broadcasting which merit serious consideration have been proposed over the years. Free Press is working with allied public interest organizations, public media station managers and the American public to help identify the most viable proposals.

Our goals:

• Creating a permanent, independent funding mechanism that does not rely on annual congressional appropriations.
• Changing the governance structure of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to prevent partisan meddling by political appointees.

Now is the time to put the public back in public broadcasting and ensure a vibrant, robust and sustainable system that meets the needs of local communities and that truly serves the public interest.