Tag Archives: Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

The Fight For Fiscal Sanity

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On Tuesday, The New York Post reported the following:

Vice President JD Vance cast two tie-breaking votes in the Senate Tuesday to move forward a $9.4 billion rescissions package — which would rip federal funding from PBS and NPR — in the upper chamber. 

The Senate deadlocked, 50-50, on two procedural votes to start debate on the multibillion-dollar spending clawback package before Vance’s votes advanced the measure requested by the White House. 

Three Republicans — Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) — joined all Democrats in opposition to the bill. 

The article includes this statement:

Collins defended her “no” vote by arguing that OMB didn’t provide senators with details about what programs would be scrapped as a result of the clawback.

How many times has Collins voted on a bill without knowing exactly what is in it?

The article notes:

The Maine Republican also described the cuts to public broadcasters as “excessive” and expressed concern that PBS viewers would lose access to “popular programs like ‘Antiques Road Show’ and ‘Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.’”

“I share the frustration with the biased reporting by NPR, and I would support defunding it,” Collins continued. “Nevertheless, local TV and radio stations continue to provide important coverage.”

She noted that CPB funding in Maine supports the state’s emergency alert network and allows high school basketball games to air on television.

PBS should be required to stand on its own just as other broadcasters are. They have no official commercials, but they fund raise and name sponsors. Frankly, if they had had any copyright lawyers worth their salt in the early days of Sesame Street, they would have been set for life on Tickle-Me Elmo.

The article concludes:

The Senate now has at least 10 hours to debate the measure before amendments are voted on and a final vote takes place.

The House, which passed the measure 214-212 in June, would then need to consider the changes the Senate makes to the bill.

When The Actual Numbers Are Different Than The Report

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On Thursday, The Daily Caller posted an article about the funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It seems that the numbers that are being reported are not actually accurate.

The article reports:

National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) both received significantly more taxpayer funding in Fiscal Year 2023 than they had indicated on their tax returns, according to an OpenTheBooks report published Thursday.

On a tax return for the fiscal year ending in September 2023, NPR reported that it received just $40,000 from American taxpayers, which came from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CBP), a nonprofit organization that invests in public broadcasting, according to OpenTheBooks’ analysis. That amount made up just 0.04% of the $98.57 million in grants NPR received from “all parties” during that period, according to the report.

Meanwhile, at the end of fiscal year 2023, NPR had $388.5 million in total assets, OpenTheBooks’ report found.

Moreover, PBS’ tax return showed it received $22.74 million from the government, according to OpenTheBooks’ analysis. OpenTheBooks found that at the end of fiscal year 2023, PBS had $641.23 million in total assets, an increase of $52 million from the year prior. 

PBS CEO Paula Kerger earns $1,055,135 in salary and $113,526 in “other compensation,” while three other PBS employees make over $500,000, according to OpenTheBooks. Meanwhile, NPR spent $5.18 million on payroll for its officers and key employees, according to the report.

It’s amazing how much a corporation is willing to pay people when it’s not their money and they don’t have to make a profit.

I would just like to comment that if PBS had had good negotiators and good lawyers during the height of Sesame Street’s popularity, they could have set the corporation up for life with the royalties from Tickle Me Elmo, Rubber Ducky, Oscar the Grouch, and Big Bird. not to mention Bert and Ernie. A private enterprise would have done that. That is the difference between a government-run company and a company that needs to make a profit to stay in business.