Among American institutions, public broadcasting ranks No. 1 in public trust and is considered “money well spent” by a large majority of U.S. taxpayers. More than a third of Americans watch public television. And public broadcasting’s commitment to serious, independent journalism stands in stark contrast to the shouting and spin of commercial news media.

Yet despite its value to the American people, public broadcasting is under constant attack by partisan opponents seeking to eliminate alternatives to the commercial media and silence the critical voices that public media offers.

Every year, proposed cuts to funding for journalism, educational and community programming threaten the survival of public broadcasting in communities that need it most.

In 2008, the Bush administration proposed the deepest cuts yet. The administration would cut in half the $400 million allocated in advance by Congress for fiscal year 2009 and cut $220 million from the $420 million already appropriated by Congress for fiscal year 2010. President Bush also proposed eliminating advance funds for 2011, as well as funding in 2009 to assist public television and radio stations in preparing for the transition to digital television.

If enacted, these drastic cuts -- representing a 56 percent reduction in funding -- would seriously compromise public broadcasting’s ability to offer the quality news and cultural programs that millions of Americans say they prefer to commercial media.

Preventing these cuts is important. But Free Press' policy goals go beyond short-term fixes to secure long-term funding and save public broadcasting from political and commercial interference.

We are assembling a coalition of policymakers, allied public interest organizations, public media station managers and the American public to develop a policy agenda to strengthen public broadcasting. Our goal is to ensure a vibrant, robust and sustainable system that can continue to provide the independent programming, hard-hitting journalism, and the educational, ad-free content that is missing from commercial media.

In Congress

Our policy team is closely monitoring the appropriations process as it moves forward and will alert activists to any attempts to slash public broadcasting funds.