Cutting funding for public media would be shortsighted, foolish, and unpopular

Defunding public media would undermine an essential civic resource that serves communities across the nation. Public broadcasting provides educational programming, emergency communications, and noncommercial journalism. Its commitment to impartiality and service distinguishes public media in an era of bitter polarization and rampant misinformation. Attempting to censor or silence these trusted voices would do far more harm than good. Federal funding is a modest but critical investment that empowers local stations to meet the needs of their communities without obligation to corporate interests or political agendas. Preserving this public good should be a non-partisan priority.