NEWS: Trump’s attack on public broadcasting is worse than you think
The White House wants its own propaganda arm.
Bottom Line Up Front:
Donald Trump’s plan to slash NPR and PBS got a boost from the U.S. Senate, but his goal is more sweeping than budget cuts. The White House wants to build “state-run media” outlets to push Trump propaganda.
WHAT HAPPENED
Today Senate passed a $1.1 billion cut to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), following Trump’s executive order demanding an end to all federal support for NPR and PBS. Trump claimed the networks are “worse than CNN & MSDNC put together.
NPR CEO Katherine Maher warned the cuts are not just an attack on journalism but a threat to public safety. In nearly half of U.S. states, public media stations serve as a backbone for emergency alerts during natural disasters. If gutted, millions could lose life-saving communications in the next crisis, she argued.
Of note, the cuts come just weeks after more than 130 Americans died in deadly floods in Texas — a tragedy that exposed serious gaps in emergency alert systems.
That consequences are real. But there is something even more serious happen here under the surface.
WHAT IT MEANS
The Trump administration is not simply pulling the U.S. government out of the media business. Quite the opposite: It is actively co-opting other agencies to create its own “state-run media” that supports the regime, like we see in Russia or China.
Just weeks ago, Trump’s team struck a deal to feature One America News (OAN) content on Voice of America (VOA) and other international news services.
If you don’t already know, OAN is a far-right outlet known for conspiracy theories and pro-Trump propaganda. (Today, for instance, the OAN website features a story about allies calling for the President to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Not the kind of content you’d expect a taxpayer-funded outlet like VOA to be spreading.)
The White House isn’t at war with public broadcasting. It’s at war with any broadcaster that shines a light on wrongdoing inside the Administration, whether it’s PBS and NPR or CBS and CNN. And where it can, it would like to co-opt them.
WHAT’S NEXT
In the short term, Trump wants to eliminate the media outlets he can’t control. In the medium term, he wants to commandeer the ones he can and shape them into pro-Trump megaphones.
Domestically, the next phase might be going after public broadcasting stations one by one. To be clear, the White House doesn’t have direct editorial control over organization like PBS and NPR. But the President does appoint the Corporation for Public Broadcasting board of directors and can use this round of financial coercion to shape coverage.
By slashing or eliminating CPB support, Trump creates a fiscal death spiral. Stations may face layoffs, reduced coverage, or even closure, unless they find new sponsors. This opens the door for ideologically motivated donors or organizations to step in and offer “rescue” funds (with strings attached).
My worry? The President uses this leverage to cultivate state media “in disguise” — just as he’s done internationally with VOA — i.e. networks that present themselves as public services but operate as mouthpieces for the Trump movement.
Even if that doesn’t happen, what IS sure to happen is that they’ll chill editorial independence through fear. Station managers, especially in politically red regions, may preemptively self-censor or avoid “controversial” coverage to avoid backlash, harassment, political retaliation, and further budget turmoil.
And that’s bad for all Americans.
I didn't know they had a deal with OAN! I knew he wants state run media which is obvious. Thank you for reporting this.
At least we have independent media that reports the truth and some inside stories. I know a lot of people who watch these right-wing propaganda networks. They make me want to puke. I hope public broadcasting receives some kind of non-partisan backing. We can't lose the alert systems.