Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations • Hacker News Board

Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#481

Post by ForOldHack » Fri, Aug 01, 2025, 10:05 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #420

joshuahaglund wrote: post #411

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The actual PBS and NPR shows you're familiar with are generally developed and produced privately Off the top of my head, two programs I watch that get CPB funding include: Frontline https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/about-us/our-funders/ NOVA https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/funders/ This is one place some sorta "trickle down" economics worked. CPB contributed to developing the content on PBS. Now PBS either has to c…

I think the cuts are bad and certainly there will be programming losses. It's just not an existential threat to public media in America, which has over the last 20 years become far less dependent on local stations. GBH, which produces Frontline, gets $177MM in revenue from major donors and viewer subscriptions.

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Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#482

Post by WalterBright » Fri, Aug 01, 2025, 10:10 PM UTC

democracy_diy wrote: post #438

tptacek wrote: post #296

This is a giant thread full of people lamenting the demise of public broadcasting so it seems like someone should write the comment that points out that CPB doesn't do PBS programming. They don't develop content. They're a grantmaking organization that manages the distribution of the congressional PBS appropriation. The actual PBS and NPR shows you're familiar with are generally developed and produced privately, and…

Here's a summary of the changes and the impact: https://democracy.diy/issues/save-pbs-and-npr/ The PBS budget has been cut by 15%, and the NPR budget by 1%. That's not enough to end either one at the national level. However, local stations depend on the CPB funding for 50% or more of their budgets. (Local stations provide local disaster alert systems and local programming.) There will definitely be local station clos…

> Local stations provide local disaster alert systems

These days sending alerts via texting them to phones should be far more effective.

Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#483

Post by swed420 » Fri, Aug 01, 2025, 10:19 PM UTC

Pfhortune wrote: post #85

dralley wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NPR can also be a bit of a meme sometimes. Maybe it's just circumstance but every time I hear NPR for any period of time longer than about 20 minutes they do a segment on a topic like polyamory, how women are proudly reclaiming the word "bimbo", or people protesting the administration using interpretive dance. It is certainly not programming with much mass market appeal.

Perhaps not every form of media needs to be engagement-driven? The beautiful thing about public media is that it can broadcast things that don't have a profit-motive for being broadcast.

> The beautiful thing about public media is that it can broadcast things that don't have a profit-motive for being broadcast.

True, so one would expect to have heard much more about Bernie Sanders when he was making runs for president. Unfortunately the only coverage he usually got on likes of NPR was when it was something negative about him.

So much for straying from profit motive.

Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#484

Post by wkoszek » Fri, Aug 01, 2025, 10:23 PM UTC

From Claude -> Notable Programs They Fund: Public television shows like Sesame Street, NOVA, PBS NewsHour, and Masterpiece, as well as NPR programming like Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

I like all of those. NPR: $300m budget / 42m listeners = $7.14/yr. Sounds like if I donate $5/mo to KQED and $5/mo to KCSM, I'm supporting them to cover myself and couple other citizens?

I don't get what I can do to support PBS - when I press donate on PBS site, it sort of wants to direct me to KQED/KCSM donations again.

Anyone here with a little more time to understand/explain it?

Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#485

Post by otterley » Fri, Aug 01, 2025, 10:23 PM UTC

infamia wrote: post #93

Pfhortune wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think public broadcasting will be stronger when it stands on its own without interference from politicians. What does the "public" in "public broadcasting" mean to you?

Can we call it public broadcasting when it fails to even dimly reflect the diversity of ideas for the areas it serves? Milk toast conservatives like Juan Williams were deemed intolerable a long time ago, so calling it public radio at this point is a misnomer and a sad farce.

Juan Williams wasn't let go because he's conservative; it's because he's a bigot (unless you think being a bigot is a conservative qualification):

"Look, Bill [O'Reilly], I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous."

https://www.npr.org/2010/10/21/130712737/npr-ends-williams-c...

"NPR, like any mainstream news outlet, expects its journalists to be thoughtful and measured in everything they say. What Williams said was deeply offensive to Muslims and inflamed, rather than contributing positively, to an important debate about the role of Muslims in America."

https://www.npr.org/sections/publiceditor/2010/10/21/1307132...

Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#486

Post by cyanydeez » Fri, Aug 01, 2025, 10:30 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #469

cyanydeez wrote: post #467

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I think you underestimate the structural dependency. Xkcd comic is closer to reality. There is a base load to public good and we are about to find out

We'll find out, but I think always the bias on HN is towards whichever interpretation of an event is most dramatic.

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Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#487

Post by araes » Fri, Aug 01, 2025, 10:31 PM UTC

hedora wrote: post #445

tptacek wrote: post #296

This is a giant thread full of people lamenting the demise of public broadcasting so it seems like someone should write the comment that points out that CPB doesn't do PBS programming. They don't develop content. They're a grantmaking organization that manages the distribution of the congressional PBS appropriation. The actual PBS and NPR shows you're familiar with are generally developed and produced privately, and…

Given that CBP is only 15% of PBS funding, I’m surprised they don’t start a national fundraising campaign instead. I’d happily donate some cash to keep PBS’s lights on in red states.

With a quick search online, here's a list of the donation links for the 21 states that are currently listed as "Red" (based on 270toWin.com). It's kind of a Googlish reply.

Some are a little difficult because they're kind of fractured, like Missouri is a St. Louis link, Texas is an Austin link, Tennessee is a Nashville link, so its challenging to tell if your donation is going to the state in general or just the local town PBS. (May want to check specifically if you're targeting a specific market). Most tend to be statewide portals. However, you seem like you want to support PBS, so here's some links.

Alabama (https://donate.aptv.org/aptv/donate), Alaska (https://alaskapublic.org/support), Arizona (https://azpbs.org/support/), Georgia (https://www.gpb.org/support), Idaho (https://idahoptv.pledgecart.org/home?campaign=1FF20990-A386-...), Kansas (https://donate.kansascitypbs.org/kcpbs/donate), Kentucky (https://ket.secureallegiance.com/ket/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P...), Louisiana (https://lpb.secureallegiance.com/lpb/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P...), Mississippi (https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/donate), Missouri (https://www.ninepbs.org/support/), Montana (https://donate.montanapbs.org/kusm/donate), Nebraska (https://donate.nebraskapublicmedia.org/alleg/WebModule/Donat...), North Dakota (https://www.prairiepublic.org/support/), Oklahoma (https://www.pbs.org/donation/?station_id=edf8065c-f56a-42f7-...), South Carolina (https://www.pbs.org/donation/?station_id=50ac3de0-09e0-43db-...), South Dakota (https://sdpb.pledgecart.org/donate/home), Tennessee (https://donate.wnpt.org/wnpt/donate), Texas (https://donate.austinpbs.org/austinpbs/donate), Utah (https://donate.nprstations.org/upr/support-upr?gad_source=1&...), West Virginia (https://afg.secureallegiance.com/wvpb/WebModule/Donate.aspx?...), Wyoming (https://donate.wyomingpbs.org/kcwc/donate)

Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#488

Post by johnsmith1840 » Fri, Aug 01, 2025, 10:42 PM UTC

fireflash38 wrote: post #358

smithkl42 wrote: post #76

> Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country,” Harrison said. If that was true, losing the CPB would be a travesty. But as a loyal NPR listener for decades, I've found their stuff lately to be unlistenable. It's Fox, but for the Left, and with a bit more of an…

Considering that reporting factual information gets blamed as left wing bullshit... I don't think your post has merit. See: COVID, vaccines, climate change. You have one side explicitly denying what we can do with the scientific method and decades of peer reviewed research, and then blaming anyone who contradicts them as biased sources. Comparing to Fox News is even more ridiculous. You say that them knowing they're…

This is one point that has irked me.

The real narrative problem is that relying on "science" as truth.

Science has been weaponized by all sides it is incredivly easy to manipulate research into a narrative. But the left's media empire is by far the most effective at doing this and with heavy left bias in academia it's a corrupt system.

Data has a priority say in everything we do but dropping context and information then calling everyone dumb for not "trusting the science" is propoganda. The response of the left is to simply call everyone who denies today's science as ignorant.

This is how you get climate deniers. Weaponize science and unsuprisingly you get countless people who stop believing ANY politically angled research.

Not sure how much you've spent in academia but modern science is nasty buissness. Incentive structures are completely warped.

Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#489

Post by monetus » Fri, Aug 01, 2025, 10:42 PM UTC

atonse wrote: post #478

tptacek wrote: post #469

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We'll find out, but I think always the bias on HN is towards whichever interpretation of an event is most dramatic.

It's unfortunate, but as someone who's been on HN since probably 2010, I remember the ethos of this site to news like this used to be a lot more "let's find an opportunity" – maybe I'm looking with rose colored glasses. People would say "should we setup a donation site" or "how can we build a product that saves local affiliate stations money" etc etc etc. Maybe that's still happening quietly. But I just see a lot mor…

I feel like when society has an air of doom you are more likely to see it wherever you are. HN is still fairly international though.

Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#490

Post by tzs » Fri, Aug 01, 2025, 10:46 PM UTC

CGMthrowaway wrote: post #250

TheCondor wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a specific example of the left-leaning bias you can mention?

The show had six guests on- 2 left, 1 right, 2 neutral(?) and 1 CIA deep state mouthpiece. The show gave mostly balanced coverage of every issue covered, but declined to dig into the Epstein issue beyond "Trump+Epstein", gave the deep-stater seven minutes to defend the CIA without meaningfully pressing into any of the other questions raised by the latest declassifications (such as HRC & DNC involvement in orchestrati…

Is there much to say on Epstein besides "Trump+Epstein"?

Epstein was not some Darth Vader or Joker (The Dark Night version) or Commodus (from Gladiator) or Sauron or Voldemort type of villain who was openly villainous and did not have a public good side (either an actual good side or a front to try to hide his villainy).

Epstein was more a Han from Enter the Dragon kind of villain.

Epstein had a fairly extensive public good side (maybe real, maybe just a front, probably a mix of both) appearing as a legitimate businessman and a philanthropist.

A big part of his philanthropy was directed toward supporting scientific research, universities, and the arts. He liked to invite top people from particular fields, like physics and AI, to events on his island where they (the invited people) would discuss major scientific and philosophical issues from their field. Get an invite to one of those, and it was a chance to go spend a few days for free in a resort setting, participate in some pop science level discussions to keep the rich guy happy, and maybe try to talk him into funding your lab.

Because of this most of the time it isn't all that interesting when some famous person shows up in Epstein's documents.

It becomes interesting with Trump because he spent a lot of time using his opponent's Epstein connections against them in ways that made his followers come to believe any association with Epstein is practically proof that you are an active pedophile.

He did this even though he knew he himself had connections to Epstein (including to people who actually were part of Epstein's villain side). And now that's biting him.