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Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

cpb.org

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Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#531

Post by RickJWagner »

tptacek wrote: post #422
ndiddy wrote: post #415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PBS stations in major markets will likely be able to carry on due to donations and corporate underwriting, but stations in rural areas (the types of places where Internet streaming is less viable due to poor infrastructure) will be heavily affected. Some rural stations get up to half their budgets from the CPB, and these cuts will likely make them have to shut down. In heavily rural states like West Virginia, Alaska,…

I think the idea that people in rural markets are watching PBS OTA linear content is a claim that will need to be supported with evidence. Linear television is dead, pretty much everywhere.

A valid point. Plain old tv is the past.

For the small number of people using it, it’s better to spend the money on internet infrastructure to bring them into the current century. Broadcast tv is one step up from old time radio.

Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#532

Post by slater »

bitlax wrote: post #329
Kye wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the point in dropping that in the middle of a thread if not to participate in the discussion? I abide the HN guideline that asks us to assume the best, so I assume your intent is to be part of a discussion and not just stir shit up and bolt when someone takes you seriously and asks you to expand on your point of view. Say what you mean or go away.

You don't have the necessary background to participate in the discussion. I posted my thoughts sincerely but I'm not holding a tutoring session.

> You don't have the necessary background to participate in the discussion.

Neither do you.

Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#533

Post by ethbr1 »

heavyset_go wrote: post #528
atonse wrote: post #478

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

We had 15 years seeing how well "just throw a startup at it" actually pans out

It doesn’t help that many of even those rose-colored startups created 15 years ago have since crossed the rubicon.

It’s solid PR to mumble something about effective altruism being the justification for predatory capitalist behavior.

It just becomes hard to believe after the company was sold and the employees screwed over and the customers screwed over and the founders used their gains to financially support whatever authoritarian fantasies they had all along.

Turns out, people who are good at being ruthless aren’t doing so for a secret ethical reason: they’re just ruthless people.

Yeah... I have no idea why HNers seem more negative these days?

Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#534

Post by ptero »

saagarjha wrote: post #517
munchler wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect the post office is still supported by a durable majority. If it isn’t, then it will probably lose government funding as well.

A durable majority doesn't even support funding education, and it is losing federal funding as we speak. Do you think this is a good thing?

I don't think this is correct. The majority of people prefers states to have more influence on school curriculum and federal government to have less. Yes, there are downsides to that, but it generally means that hours on STEM will increase and hours on ideology will decrease.

Removing federal influence in setting agenda while sending federal funding directly to states without federal oversight of programs would not be a bad thing. My 2c.

Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#535

Post by toomanyrichies »

tptacek wrote: post #451
ndiddy wrote: post #433

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure! I'd love to provide you with evidence. In West Virginia, a state with a population of 1.8 million, West Virginia Public Broadcasting reported 193,687 weekly TV viewers and 85,933 weekly radio listeners in FY 2023. https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/WVPB-Annual-... In New Mexico, a state with a population of 1.8 million, New Mexico PBS reported 720,000 weekly TV viewers in 2024. https://www.newmexic…

I looked only at the New Mexico numbers, and they seem to be dwarfed by their own streaming numbers through Passport. Those OTA viewers are just going to switch to streaming.

If New Mexicans were truly going to turn en masse to PBS Passport streaming, why haven't they done so already?

– Nearly one in five households lacks any fixed home internet connection. Many of those rely on cellular data that’s unreliable or capped, i.e. not viable for high‑quality streaming. [1]

– Over 20% of residents, especially in rural and tribal areas, live in broadband deserts where wired speeds of 25/3 Mbps simply aren’t available. [2]

– Among tribal communities, up to 80% of individuals may lack internet access altogether. [3]

– Even for those who can stream, broadband plans often cost around $69/month, and Passport itself requires a donation of at least $60/year or $5/month. [1][4] That may not sound like a lot to us, but it’s a non-trivial monthly expense for a family living in the 6th-poorest state in the US. [5]

Public broadcasting remains vital for people without digital access, whether due to infrastructure shortages, affordability, or demographic factors like age and tech comfort. Streaming can complement, but cannot replace, over‑the‑air reach in New Mexico. The same is likely true for overlapping reasons in the other states that OP mentioned.

1. Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. Affordable Broadband for Every Household in New Mexico. https://www.benton.org/blog/affordable-broadband-every-house...

2. Viante New Mexico. Broadband Internet in New Mexico. https://viantenm.org/broadband-internet-in-new-mexico

3. Native American Budget and Policy Institute / UNM. Broadband Access on Tribal Lands in New Mexico. https://nabpi.unm.edu/assets/documents/covid-19-research/nab...

4. PBS Digital Support. What is PBS Passport? https://pbsdigital.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/folders/5...

5. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/poorest-sta...

Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#536

Post by RickJWagner »

I loved many NPR / PBS creations, like “Car Talk”. What a great show.

But I was dismayed to see how NPR turned a blind eye to stories like the Hunter Biden bombshell. NPRs CEO started wearing a Biden hat, and openly criticizing Trump. A former NPR employee wrote a well publicized substack article (irony!) that claimed deep, systemic political bias. It’s hard not to agree.

I hope NPR and PBS take a hard look at themselves and come up with some ways to assure political neutrality. Absent that, I have to agree that tax dollars should not be spent here.

Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#537

Post by toomanyrichies »

WalterBright wrote: post #441
ndiddy wrote: post #415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PBS stations in major markets will likely be able to carry on due to donations and corporate underwriting, but stations in rural areas (the types of places where Internet streaming is less viable due to poor infrastructure) will be heavily affected. Some rural stations get up to half their budgets from the CPB, and these cuts will likely make them have to shut down. In heavily rural states like West Virginia, Alaska,…

If I was in a place without internet streaming, I'd get Starlink.

This sounds awfully close to "If I were poor, I would simply choose not to be poor."

If you were in a place without internet streaming, consider whether you’d have the economic means to pay for Starlink. Not everyone is earning the median Hacker News contributor’s income.

Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#538

Post by ethbr1 »

WalterBright wrote: post #441
ndiddy wrote: post #415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PBS stations in major markets will likely be able to carry on due to donations and corporate underwriting, but stations in rural areas (the types of places where Internet streaming is less viable due to poor infrastructure) will be heavily affected. Some rural stations get up to half their budgets from the CPB, and these cuts will likely make them have to shut down. In heavily rural states like West Virginia, Alaska,…

If I was in a place without internet streaming, I'd get Starlink.

Starlink: $600 + $120/month

Radio: $20 + $0/month

Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#539

Post by hnburnsy »

nabwodahs wrote: post #124
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…

Can you cite specific examples of this "bias?"

Adam Carolla was interviewed by NPR and tried to Gotcha him by saying he said racist comments against Asians, but the comments were from an Asian comedian. NPR canned the interview and never aired it, despite telling him they would air it.

Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations

#540

Post by colechristensen »

atonse wrote: post #350
buerkle wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not every side deserves to be covered for each story. This is the problem with major media today, they give equal opportunity to people that have no idea what they are talking about. It's like one side says 2+2=4, the other 2+2=5, and media gives them equal air time.

Can you point me to a good source that actually gives equal opportunity to multiple sides of a story? Because I rarely see that (regardless of which side), the whole reason why I subscribe to things like ground.news.

Axios does a pretty solid job of covering point and counterpoint on their stories not bias towards "equality" for different perspectives, but actually covering fully the different angles of a story.

See yourself in their article from a couple of weeks ago about the federal funding cut of CPB.

https://www.axios.com/2025/07/18/npr-pbs-funding-senate

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