PBS shuts diversity office as it faces pressure from Trump administration
New York – PBS says it is closing its offices for diversity, equity and inclusion to comply President Trump’s executive order And fired two executives brought in when they started their efforts in 2021.
The move eliminates the work done by Cecilia Loving and her colleague Gina Leow, as a public television station and radio Gird, a fight for federal funding, which may be a possible struggle for public funds. More serious than many years ago.
Despite canceling DEI efforts, PBS CEO Paula Kerger said Tuesday: “We are committed to telling all American stories before we take office and then we will continue to do so.”
She said that because PBS received federal funding through the U.S. Department of Education and National Science Department of Children’s Programming, lawyers in the system determined that Mr. Trump’s orders were required. The system received about $535 million in government support, accounting for about 16% of its budget, but it is unclear whether this requires compliance because the system has been filtered through private companies for public broadcasting.
Some of the 330 members of PBS have their own DEI efforts and receive CPB funds, so they can decide what to do with their office. “We are working hard to encourage them to get lawyers to study their situation,” Kerger told the Associated Press.
The free media website reports that PBS initially considers transferring love and utilization to other work within the system. Kerger said this was considered but rejected.
The DEI office is not only focusing on race equity. She said a lot of recent work has been to ensure that children with hearing problems can use PBS to program.
Four years ago, PBS faced pressure from the opposite direction. More than 130 filmmakers sent a letter to the system saying that their relationship with documentary Ken Burns was at the expense of others, and PBS showed “complete failure to fulfill multiple voices mission”.
With the Trump administration’s current efforts to reduce federal spending, Kerger learned that public broadcasts will be closely watched. Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee released “Let’s Grant PBS and NPR” on Tuesday.
That’s not a new opinion. In the past, Republicans have sent similar calls, mainly because of the debate between the news show and the left. Ultimately, efforts to raise funds are often caused by efforts to withstand the pressure from individual legislators from hundreds of TV stations across the country.
Kerger and NPR officials are expected to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Commission next month.
“I think this is different this time because of so much scrutiny,” Kerger said. “I never think government funding will continue. I think whenever these problems arise, we have to work hard to make sure we are For why this is important.”
She said people assumed “biased” when they thought they weren’t seen expressing their opinions in news reports. Some people think that journalism efforts are too conservative, and some are too free. “We take that part of our work very seriously and if we miss sometime, we will correct that.”
The job of local radio stations reminding citizens during California wildfires and hurricanes in Florida is an example of what lawmakers need to pay attention to.
“I’m always an optimistic person, but I think it’s going to take a lot of conversation to see if we can hold some funds to keep our radio going,” Kerger said.
