Why Public Media Matters

Dear Jason, Last year, a few extreme members in Congress did everything in their power to yank funding from NPR and PBS. But you fought back, and it worked. The newest polls show that Americans believe PBS is the most trusted institution in the country. (Congress, on the other hand, came in dead last in the same poll).1 For the ninth year now the public has ranked PBS second only to military defense as an "excellent" use of tax dollars. These surveys show that the misinformation campaign against public media isn't working. We have funding for public broadcasting in the United States because that's exactly what the vast majority of Americans say they want. Now Congress needs to listen. Help us fight the attacks on public media by sending the facts to Congress today: Tell your lawmakers why public media matters. Public broadcasting is still under threat. In the last five years, states have slashed hundreds of millions of dollars from public broadcasters and in some cases launched plans to phase out funding altogether. In recent weeks, more states — including Maine, Oklahoma and Rhode Island — have called for cuts. Damaging legislation and federal budget cuts are chipping away at important funding streams for NPR, PBS and community media outlets around the country. Foes claim that funding public media is a huge tax burden — but for every dollar you will pay in taxes in 2012, only 0.015 cents will go to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.2 In fact, the United States has one of the lowest-funded public media systems in the developed world. We can't let legislators bleed public media dry. Take action before the next budget threat. Are NPR and PBS perfect? No. But in the face of tough political and economic challenges they are investing far more than their commercial counterparts in quality news and educational programming. In many parts of the country big media corporations are laying off journalists and abandoning local news coverage. Often public radio and TV stations are the only truly local voices left on the air. Help combat the lies. Tell Congress that you're ready to fight to protect funding for public media. Thank you, Josh, Amy and the rest of the Free Press Action Fund team www.FreePress.net www.SaveTheNews.org P.S. Like our work? The Free Press Action Fund is powered by donations from people like you. We don't take a single cent from business, government or political parties. Please keep us going strong with a gift of $10 — or more — today. Thank you! 1. "PBS Is #1 in Public Trust," PBS, Feb. 27, 2012: http://act2.freepress.net/go/8843?akid=3398.9578237.szCnng&t=9 2. "Tax Day 2012," National Priorities Project:  http://act2.freepress.net/go/9323?akid=3398.9578237.szCnng&t=11

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