The announcement that PBS will cease operations due to lack of funding is not just a media story—it is a national tragedy. For more than half a century, PBS has been one of the last bastions of non-commercial, high-quality programming in American life. It has educated our children, preserved our culture, amplified unheard voices, and provided a public forum for thoughtful discussion in an increasingly fractured media landscape. That such an institution could go dark—not because its mission has become obsolete, but because the money simply ran out—should alarm everyone who believes in the role of public service media in a healthy democracy.
This moment demands more than mourning. It calls for immediate action, and not just from Congress, which has repeatedly proven itself unable or unwilling to safeguard the public good. It is time for America’s philanthropic institutions—our great foundations, universities, and arts patrons—to step into the breach. If the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation, and others were ever looking for a cause that would truly strengthen civil society, this is it.
What PBS needs is not a series of stopgap grants or emergency telethons. It needs permanence. It needs a trust fund—endowed and protected—capable of sustaining its operations in perpetuity, free from the vagaries of partisan politics and budgetary brinksmanship. This fund could be modeled on similar endowments used by major universities and museums, structured to generate annual income sufficient to cover core operating costs, while preserving the independence and integrity that has made PBS unique among broadcasters.
Time is of the essence. The infrastructure of public media, once dismantled, will not be easily rebuilt. The loss of producers, editors, reporters, and affiliate stations across the country would erase not just jobs, but decades of institutional knowledge and community engagement. It would be a slow, silent erosion of our cultural and educational scaffolding—and one that we might not even recognize fully until it’s gone.
Let this editorial serve as a plea, and a challenge. To those with the means and vision to act: do not let PBS disappear. This is a moment for bold philanthropy. Not just to rescue a network, but to affirm that there are still spaces in American life where truth matters, where children deserve enrichment without advertising, and where culture can thrive without being reduced to content. Let’s build a legacy of support that outlasts this crisis—and ensure that PBS remains a public trust, not a memory.
