Significant cuts The US public broadcasting was approved by Congress, starring President Donald Trump. This is a decision that puts in question the future of networks Pbs and Nprcausing concern to supporters of free, public information.

The depreciation of American public broadcasting does not come without a history. As reminds the CNN“Richard Nixon tried it, Ronald Reagan tried it, Donald Trump had attempted it in his previous term.” Return Trump to the White House was accompanied by clear targeting: to limit whatever it calls ‘Running monster’ in the field of public broadcasting.

Controversial legislative intervention and political reactions

By a slim majority, 216 in favor of 213 against, the House of Representatives approved after the Senate the cut of $ 9 billion in public resources – including $ 1.1 billion concerning the Public Broadcasting Company (CPB), which finances the Npr; Pbs and a thousand five hundred local television and radio stations. This decision comes shortly after suspension of funding Voice of America (VOA) by Trump.

“It’s a dark day for America,” said the Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Smer. Many Republicans had stated their opposition, but Trump said he did not support “any Republican” voted in favor of continuing the operation of what he characterized “monster”.

Significant blow to local stations and informative pluralism

These cuts mark the first noun ‘Drying’ of the Public Broadcasting Budget since 1967, with a particularly heavy impact on small local stations largely dependent on public funding. As the leader of the PbsPola Kerger, the measure “will have consequences for everyone, but especially for smaller television stations in the province”, as they often fail to cover private capital losses.

In the broadcasting services covering 99.7% of the territory, its chief executive NprCatrin Maire, notes that “private networks cannot offer the same”, since maintenance costs are high and economically prohibited for non -state bodies.

Search alternative sources of funding

Despite the cuts, Pola Kerger assured that Pbs will continue to fight for its operation, stressing that ‘There’s nothing more American than PBS’. Public media, although already reinforced by private sponsorships, donations and institutions, remain particularly vulnerable, especially for smaller stations for which state revenue represents more than 50% of their funding.

The viability of public information in the US is being tested, with the implications expected to appear immediately in the country’s pluralistic landscape.

Sources: DPA, EPD, CNN, AFP