The purpose of public media is to provide programs and services that inform, educate, enlighten, and enrich the public and help inform civil discourse essential to American society.This page also outlines 3 areas of impact:
1) Content and services:
GOAL: Promote an educated and informed civil society by supporting high-quality engaging content and services delivered across multiple platforms.
2) Innovation:
GOAL: Strengthen the quality of public media's content and services, and deepen the engagement with audiences and users, by supporting innovative projects.
3) Support for Public Media:
GOAL: Strengthen the quality of public media’s content and services by supporting strong public media entities that are vital to and reflective of the people they serve.
This gives a great glimpse into their focus but what exactly is CPB? Well, Congress, in a bipartisan move, passed the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 which created CPB. The Federal government wished to invest in public broadcasting and CPB was created to act as a steward for these Federal funds. It is a private, nonprofit organization and is the "single largest source of funding for public radio, television, and related online and mobile services".
What is important about CPB is their funding model. CPB receives their funding allocation from the Federal government 2 years in advance. What this means is that their Federal allocation for 2016 was decided upon and approved by Congress in 2014. This is important as it reduces the amount of political interference in CPB's operations for any given year. The government can't suddenly remove funding from the organization if they make a move that the current administration disapproves of. Having their funding allocated in advance means that CPB doesn't have to bend to the whims of those in power, an independence that is fundamental to free media.
How much does the government put into CPB? In 2014 CPB had an operating budget of $445.5 million with all but $500 thousand of that in direct allocation. This should be compared to the Federal budget of $3.5 trillion in 2014. This means that CPB was approximately 0.012% of our Federal government's spending for 2014. The average cost per American was just $1.35 for the entire year of 2014.
And where does CPB's funding go? "CPB does not produce programming and does not own, operate or control any public broadcasting stations" it does, however, provide substantial grants to local stations and content developers. Nearly 70% of their budget goes to support local radio and television stations. If you would like to see how this funding benefits your state see here. Conversely, less than 5% of their budget is used for CPB operations. In raw numbers that means about $22 million dollars a year for national operating costs with the remaining $423.5 million going to local stations and content development. It should also be noted that CPB is a separate entity from PBS and NPR though many of the local stations who receive money from CPB partner with these organizations to take advantage of their proprietary content.
Finally, where does this all lead us? To HR727 and it's desire to cut all funding from CPB after 2019. Since CPB receives almost all of their funding through Federal allocation this would mean a dissolution of CPB entirely and immediately as of 2019. The 1,123 radio stations and 366 television stations that rely on CPB for funding would either have to find new revenue sources or close down.
Will this reduce out Federal deficit? At .012% of the overall budget hardly at all.
Does CPB cause a financial burden for Americans? Only if $1.35 a year is a financial hardship.
Does this reduce the size of government? Technically yes, but only by the amount of time it takes Congress to approve CPB's funding each year and for the Congressional Budget Office to disburse said funds.
This bill is Congress "doing something" that's really doing nothing. This bill will reduce the accessibility of free, quality media in our country and should not be allowed to pass.
Who's responsible:
Rep. Lamborn, Doug [R-CO]- Sponsor
Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ]- Cosponsor
Rep. Rooney, Francis [R-FL]- Cosponsor
This is just another attempt to keep the public uneducated and uninformed.
ReplyDelete-MillerofHat