For 65 years, KPBS has been focused on fulfilling our public service mission to serve the San Diego community with stories and experiences that help residents understand our region better.
Today’s DOGE subcommittee hearing highlighted and challenged the critical role public media holds in delivering impartial, fact-based journalism; offering free, accessible and education standards-based children’s programming; and providing public safety information during and outside of times of crisis. The hearing posed the question if public media is a valuable investment by Congress. I wholeheartedly respond with a “Yes.”
KPBS and our fellow public media stations provide an essential service that helps our communities feel inspired, informed and connected. An investment in public media is an investment in the American people.
Whether you rely on KPBS for local news that bridges divides in communities, highlights diverse perspectives and sheds light on how policy issues affect you and your neighbors; or watch our locally produced shows that celebrate everything about San Diego from local arts, history, music, gardens, food, people and culture, KPBS is your trusted partner.
We offer this content every day on every platform where people gravitate for their news and programming - podcasts, social media, web, streaming, TV and radio. The method in which we deliver stories is not as important as the trusted and valuable content itself. We are confident in our editorial processes and our educational programming. We are non-profit, independent and accountable to you.
Federal funding constitutes 0.0073% of the national budget and amounts to $1.60 per American annually. The substantial majority of federal funding for public media goes to local stations like KPBS. Federal grants make up 13% of KPBS’ annual budget which equates to nearly $4 million. This critical seed money is leveraged to garner more than six times that in donated funds from donors and partners.
Proposed federal funding cuts to public media threaten the survival of an institution that has successfully served as a cornerstone of democracy, education, and cultural enrichment for decades. These proposed cuts jeopardize not only individual stations like KPBS, but the very fabric of public service media. More importantly, it is a divestment in the American people.
It is a system that requires investment from every station to support the national and international content and infrastructure for emergency services that our audiences depend on. The loss of federal funding would significantly impact smaller, rural stations’ budgets, making it impossible for them to invest in the shared content and putting more financial pressure on larger stations like KPBS.
Our audience members’ priorities include the full political spectrum. We believe KPBS and our audience have many shared values. We believe in democracy. We believe in asking questions and seeking answers. We believe in truth. We believe in holding those in a position of power accountable to the people for whom they serve. We believe in early childhood education. We believe in knowing your neighbor and building a community. You will find these values throughout our news coverage, programming and community engagement activities.
Our purpose is to reflect back to you what makes San Diego such an amazing place. We are a group of nearly 200 people who love being here for you and believe in the power of public media as a means to strengthen our democracy and empower its residents. We are committed to serving you for generations to come.
That’s worth fighting for and worth the investment.
We take our responsibility to the public very seriously - it has fueled us for 65 years and with your support we will be here for San Diegans for years to come.
