Forget Big Brother. Fear Big Bird

Award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns has called public broadcasting the “Declaration of Independence applied to communications.”

Acclaimed travel writer Rick Steves has called it “a thoughtful oasis in our media landscape that does not have an agenda.”

So, imagine our surprise when Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson (a former broadcast journalist and frequent guest on the Iowa PBS show “Iowa Press” recently labeled NPR and PBS “left-wing propaganda.”

Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst called NPR and PBS “political propaganda masked as public service.”

A vast majority of Americans disagree.

According to The Media Institute, a national poll of likely voters in July found that 53% of respondents trust public media to report the news “fully and fairly.” But only 35% extend that trust to “the media in general.”

The same poll reports that a majority of Americans also oppose eliminating federal support for public broadcasting.

But, as we write this, the damage has been done.

In an almost entirely party-line vote, Congress (including Iowa’s entire congressional delegation) approved President Trump’s request to eliminate federal funding — $1.1 billion — of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

CPB announced Aug. 1 it will take steps to shut down.

All this means significant cuts to Iowa PBS. 

Iowa PBS Executive Director and General Manager Andrew Batt says there will be “massive, massive changes in the public broadcasting system as soon as this fall.”

That translates to reductions in staff, programs and services.

So, who are we and why do we care?

Together, we have more than 60 years of experience in commercial and public broadcasting. Some of those years were in commercial news divisions in Sioux City and Cedar Rapids; some were spent at Iowa PBS.

We know firsthand the value of public broadcasting and the important role it plays.

We also know the difference between accurate reporting and biased reporting. PBS News Hour is not Fox News. Judy Woodruff is not Sean Hannity.

And we know what Iowans have told us over the decades: they trust Iowa PBS because it offers viewers programming that’s well researched, balanced, and objective. Its programs are educational, informational, and entertaining. There’s no profit motive, no need to sensationalize to attract viewers.

Public TV programs are safe for kids. We’ve heard from parents over the years just how much this matters. It’s worry-free TV. No commercials. No violence. No inappropriate sexual innuendo. Instead, public TV kids’ shows educate as they entertain, teaching about character, and treating others — even those different from them — with kindness and respect.

Public broadcasting also provides crucial emergency services — like tornado warnings, thunderstorm warnings, and Amber Alerts. It plays a vital role in supporting communities, especially underserved ones.

There are two things that many Iowans view as theirs: the Iowa State Fair and Iowa PBS. Both bring Iowans together. Both celebrate Iowa, telling its stories and showcasing all the reasons why — from Ackley to Zwingle — it’s special.

That is reflected in award-winning documentaries and programs like Iowa Press, Market to Market, live statewide broadcasts of high school and college sports, and coverage of high school theater and music performances.

Before his death, Dan Miller, executive director and general manager of what was then Iowa Public Television, often said the network was Iowa PBS “in name and in fact. We cover our own backyard.” He believed, as we do, that public broadcasting is part of the fabric of this great state; a service that binds us together and makes our communities, and us, better.

So why the intense criticism of public broadcasting, which has predominantly come from the Republican Party?

We believe it stems from its independence.

Public broadcasting’s diverse and non-commercial funding stream means it’s not beholden to any one organization, ideology or party line. It’s free to offer varied perspectives that don’t always conform with what political leaders want to hear. 

The president and his followers have decided to shoot the messenger. 

Fox News and other party-line followers may have friends in the House and the Senate. But public broadcasting has something even better: friends in the houses of everyday Iowans. Friends who vote.

Terri Hale of Ankeny, email: tahale8@msn.com 

Amy Johnson of Cedar Rapids, email: t.boyle@mchsi.com