Majority of voters oppose cutting federal funds for public media, survey finds

As the Senate considers the Rescissions Act of 2025, a new national survey indicates that a majority of U.S. voters oppose eliminating federal funding for public media and place more trust in public media than in media overall.

The legislation would cancel $1.1 billion in already approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, or CPB.

Conducted online by Peak Insights from June 29 to July 1 among 1,000 likely voters, the survey found that 53 percent of respondents oppose eliminating all federal funding for public media, compared to 44 percent who support the proposal.

PBS encourages viewers to help protect public media

According to the results, public media networks and local stations are more trusted than media in general. Fifty-three percent of voters said they trust public media to report the news fully, accurately and fairly, compared to 35 percent who said the same for the media overall.

Public media’s core services received high marks from respondents. Emergency alerts were valued by 82 percent of voters, children’s educational programming and local programming by 66 percent each, and national news reporting by 60 percent.

Favorability ratings were also higher for public media organizations. Sixty-five percent of voters had a favorable opinion of their local public television and radio stations. PBS and NPR had favorability ratings of 61 percent and 54 percent, respectively. In contrast, 61 percent of voters held an unfavorable view of for-profit media.

The survey also showed that:

• 68 percent of voters believe public media serves as a lifeline for rural and underserved communities.
• 66 percent believe it provides quality educational programming for children.
• 62 percent believe it should remain available free of charge.
• 64 percent support appointing an independent ombudsman to ensure fair and unbiased news and informational content.

Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of the CPB, said in a statement that public media delivers essential services to American communities.

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“Public media is a trusted, vital part of American life, available free of charge and commercial free,” Harrison said.

She added that continued federal support enables the CPB and local stations to improve services and maintain public trust through accurate and nonpartisan programming.