On July 18th, the US House of Representatives walked back 9 billion dollars in funding, 1.1 billion of which was a direct cut to the Corporation of Public Broadcasting (CPB). This cut from Congress removes all federal support to NPR and PBS, few of the free public media sources in the United States.
NPR CEO Katherine Maher issued a statement shortly after the vote, calling the cuts “an unwarranted dismantling of beloved local civic institutions, and an act of Congress that disregards the public will.”
NPR and CBS are not just the avenues that you can experience hit shows “Arthur,”” Sesame Street” and NPR “Tiny Desk” concerts. They provide a service that is rarely found in America in 2025: free public news.
The New York Times and similar big news outlets often allow free trials to their websites, but almost all documents are behind a paywall. New York Times specifically charges 25 dollars a month for full access and 30 dollars a month for a family subscription, counting as access for 4 individual accounts.
The question is this: How do we expect individuals in the United States to be well informed civilians and voting members for their own best interest when their main sources of information are from TikTok accounts, Instagram pages, and the White House X (formerly known as Twitter) account. All of which keep posting AI images of the President in the sacred robes of the Pope and enjoying the satirical depiction of said President and prominent politicians like Kristi Noem on South Park.
I’m tired. In a nation of book bans, cutting public resources across the globe, and building genuine concentration camps in the Everglades, what do we do as a people to combat this?
The leader of this country is a racist buffoon who begged the Georgia Secretary of State to rig the election in 2020. The Secretary of Education thought “AI” was called “A1.” The Secretary of Defense leaked messages unknowingly to news outlets about an attack on Yemen. The Secretary of Health genuinely believes that vaccines cause autism. The Attorney General admitted to the Epstein Files sitting on her desk.
The United States in 2025 is a scary place. A place where the only way you’re truly safe from the problems of our government is if you’re a straight white man who drinks the metaphorical “MAGA” Kool-Aid and never has an original opinion.
I’m scared. I’m not going to act like I have the answers of the nation’s woes, but I do know one thing that needs to be done. Being vocal about issues to your local representatives and to others in your community is so vastly important to progress by 2028. Use your voting power while you can to ensure that you and future generations can live as your true-selves.
We’re only 6 months into Trump’s term, and so much has happened. Personally, I’m tired of living through numerous historical events all at once.
If you feel strongly about these issues, a great way to contribute is donating to help fund NPR and other public media outlets.
NPR’s donation website is https://www.npr.org/donations/donate
PBS’s donation website is https://pbs.org/donate
Nethan Crew is the Managing Editor of Production for The Alabamian. He's a Psychology major and enjoys cooking, camping and listening to new music in his free time.
