What Sen. Kennedy Gets Wrong About Defunding Public Broadcasting

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy’s April 8 proposal to defund public broadcasting—through what he calls the “No Propaganda Act”—came bundled with all the southern charm and rhetorical wit we’ve come to expect from him. According to Kennedy, NPR and PBS are unnecessary. After all, he argues, the internet gives Americans access to all the news they need, and with more than 500 radio stations and 150 TV stations in Louisiana alone, why should taxpayers fund a handful of what he believes are biased public broadcasters?

It’s a compelling argument—on the surface. But for Louisiana, in particular, it’s dangerously out of touch.

A Look at Louisiana’s Media Landscape

Let’s start with that internet claim. Kennedy points to a stat showing that 97 percent of Americans use the internet. That number, drawn from national studies, is technically true. But it doesn’t reflect broadband access—which is how most people actually consume news, especially video or streaming content. According to a 2022 survey by LSU’s Public Policy Research Lab, only about 75 percent of Louisiana adults have high-speed internet at home. In rural parishes like East Carroll, Claiborne, and Tensas, broadband subscription rates dip as low as 50–60 percent. With Louisiana’s population sitting around 4.6 million, that means hundreds of thousands of residents don’t have reliable access to online news.

And it’s not just a matter of choice. The LSU study found that 42 percent of Louisianans without broadband said the service simply wasn’t available in their area. But even more telling: 64 percent said they couldn’t afford it. So while Kennedy sees the internet as a universal equalizer, the reality in Louisiana is that too many people are either priced out or left out.

The increasingly diminished reach of print newspapers—for instance, the daily Shreveport Times in Caddo Parish reports a circulation that touches just 17 percent of the parish’s residents—juxtaposed against Louisiana’s gaps in reliable internet access leaves us with broadcasting as the medium most critical for sustaining an informed public. Yet, it’s under fire.

Let’s take a closer look at Louisiana’s media landscape. According to Radio-Locator.com, there are 319 licensed AM and FM radio stations in the state. Fewer than a dozen can claim they do news. The rest are focused on music, religion, or syndicated talk formats. They have their place, but that place is not where journalism resides. WWL in New Orleans is highly regarded for its radio news—but it’s the exception in the landscape, not the rule.

Reality Check

The reality is public broadcasting plays an outsized role in the state of “Union, Justice, and Confidence.”

Stations like WWNO in New Orleans, WRKF in Baton Rouge, and Red River Radio in Shreveport provide in-depth journalism—both national and local—through NPR. They report on education, healthcare, environmental issues, and state government. On the television side, Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) reaches nearly every household. Its long-running show Louisiana: The State We’re In offers statewide political and public affairs coverage. LPB also broadcasts debates, documentaries, children’s educational programming, and real-time emergency updates.

These aren’t niche services. They’re core components of how many Louisianans stay informed.

Kennedy criticizes the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) for giving federal funds to just seven radio and three TV stations in the state. Why? Those are the stations that are actually performing acts of journalism to the benefit of his state. CPB was created in 1967 to ensure public access to educational and cultural programming—and it’s fulfilled that mission for decades. Its funding—$535 million a year, or less than 0.01 percent of the federal budget—supports programming like PBS NewsHour, Frontline, and Sesame Street. Seventy percent of CPB’s budget goes directly to local stations. In Louisiana, LPB also receives about $15 million in state funding.

For comparison, Germany invests about $9 billion annually in its public broadcasting system. Interesting that other democracies don’t just tolerate public media, but recognize it as a pillar of civic infrastructure, isn’t it?

Some of Kennedy’s criticism is rooted in the idea that public broadcasting leans left. If we accept that premise, does Louisiana need it? In a media environment where much of the landscape is devoted to conservative commentary, public broadcasting brings balance. Is it bias, or democracy in action, to provide alternative points of view?

From its inception, public broadcasting has existed to inform and provide access to information. In a state like Louisiana—with broadband gaps, limited newspaper circulation, and few radio newsrooms—it fulfills both those needs.

All things considered; Sen. Kennedy’s argument shouldn’t be to defund public broadcasting—it should be to invest more. The people of Louisiana clearly need it.

Jaci Clement is CEO and Executive Director of the Fair Media Council. Reach her at jaci@fairmediacouncil.org. Sign up below for FMC’s weekly newsletter.