The Friday afternoon edition of CNN News Central purported to discover another way in which Republican governors are waging culture wars: defunding PBS. Not only is Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt going after “LGBTQ inclusive programming,” but in doing so, he is making it more difficult more people to learn about impending tornados.
Host Boris Sanchez kicked off the segment with the assistance of some attention-grabbing adjectives, “The nation’s bitter culture war now has America's most watched PBS station is on the verge of going dark. The Republican governor of Oklahoma recently vetoed a bill that would have renewed its license and provided millions in funding for his state’s PBS network. It reaches more than 650,000 viewers a week.”
When it came to Stitt’s reasoning, Sanchez claimed he is “taking issue with what he claims is LGBTQ inclusive programming.”
Stitt did not say “LGBTQ inclusive programming,” but Sanchez moved right along and introduced correspondent Lucy Kafanov, asking her “What is he saying now?”
Doing her best Obama 2012 impression, Kafanov began by recalling, “Right, so Oklahoma's governor effectively defunded the state’s PBS station when he vetoed that bill last month which would have, like you said, continued funding to the station, this is through 2026. Now, PBS, of course, is home to loads of educational children's programming, including Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, there's Clifford the Big Red Dog, which does feature a gay character.”
Kafanov then quoted Stitt’s actual words, as opposed to Sanchez’s misinterpretation:
In an interview with Fox News this week, Governor Stitt said, and I quote ‘the big question is why are we spending taxpayer dollars to prop up or’-- complete or—‘compete with the private sector and compete with the private sector and run television stations? And then when you go through all the programming that's happening and the indoctrination and over-sexualization’—pardon me— ‘of our children, it's just really problematic.’”
Immediately trying to debunk Stitt, Kafanov declared that “Now, of course, there is no evidence of this claim, if anything the programming shows it’s okay for children or people to be different.”
As for the consequences of this “bitter culture war,” she added “I should note that the local PBS station isn't just for children’s programming. It also airs the only state news program that reaches every single county in Oklahoma, state authorities also sent amber alerts or severe weather alerts on PBS, which is really critical in a state where tornadoes are a frequent occurrence. Like, last year there was more than 200 emergency alerts.”
Wrapping up, Kafanov sought to analogize Stitt with another Republican governor, “And also Boris, you reference the nation's culture wars, that is the broader context here. You have Republicans like Florida governor Ron DeSantis waging war with Disney, suggesting that it is somehow grooming children with gender ideology. Now, Stitt pulling a page from the same playbook, a lot of Oklahoma, we should note, is rural and there are folks out there who might not have access to cable and satellite TV and so it's unclear whether the station could continue programming without that funding and license, Boris.”
Nothing Kafanov said changes the fact that Oklahomans will still have access to local affiliates based in their local market, but it is the typical fear-mongering PBS and its defends roll out to justify their access to taxpayer money.
This segment was sponsored by Liberty Mutual.
Here is a transcript for the May 12 show:
CNN News Central
5/12/2023
2:41 PM ET
BORIS SANCHEZ: The nation’s bitter culture war now has America's most watched PBS station is on the verge of going dark. The Republican governor of Oklahoma recently vetoed a bill that would have renewed its license and provided millions in funding for his state’s PBS network. It reaches more than 650,000 viewers a week. Governor Kevin Stitt taking issue with what he claims is LGBTQ inclusive programming. Let's get the latest from CNN's Lucy Kafanov who joins us live. Lucy, Kevin Stitt vetoing this bill. What is he saying now?
LUCY KAFANOV: Right, so Oklahoma's governor effectively defunded the state’s PBS station when he vetoed that bill last month which would have, like you said, continued funding to the station, this is through 2026.
Now, PBS, of course, is home to loads of educational children's programming, including Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, there's Clifford the Big Red Dog, which does feature a gay character.
In an interview with Fox News this week, Governor Stitt said, and I quote “the big question is why are we spending taxpayer dollars to prop up or"-- complete or-- "compete with the private sector and compete with the private sector and run television stations? And then when you go through all the programming that's happening and the indoctrination and over-sexualization”—pardon me— “of our children, it's just really problematic.”
Now, of course, there is no evidence of this claim, if anything the programming shows it’s okay for children or people to be different.
I should note that the local PBS station isn't just for children’s programming. It also airs the only state news program that reaches every single county in Oklahoma, state authorities also sent amber alerts or severe weather alerts on PBS, which is really critical in a state where tornadoes are a frequent occurrence.
Like, last year there was more than 200 emergency alerts. Now, a spokesman for PBS defended its programming to CNN saying that it provides curriculum-based content, that for generations has educated and inspired children in Oklahoma and across the county.
In a statement to CNN, they said, quote, “the threat to funding puts Oklahoma families at risk of losing access to the local free content that they trust to help kids reach their full potential. The fundamental goal of PBS Kids remains supporting children as they learn and grow through programming that they have come to know and love. Now is not the time to take that away from any child.”
And also Boris, you reference the nation's culture wars, that is the broader context here. You have Republicans like Florida governor Ron DeSantis waging war with Disney, suggesting that it is somehow grooming children with gender ideology.
Now, Stitt pulling a page from the same playbook, a lot of Oklahoma, we should note, is rural and there are folks out there who might not have access to cable and satellite TV and so it's unclear whether the station could continue programming without that funding and license, Boris.
