A free press should never be in the pocket of the government it is meant to hold accountable.
Our Founders understood this truth so well they carved it into the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” They knew from bitter experience what happens when rulers control the message. Tyranny begins not at the muzzle of a gun, but at the point of a pen held by the state.
Yet here we are, in Arkansas, with HB1008, which appropriated $6.24 million of taxpayer funds to the Arkansas Public Broadcasting Service for so-called “Educational Television.”
This is not neutral programming. PBS and its national partner NPR are notorious for their ideological slant. They do not present themselves as mere conduits of culture and learning; they are state-subsidized pulpits, shaping opinion with your dollars.
To pretend this is a “public service” is an insult to every citizen who treasures the principle of a press independent from government power. Our tax dollars are being used to amplify a worldview that does not represent us all, and that alone should raise alarm bells.
There is a world of difference between welfare spending and propaganda spending. We may not all agree with programs like food assistance or housing vouchers, but those have a clear and neutral purpose: to ensure no child starves, no family sleeps in the cold. That is a far cry from taking your hard-earned money and using it to promote a narrative, a worldview, a cultural agenda that mocks your convictions and treats your voice as disposable.
This is not just bad policy—it is a betrayal of the very principle of liberty. Freedom of speech is not merely the right to speak; it is also the right not to be forced into financing the speech of your adversaries.
Thomas Jefferson (1786)
“…to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical.”
—Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, adopted January 16, 1786
When you pay taxes to fund NPR and PBS, you are compelled to underwrite the megaphone used to drown you out.
Once, public broadcasting was justified as a necessity in a world with few channels and limited voices. That excuse has long since crumbled. Today, there are endless sources of news, education, and culture, all funded voluntarily by those who believe in them. If NPR and PBS have a message worth hearing, let them find their audience without dipping into the pocket of every Arkansas taxpayer.
A government that pays for its own media is a government that has forgotten its place. It was never meant to be our teacher, our entertainer, or our source of truth. It was meant to secure our rights and guard our liberty.
James Madison, Virginia Bill of Rights (1776)
“The freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments.”
That liberty is eroded when the state not only regulates but narrates the public conversation.
It’s common knowledge that HB1008 passed, but did you know that the Senate voted for it 32 to 0, with 1 Republican voting Present and 1 Democrat and 1 Republican Excused? The House was just as bad. Their votes were 78 for the bill, 11 Republicans voted No, 5 Republicans voted Present, and 6 Republicans did not vote at all.
I believe there’s a very convincing case to be made that the Arkansas Legislature – at least those members who actually agree with the Constitution – should have voted no on HB1008. You can go to https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/Votes?chamber=Senate&ddBienniumSession=2023%2F2024F&id=HB1008&rcs=1461 for the Senate results and to https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/Votes?chamber=House&ddBienniumSession=2023%2F2024F&id=HB1008&rcs=2150
for the House results to see how your local elected voted, and whether you agree with their decision.
HB1008 is a done deal, however it’s time to cut the cord on unconstitutional spending! There will be another budget. Tell them to de-fund HB1008, de-fund PBS, de-fund NPR. Tell your Representatives and Senators that’s what you want. See what they promise to do next time. Maybe they really don’t care to do your will.
Let Arkansas—and America—return the press to its rightful place: free, independent, and beholden only to the people, not the power brokers.
There is no need for government supported media. Much of America never tunes in to NPR. If the left’s fat cats can waste $1BILLION on Kamala’s Kampaign they can fund NPR.
The government is prohibited from organizing churches. PBS has become, and was from the beginning, the voice of the leftist religion. Providing support for a religious organization has in many cases been determined to be “establishing” a religion. Abridging the freedom of speech is likewise violated by establishing a speech factory which is no different than establishing a church. The government speech factory violates our freedom of speech.