Filmmaker Ken Burns called the elimination of federal funding for public broadcasting shortsighted, warning that the cuts will be catastrophic for new filmmakers and rural communities. He calls it a profound blow to what he says is a uniquely American institution.
"The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and another agency that has felt the axe, the National Endowment for the Humanities, have been central to my origin story," Burns told Morning Edition. "I wouldn't have been able to make any of the films without their support."
That early support, he said, helped attract foundations and underwriters that made it possible to complete films like Brooklyn Bridge, Huey Long and the sixth film in The Civil War series. Even today, the CPB represents up to 25% of the funds for his projects, Burns said.
"I'm less concerned with our ability to recover because we'll just redouble the efforts," Burns said. "But the effect down the system, for filmmakers, is going to be catastrophic."
On Friday, the House approved a Trump administration plan to rescind $9 billion in previously allocated funds, including $1.1 billion for the CPB — a move that cuts all federal support for NPR, PBS and their member stations — and $7.9 billion in foreign aid.
President Trump and most congressional Republicans contend that public media is biased and does not need federal funding. The House vote split largely along party lines – 216-to-213 – with two Republicans joining Democrats in opposition. The bill is headed to Trump's desk for his signature.
Burns said the damage will be especially severe in rural areas, where local stations may be the only source of news, educational programming and emergency alerts.
He described public broadcasting as a completely homegrown American institution that's unique among publicly funded broadcasters around the world.
"Public broadcasting is the Declaration of Independence applied to communications," he said. "It's that central to our definition."
Burns disagreed with arguments that public media is politically biased or unnecessary in the digital age. "My own films: I don't have a political point of view in them. I call balls and strikes," he said, noting PBS's 32-year run of conservative commentator William F. Buckley's Firing Line. "Mostly it's Sesame Street, American Experience, Nature, Antiques Roadshow ... and Frontline, which may be the greatest television series of all time."
He added that while streaming services might have offered him more money or faster timelines, they could never offer the same editorial and creative freedom. His Vietnam War documentary took 10 and a half years and cost $30 million to make. "None of those other places would have given me ten and a half years," he said. "They want it in a year or a year and a half, and it would not have been the same film."
Burns also rejected the argument that public media has outlived its purpose in the age of the internet. "We found out how unhealthy the internet is," he said. "We're looking for an organization that is obligated to seek facts. Public broadcasting delivers with the highest standards of journalism and the highest standards of artistic achievement."
He added: "It's too valuable an institution to just shrug your shoulders and say, 'That's it.' It's not going away. I'm not going away. We've got too many stories to tell."
NPR's Michel Martin spoke with Ken Burns shortly before the House approved the rescission package.
The following interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Interview Highlights
Michel Martin: How have public funds made your work possible?
Ken Burns: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and another agency that has felt the ax, the National Endowment for the Humanities, have been central to my origin story. Their support made it possible to complete these early films on the Brooklyn Bridge, on the history of the Shakers, on Huey Long and eventually the sixth film The Civil War series, which enjoyed a large grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that helped attract even bigger funders. And so this is a big sort of wallop to us. I'm less concerned with our ability to recover because we'll just re-double the efforts. But the effect down the system for new filmmakers is going to be catastrophic. And even beyond that is the grassroots effect that this is this utterly American institution that has woven itself into the fabric of every American community.
The damage will be done most significantly in rural areas where they take our superb primetime schedule and our children's programming, but also have continuing education and classroom of the air and homeland security and alerts, emergency alerts, that are hugely important. They're sometimes the only local news in that area. And I sort of think that public broadcasting is the Declaration of Independence applied to communications. It's that central to our definition. It's such a purely American expression, unlike any of the other governmental broadcasters around the world. This is a bottom up, completely homegrown American institution. And you can tell just by the way, I've been speaking with congressmen around the country, they know, even though they voted for rescission, that this is going to be very unpopular.
Martin: Because you travel so much, because you do films about all kinds of people all over the country, you must have a good sense of how people feel about this. And so, there are just a couple of arguments that arise: One is that this is all liberal bias and that people really don't need this. And if they want this, then the market should provide it. What do you say about that?
Burns: Well, I just think it's short sighted. The whole idea of public broadcasting, which was born in the Johnson administration and ratified by every president until now, has been the idea that it reflects Americans, where we're not afraid of debate or argument. My own films, I don't have a political point of view in them. I call balls and strikes. It's very important to do that. And of course, this is also a network that for 32 years had the ultra conservative commentator, William F. Buckley with a show of his own called Firing Line. So, I don't buy that argument, and I don't think the American people buy it.
Martin: Well, the other argument that lawmakers have been making is that we can't afford it.That the country needs to rein in its spending, and that this is essentially a luxury that the country can't afford and that people who want this kind of programming should pay for it. What do you say to that?
Burns: This is a tiny, minuscule portion of our federal government, which obviously has bloat and redundancies and places where fat can be trimmed. It's an incredibly inexpensive way to reach people and to educate them and to continue the idea that Americans, as citizens, need to be constantly learning. And lifelong learning is what the pursuit of happiness meant to the founders. And look, the whole thing we're talking about costs less than a bomber per year. And I'm not saying that the public broadcasting system or public media in any way, shape or form is responsible for the defense of the country. It just makes our country worth defending.
Martin: And the final argument that some have made is that the internet is a more important source of information today, anyway. So, do we really need this?
Burns: I think we found out how unhealthy the internet is. We are looking for an organization that is obligated to seek facts and that the toxicity and the malignancy of so many aspects of the internet, I think, believe that argument. We have an organization in the public broadcasting service that delivers with the highest standards of journalism and the highest standards of artistic achievement. And you just take your chances on the internet, and I'm not sure we're willing to do that.
I think most broadcast television, its skywriting disappears with the first Zephyr. I'm pleased to tell you that if this was a school day in America, hundreds of classrooms would be playing various films that we've made, some of them 35 years old, like our Civil War series. And that's a testament to the staying power, not just for a general audience, not just for the continuing education of adults, but most importantly for our children as they go and struggle and ask fundamental questions about who we are. What is the nature of the United States? Where did we come from? What struggles and conflicts made us who we are?
The digital piece was written by Majd Al-Waheidi and edited by Lisa Thomson. Destinee Adams contributed.
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