June 11, 2025
BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA
WEEKLY DISPATCH
By Leslie Fields-Cruz
Tomorrow, factions within the U.S. Congress will try to end public media. They’ve eliminated funding in the so called “BBB” and are now trying to claw back funding from the 2024 appropriation. What does that mean? Public media funds that had been allocated for 2026 will be eliminated. Stations will have to scramble to find the necessary funds to continue to deliver their services to the communities. Educators and stay-at-home Mom’s will lose a vital resource for Pre-K education, and independent media makers will lose funding that helps fuel their independent businesses.
Yes, in addition to overseeing the emergency management systems, providing local news stories, and educating our children, independent media makers who receive grants to produce documentaries use those funds to employ others: gaffers, lighting crews, caterers, sound crew, local studios. Not only that, these indie makers leverage the small production grants they recieve by raising double, triple, sometimes quadruple the amount needed for their project budgets from private sources. Once these films are done, they air/stream FOR FREE to every American household via the local PBS station.
Public Media is a vital resource for our communities. It also invests in the local creative economy. Email, call, or write to your local representative TODAY and tell them to Protect My Public Media.
AfroPoP 17 is Here!
After you’ve expressed your views, curl up in your favorite chair and watch the Season 17 premiere episode of AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange. The season opener includes a documentary feature from Suriname and a documentary short from the Florida Panhandle. Enjoy!Subscribe Today!
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