PBS

PBS
Basic facts
Location:	Arlington, Va.
Type:	501(c)(3)
Top official:	Paula Kerger, President and CEO
Year founded:	1969
Website:	Official website

PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that was founded in 1969. According to their website, "PBS and our member stations are America’s largest classroom, the nation’s largest stage for the arts and a trusted window to the world."

Background

Hartford Gunn Jr., founder and first president of PBS

PBS began to broadcast its programming in 1970 and was founded by Hartford Gunn Jr., who, prior to PBS, was the general manager at, what is now the Boston PBS affiliate, WGBH. Gunn had helped to develop WGBH's television station, introducing cooking shows and musical performances. When Gunn became president of PBS, he was faced with financial problems partly related to the government's funding of the network and infighting among the 110 stations on the future of PBS. The networks did not agree on the direction PBS should take with its programming.

Annual funding, which came from Congress, became a point of contention when PBS and Jim Lehrer covered the Watergate hearings in 1973 and 1974. The Nixon Administration threatened funding to PBS over the coverage. PBS's second president, Lawrence Grossman, stated "There were tremendous fights, with the Nixon Administration trying to prevent public television from doing any public affairs programming at all." In 1975, Congress passed the Public Broadcasting Financing Act, which secured future funding for programming. The subsection of the act states:

“

A. There is hereby established in the Treasury a fund which shall be known as the Public Broadcasting Fund (hereinafter in this subsection referred to as the “Fund”), to be administered by the Secretary of the Treasury. B. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund for each of the fiscal years 1978, 1979, and 1980, an amount equal to 40 percent of the total amount of non-Federal financial support received by public broadcasting entities during the fiscal year second preceding each such fiscal year, except that the amount so appropriated shall not exceed $121,000,000 for fiscal year 1978, $140,000,000 for fiscal year 1979, and $160,000,000 for fiscal year 1980. C. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund, for each of the fiscal years 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993, an amount equal to 40 percent of the total amount of non-Federal financial support received by public broadcasting entities during the fiscal year second preceding each such fiscal year, except that the amount so appropriated shall not exceed $265,000,000 for fiscal year 1992, $285,000,000 for fiscal year 1993, $310,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, $375,000,000 for fiscal year 1995, and $425,000,000 for fiscal year 1996. D. In addition to any amounts authorized under any other provision of this or any other Act to be appropriated to the Fund, $20,000,000 are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Fund (notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection) specifically for the transition from the use of analog to digital technology for the provision of public broadcasting services for fiscal year 2001. E. Funds appropriated under this subsection shall remain available until expended.

”

On August 1, 2025, due to federal budget cuts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which was a significant source of funds for PBS, announced it would shut down.

Aa of December 2025, PBS' website said the following about its mission:

“

PBS is a membership organization that, in partnership with its member stations, serves the American public with programming and services of the highest quality, using media to educate, inspire, entertain and express a diversity of perspectives. PBS empowers individuals to achieve their potential and strengthen the social, democratic, and cultural health of the U.S. PBS offers programming that expands the minds of children, documentaries that open up new worlds, non-commercialized news programs that keep citizens informed on world events and cultures and programs that expose America to the worlds of music, theater, dance and art. It is a multi-platform media organization that serves Americans through television, mobile and connected devices, the web, in the classroom, and more.

”

Leadership

As of December 2025, the following were listed as members of the organization's senior management:

• Paula Kerger, President & CEO
• Jonathan Barzilay Chief Operating Officer
• Sylvia Bugg, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager, General Audience Programming
• Sara DeWitt, Senior Vice President and General Manager, PBS KIDS
• Susi Elkins, Senior Vice President, Station Services
• Jeremy Gaines, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications
• Mike Jacobson, Senior Vice President, Human Resources
• Katherine Lauderdale, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
• Scott Nourse, Senior Vice President, Product & Innovation
• Brian Reddington, Executive Director, PBS Foundation
• Ira Rubenstein, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer
• Tom Tardivo, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

As of December 2025, the following were listed as members of the organization's board of directors:

• Dolores Fernandez Alonso
• Maxine Clark
• Mark G. Contreras
• Bob Culkeen
• Rob Dunlop
• Mildred García
• Susan Goldberg
• Chuck Hagel
• Shae Hopkins
• Marvin Irby
• Larry Irving
• Michael Isip
• Franz Joachim
• Gunjan Kedia
• Paula Kerger
• Carla McCabe
• Sandra Cordova Micek
• Greg Petrowich
• Vivian Riefberg
• Catherine Robb
• Geoff Sands
• Tina Sharkey
• Amy Shaw
• Jayme Swain
• Holden Thorp
• Ed Ulman

Work and activities

Programming

PBS ' website says the following:

“

America's Largest Classroom: As America’s largest classroom, PBS is available to all of America’s children – including those who can’t attend preschool – and offers educational media that help prepare children for success in school. PBS is committed to bringing the power of media into the classroom - helping educators to engage students in new and different ways. America's Largest Stage: At a time when funding for music and arts within our schools is being cut, PBS is helping to keep the arts alive today and for generations to come by ensuring the worlds of music, theater, dance and art remain available to all Americans, many of whom might never have had the opportunity to experience them otherwise. A Trusted Window to the World: PBS offers programming for a wide range of ages, interests and genres. Each month, over 100 million people through television and more than 32 million people online explore the worlds of science, history, culture, great literature and public affairs through PBS’ trusted content.

”

Presidential debates

2020

See also: Democratic presidential primary debate (December 19, 2019)

On December 19, 2019, PBS NewsHour and Politico hosted the sixth Democratic primary debate in Los Angeles, California. The moderators were Tim Alberta, Yamiche Alcindor, Amna Nawaz, and Judy Woodruff.

2016

See also: Milwaukee, Wis. PBS Democratic debate (February 11, 2016)

On January 11, 2016, PBS announced that it would host the sixth Democratic presidential primary debate on February 11, 2016. The debate was moderated by Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff. The debate took place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were the only two participants. The debate was part of PBS's NewsHour and WETA, the PBS Washington, D.C. affiliate; Woodruff and the late Gwen Ifill were, at the time, co-hosts of NewsHour.

Both Ifill and Woodruff had previously moderated debates; Ifill moderated the vice presidential debate in 2004 between John Edwards (D) and Dick Cheney (R), and in 2008 between Joe Biden (D) and Sarah Palin (R). Woodruff moderated the debate in 1988 between Lloyd Bentsen (D) and Dan Quayle (R).

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this organization made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope. Know of one we missed? Click here to let us know.

Circulation

In May 2025, PBS' website said the following of its viewership:

“

*Each month, PBS reaches more than 36 million adults on linear primetime television. Over the course of a year, PBS stations reach nearly 20 million Hispanic viewers, 19 million Black viewers, and over 7 million Asian viewers. 60% of our audience lives in rural communities. PBS is viewed in 87% of non-internet homes and 56% of low-income homes. PBS reaches more children and more children from low-income homes than any of the children’s TV networks in a year. PBS offers extensive on-demand and online content. There are more than 15 million users on PBS-owned streaming platforms, 53 million viewers on YouTube, and nearly 43 million impressions on social media accounts—and more than 16 million viewers watch videos on PBS’s sites and apps. PBS KIDS videos average 13 million monthly video users, and more than 364 million monthly streams across digital video platforms each month. PBS General Audience (non-PBS KIDS) content averaged nearly 17 million monthly streams across owned digital properties in the fourth quarter of 2024, and YouTube contributed an additional 284 million streams over the quarter.

”

Affiliations

PBS Foundation

The PBS Foundation was founded in 2004 as a 501(c)(3) fundraising arm of PBS. Their mission statement is as follows:

“

The PBS Foundation solicits funding for PBS by seeking extraordinary grants and gifts. Working collaboratively with member stations, the PBS Foundation's fundraising efforts benefit and enhance the system as a whole by providing a source for revenue at the highest level.

”

Finances

The following is a breakdown of PBS's revenues and expenses from 2014 to 2024. The information comes from ProPublica

PBS financial data 2014-2024

Year	Revenue	Expenses
2014	$539.6 million	$449.7 million
2015	$473.2 million	$520.2 million
2016	$459.9 million	$511.2 million
2017	$531.7 million	$468.1 million
2018	$538.9 million	$494.9 million
2019	$463.3 million	$499.3 million
2020	$550.5 million	$552.1 million
2021	$502.1 million	$448.6 million
2022	$543 million	$506.8 million
2023	$544 million	$541.7 million
2024	$558.2 million	$550.7 million

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms PBS. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

PBS - Google News

See also

• What is an influencer?
• Nonprofit organization
• 501(c)(3)

External links

• PBS
• PBS Foundation
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting
• The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, as amended