![\"Fred](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IUILTFTAJQI6RLVZ6K3EU3MEY4.jpg\")
Fred Rogers and David Newell, as Speedy Delivery’s Mr. McFeely, stood on the front porch set while filming an episode of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”Lynn Johnson<\/p>\n
But the Trump administration\u2019s war on public broadcasting<\/a> for alleged political bias has come down hard on children\u2019s programming. <\/p>\n At the same time parents and families are faced with an ever-expanding menu of commercial programming, amateur video, and AI slop<\/a>, PBS is under some of the greatest pressures of its half-century existence. After PBS Kids lost nearly $30 million for children\u2019s programming due to federal funding cuts, public media executives say they\u2019re straining to cover the costs of developing and distributing children\u2019s programming that can break through the noise.<\/p>\n \u201cI worry that PBS will have fewer opportunities to hold the attention of kids and families,\u201d said Shelley Pasnik, senior vice president of external affairs at the nonprofit Education Development Center. \u201cAttention fragmentation is something that is not unique to this moment, but it will be exacerbated by the loss of funding.\u201d<\/p>\n PBS Kids has cut 30 percent of its staff this year, while GBH has laid off an undisclosed number of employees working on children\u2019s programming. Other local stations across the country have also let go of staff<\/a>, and some have announced plans<\/a> to close<\/a> entirely.<\/p>\n Additionally, PBS Kids might have to cut back on some gaming and accessibility features, said Sara DeWitt, senior vice president and general manager of PBS Kids. She added that one of the first big features that will likely go will be the ability for viewers to download PBS Kids games and play them offline, due to the costs associated with maintaining that feature.<\/p>\n While PBS is still producing new shows \u2014 it launched the Al Roker-created \u201cWeather Hunters\u201d<\/a> in September and will soon air a new series, \u201cPhoebe and Jay\u201d<\/a> \u2014 the organization cautioned that it is soon facing a programming cliff.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have a much longer pipeline, because the things that were in development are having to stop,\u201d DeWitt said. \u201cWe usually launch one to two new shows a year, and right now, we\u2019re looking at about half that for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n That stands in stark contrast to the bounty of commercial programming on streaming services and broadcast television, not to mention the increase of AI-generated content on social media.<\/p>\n Meryl Alper, an associate professor at Northeastern University who studies children\u2019s media, has worked with both public and private organizations that create kids\u2019 content. She said that while both entities can create educational content, public media has been unique because research- and evidence-backed educational programming is the focus from the start, not profit. That\u2019s not the same with commercial programs.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it doesn\u2019t sell toys, it\u2019s not going to get another season,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n For decades, public children\u2019s programming has primarily been supported by donations, sponsorship, and taxpayer funding \u2014 mainly from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Department of Education\u2019s Ready to Learn grants. And, in an age of ad-ridden streaming sites and paywalled streaming services, PBS has remained free to watch. <\/p>\n The Ready to Learn awards provided funding for children\u2019s programming that focused on delivering educational content to preschool and early elementary students, particularly those from low-income families. Among the PBS shows that were funded by the grants was \u201cSkillsville,\u201d an animated series where three friends learn life skills by trying out careers in a video game, which was a favorite of Andrew David\u2019s son.<\/p>\n But in May, the Department of Education terminated the grants. That meant that \u201cSkillsville,\u201d which had premiered just two months before, had to halt production<\/a> and cut staff<\/a>, according to reports at the time. And President Trump rescinded funding for CPB in July.<\/p>\n \u201cWatching all these shows, seeing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, you\u2019re watching revenue streams that made these things happen \u2014 it\u2019s like watching tombstones on the screen,\u201c David said.<\/p>\n Only a small team is left at CPB before it shuts down next month<\/a>. And with Trump also gutting the Department of Education, the role in overseeing Ready to Learn has been transferred to the Department of Labor.<\/p>\n When asked about the future of Ready to Learn, a Department of Education spokesperson referred to a statement the agency previously issued when the government canceled the grants that asserted the program was funding \u201cracial justice educational programming\u201d and was \u201cnot aligned with Administration priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n Researchers who have worked with PBS, GBH, and other public media organizations said PBS Kids programming is distinguished by its research throughout development of its programs. That can often take anywhere from two to five years, said Seeta Pai, vice president of children\u2019s media and education at GBH. <\/p>\n It\u2019s an elaborate process: organizing researchers and staff to create a curriculum, creating characters and ensuring their personalities and plot lines are tied to the learning plan, finding a cast, reviewing scripts with both educators and the creative team, developing the program alongside games and educational resources, and testing content with kids along the way.<\/p>\n \u201cWe program with intent and with education and affirmation of children in mind, in contrast to a lot of what else is out there and what kids can access, and now with AI slop just further increasing the vast wasteland,\u201d Pai said.<\/p>\n Ready to Learn-funded studies have found that programs such as GBH\u2019s \u201cMolly of Denali\u201d<\/a> helped strengthen literacy skills and PBS Kids\u2019 \u201cThe Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!\u201d<\/a> taught key science and engineering skills.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Ready to Learn program was the single largest investment in research involving kids in media,\u201d said Pasnik, who led the research arm of Ready to Learn. \u201cNothing matched it.\u201d<\/p>\n Max Bridges, parent of a 2-year-old and a 6-year-old in Somerville, referred to PBS Kids as \u201can oasis in a desert\u201d of children\u2019s content.<\/p>\n While he values programs such as \u201cBluey,\u201d which streams on Disney+ but was co-commissioned by British Australian public broadcasters, he is particularly sensitive to how streaming services and social media sites can hold people\u2019s attention, having earned a master\u2019s degree in human-computer interaction.<\/p>\n The 39-year-old Bridges described how, at his in-laws\u2019 house for Thanksgiving, he looked across the room and saw his older son watching a YouTube video that showed other kids playing with toys from big brands.<\/p>\n \u201cThere isn\u2019t any care taken to the viewer and their nurturing and their emotional growth or social growth or intellectual growth,\u201d he said. \u201cThat does not happen with the PBS stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n The cuts are limiting other research at PBS Kids. DeWitt cited an NSF-funded study between PBS Kids and researchers at Harvard University and the University of California, Irvine that examines how effective AI-powered conversational episodes of children\u2019s programs are on learning. <\/p>\n She said it\u2019s one way that PBS is trying to understand the potential benefits of emerging technology. But funding cuts will limit the public launch of those episodes.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very concerned that there are very few entities who are in a position to be able to do that kind of work, to look at what\u2019s happening right now with AI,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Make no mistake: PBS isn\u2019t going away. While it will reduce some of its features and shows, executives said that anyone who wants to access PBS programming will be able to do so, even in rural parts of the country where internet access is limited and some PBS stations are closing.<\/p>\n \u201cAll kids can still access us,\u201d DeWitt said. \u201cI think the bigger thing for us is making sure that parents know we\u2019re still here.\u201d<\/p>\n Aidan Ryan can be reached at aidan.ryan@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @aidanfitzryan<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Henry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/3RDO5GWNO5IUEG34DY2Q3RYCOQ.jpg\")
Henry David, 6, put his feet up while watching one of his favorite PBS Kids shows, \u201cWeather Hunters,\u201d on Dec. 4.Ken McGagh for The Boston Globe<\/p>\n![\"Education](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/KQFRJPTI7LY36IFXP2VQXJW3EY.jpg\")
Education Secretary Linda McMahon testified at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 21.HAIYUN JIANG\/NYT<\/p>\n![\"Signs](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AEIZVMFXZBVGM5I5EUF26DMCAU.jpg\")
Signs supporting NPR and PBS sat outside NPR\u2019s headquarters in Washington, on March 26. ERIC LEE\/NYT<\/p>\n