PBS Faces Crisis After Government Pulls Plug on Kids TV Grant
Current reported that the move was announced by PBS President Paula Kerger during her keynote speech at the 2025 PBS Annual Meeting in Atlanta, just days after the Department pulled the plug on the Ready To Learn grant program for 2020–2025. That decision halted federal funding to PBS and 44 local public media stations mid-cycle.
'We've been forced to furlough really talented members of our staff at PBS as we figure out how to continue to advance the PBS Kids service,' Kerger said. 'We are going to keep fighting.'
The Ready To Learn initiative has historically supported the creation of educational programming aimed at underserved children and families. Its unexpected termination now threatens the production of beloved PBS Kids shows and the jobs behind them—including freelance writers and producers whose contracts rely on episodic production orders.
A PBS spokesperson confirmed the scale of the layoffs, citing the funding loss as a critical blow to the network's ability to deliver high-quality, accessible content. 'This decision removes a critical resource that for over 30 years has enabled us to create high-quality, educational PBS Kids content while opening up worlds of possibilities for millions of children across the country.'
The Writers Guild of America East called the cuts 'an attack on children and families' and urged Congress to fully restore federal funding for public children's programming. "Our children deserve no less," the union said in a statement.
Other grantees, including Minnesota-based TPT, have also cut staff as a result. TPT had received $4.6 million in Ready To Learn funds for the current grant cycle to support its animated series Skillsville.
While PBS Kids remains a staple in homes across America, its future—at least in its current form—now hangs in the balance.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
37 minutes ago
- New York Post
‘South Park' creators reveal battle with network over wild Trump depiction, joke they're ‘terribly sorry'
'South Park' creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone discussed their controversial season 27 premiere at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday, revealing a behind-the-scenes battle with network executives over airing a less-than-flattering depiction of President Donald Trump's penis during Wednesday's episode. The duo behind the long-running Comedy Central series spoke alongside a panel of other adult cartoon creators at the event, including 'Beavis and Butt-Head' creator, Mike Judge, and 'Digman!' co-creator, Andy Samberg. When asked if they had been following the reaction to their season 27 premiere by the panel's moderator, Josh Horowitz, Parker jokingly replied, 'We're terribly sorry.' As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, that's about as far as the creators went in responding to the controversy stirred by the episode, although Stone did address Trump more directly later in the discussion when the duo were asked about how they originally met. 'For me and Trey, we met over 'Monty Python,'' he said. 'In this day, when PBS is getting their funding cut, that's how I found 'Monty Python.'' Stone's comments on PBS come on the heels of a congressional vote last week to cut funding for public broadcasting. Trump signed the $9 billion spending cuts package into law on Thursday. 'South Park' creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone revealed they went toe-to-toe with network executives before airing their controversial season 27 premiere at San Diego Comic-Con. Getty Images According to Parker, the show's team finalized the season's premiere episode just shortly before it aired. 'Just three days ago, we were going, 'I don't know if people are going to like this,'' Parker said, adding that the duo were reading news headlines and said to each other, 'Let's put that in there.' Horowitz questioned the 'South Park' creators about whether there were any concerns about the season premiere from higher-ups at Comedy Central, with Parker detailing a discussion with the network about showing Trump's penis on the show. The creators of the long-running Comedy Central series detailed how the executives wanted Trump's penis blurred, as the duo told them, 'No, you're not gonna blur the penis.' REUTERS 'They were like, 'We're gonna blur the penis,' and we're like, 'No, you're not gonna blur the penis,'' Parker responded, adding that the show's team agreed to add eyes to the depiction of the president's penis to make it a character. The White House, however, did not seem thrilled about the season 27 premiere of 'South Park.' White House Assistant Press Secretary Taylor Rogers issued a statement regarding Wednesday's episode to Fox News Digital on Thursday. 'The Left's hypocrisy truly has no end — for years, they have come after South Park for what they labeled as 'offense' [sic] content, but suddenly they are praising the show,' Rogers stated. 'Just like the creators of South Park, the Left has no authentic or original content, which is why their popularity continues to hit record lows. This show hasn't been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention. President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country's history — and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump's hot streak.'
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
POP MART Takes Over Comic Con With Exclusive Drops and Debuts
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. For 15 years, Beijing-based POP MART has been leading the blind box craze with its popular array of characters. From the first-party creations, such as the Monsters Series featuring the world-famous LABUBU, to collaborations with major brands, POP MART has its hands in all realms of fandom and collectibles. Those realms also include a major presence at San Diego Comic-Con. "We're thrilled to be back at San Diego Comic-Con for the third year in a row. This year, we created the ultimate Play Stop for fans to fuel up on joy with their favorite POP MART IP. Attendees are getting access to global first releases, first looks at upcoming products, and an opportunity to meet one of our most beloved artists," said Emily Brough, POP MART's head of IP and Licensing, The Americas. More Than Just One Monster While LABUBU has been all the rage recently, POP MART's influence extends far beyond that singular monster. As the brand celebrates its 15th anniversary, POP MART's collection of cute characters has taken over the globe, including DUCKOO, Nyota Love, and more. "The passion of the POP MART collector community is on full display here in San Diego. It's incredible to see the energy around so many of our artists. From Nyota to Duckoo, the community continues to embrace all of these unique characters and the stories they tell," Brandi Hammons, POP MART's head of marketing, The Americas, told Newsweek. POP MART's selection at SDCC 2025 POP MART's selection at SDCC 2025 That roster is apparent in California. For the third consecutive year, POP MART pulled out all the stops at San Diego Comic-Con, offering fans an exclusive look at upcoming collections and introducing a few surprise releases featuring new collaborations with Star Wars and Hot Wheels. Not only were there hot new releases on the floor, but POP MART revealed what's to come with exclusive previews of the upcoming scream-inducing Chucky blind box set. Nyota artist KaKu also made an appearance at the booth to sign the new Nyota collectibles released at San Diego Comic-Con. Amid the LABUBU boom, POP MART offered con attendees the chance to get their hands on the accessory of 2025, despite the fanged friend's scarcity. POP MART's expansion went beyond the SDCC stage. The trendy toy retailer joined forces with the candy store IT'SUGAR for a special POP MART-themed weekend where convention goers could create their own custom candies inspired by POP MART's biggest characters, as well as buy new blind boxes. The brand also teased more to come for POP MART as the love for LABUBU and The Monsters continues to spread far and wide. The fanged friend has been a major driver of POP MART's growth stateside, with the brand expanding across North America through 43 brick-and-mortar locations and 65 Robo Shops.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
StudBudz shoot back after facing fan backlash from Dave Portnoy & Angel Reese controversy
After the WNBA's All-Star weekend, two new stars emerged: Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman, AKA the StudBudz. But after a meteoric rise due to their 72-hour all-access livestream during the All-Star festivities, the Twitch streamers are mired in controversy over Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy. Less than a week after gaining countless new devoted fans because their livestream gave a behind-the-scenes look at the WNBA, the two Minnesota Lynx players are facing backlash from fans who are disappointed that Williams and Hiedeman admitted they would consider having Portnoy come on their Twitch show. The controversy kicked off on July 19, when Portnoy shouted out the StudBudz on X, and the pair said they'd be open to talking to him. Fans were immediately up in arms because of Portnoy's very vocal attacks on Chicago Sky star Angel Reese, but now the StudBudz have addressed the backlash. "Okay, so guess what? When Dave comes on, we're gonna ask him, 'Hey Dave, 'Why are you talking about Angel like that?'" Williams said on a July 23 livestream. "Because we love her, bad," Hiedeman added. "Y'all see how simple that is?" Williams continued. "Y'all all over like here like, 'No, no, no!' We don't run away from [this stuff]. ... I don't think he gonna deny it, he seem like the type of guy that's gonna stand on what he feels." The pair continued to defend themselves on another livestream, where they talked about not wanting 'conditional love' from fans. 'We literally just said we open to having a conversations with anybody and that just made everybody be in like shambles,' Williams said. 'It's like c'mon bro. That conditional love, you can keep that, twin. Keep that conditional love because it's going to be a lot of things me and T probably do that y'all probably ain't gonna like.' Yesterday, Williams also took to X to point out that Reese is not upset with the StudBudz over their comments. 'The Studbudz have talked to Angel and she knows we don't play about her AT ALL End of Story,' she wrote. Who is Dave Portnoy? Portnoy caught the StudBudz attention when he posted on X after having watched their All-Star weekend livestream, writing, "I've never downloaded Twitch or any streaming platform in my life. That was until today. Studbudz has done more marketing for the @WNBA with their 72 hour stream than the bozos running the league have done since its inception. They are hilarious and humanize everybody.' But who is Portnoy? Portnoy is a social media personality and businessman who founded Barstool Sports in 2003. What started as a free sports newspaper with edgy, controversial content has since grown into a media empire worth half a billion dollars. Barstool Sports is well known for popular podcasts like Pardon My Take, for helping to popularize Call Her Daddy before the podcast's controversial exit, and Brianna Chickenfry's BFFs podcast before she left the network. Portnoy also made headlines in the past when he was accused of sexual assault by two women who made allegations that were made public in a 2021 Insider exposé. But it is his ongoing criticism of WNBA star Reese that has fans up in arms with the StudBudz because they feel his comments are racially charged. Angel Reese controversy explained Portnoy is a vocal fan of the WNBA and has been a Caitlin Clark stan since she was first drafted, but has directed a lot of ongoing hate at Reese. He has pushed the narrative that Angel Reese is classless, fueling the racially coded way people talk about Reese. He's called her an 'instigator, agitator, and jacka—,' has said that Reese is jealous of Clark, that she "deserved to get booed,' and has gotten angry at people who say his hatred for Reese has anything to do with race. "I'm sick of ESPN making it a race issue," he said in a video posted to X. "You have a superior basketball player who constantly has someone below taking shots at them, won't shut up, and then plays the victim. … If [Angel] didn't have Caitlin, nobody would know who she is. If Caitlin didn't have Angel, it would be the same popularity for Caitlin." After allegations were made that fans were hurling racist comments at Reese during a game against Clark, Portnoy called the WNBA's investigation into the incident 'bulls–t.' 'It's okay to have a spine @IndianaFever,' Portnoy posted on X,'The 'investigation' was bulls–t. Both you and @WNBA gave credibly [sic] to a very obvious troll. @espn ran with it. @CaitlinClark22 had to defend her fans for no reason. You made something outta nothing. @IndianaFever fans deserve better.' StudBudz fan backlash After the StudBudz's comments about Portnoy, fans quickly took to TikTok and X to criticize the pair for saying they would share their, now very large, platform with someone like Portnoy. "#studbudz threw it all away Portnoy!" "The tragic irony in this….The only reason the Stud Budz are on Portnoy's radar is because they were under Angel Reese all-star weekend & he's obsessed with her! Now they trying to make deals with the [devil emoji] because he bought a Stud Budz jumpsuit." "Before I buy anymore #wnba merch this year.. let's see what players stand by studbudz after this bs especially with them blocking people who are just trying to inform them! David Portnoy is a racist essaier whonis also homophobic!" It was fun while it lasted. I'm off them #studbudz #daveportnoy #wnba #wbb #fyp "studbudz trying to hold portnoy accountable bouta look like this" Dave is a sick man #wnba #wbb #studbudz #courtneywilliams #natishahiedeman #basketball #daveportnoy "i personally don't see what studbudz is trying to do with dave portnoy. you are not going to change his view or mind nor are you doing a service for angel . i would respect more if they said they just want to get him on the stream and call it a day ." This article originally appeared on Pride: StudBudz shoot back after facing fan backlash from Dave Portnoy & Angel Reese controversy RELATED This wild livestream seemingly confirmed nearly every WNBA relationship conspiracy The StudBudz WNBA livestream had everything from Megan Rapinoe talking strap-ons to dissing Diplo Who are the StudBudz? The basketball duo behind the 72-hour WNBA All-Star livestream
