The ABC faces 'existential reckoning' after the US defunded NPR and PBS in a clarion call that shatters the myth of state-backed media's indispensability

Sky News AU

2 days ago

The once-cherished ideal of publicly-funded media teeters on the brink of irrelevance – a relic of a bygone era when airwaves were scarce and governments saw themselves as arbiters of impartial truth.
The rise of digital streaming and decentralised content creation, coupled with fiscally irresponsible governments and a polarised public sphere, has exposed state-backed broadcasters as lumbering dinosaurs in a world awash with private media alternatives.
As trust in institutions wanes and fiscal scrutiny intensifies, the very concept of taxpayer-subsidised journalism faces an existential reckoning.
The centre-right side of the political aisle from Washington DC to London to Canberra and beyond has long been debating the cost-benefit of such entities in serving the public interest – to little result.
Finally, on July 18, 2025, the US Congress passed the historic Rescissions Act of 2025, marking a watershed moment in this protracted debate and providing a bold precedent to nations everywhere – including and especially Australia – to fundamentally challenge the merits of publicly-funded media. The Historic US Rescission Bill
The Rescissions Act of 2025 passed in the United States Congress last week by a narrow House vote of 216-213 and a Senate vote of 51-48, clawing back $7.9 billion in previously approved federal spending for foreign aid programs, and eliminating $1.1 billion in federal funding for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the parent entity over public broadcast network PBS and public radio network NPR.
The bill, driven by the Trump administration and supported by Republican majorities, required only a simple majority to pass due to the rarely used rescission process, which allows Congress to cancel previously appropriated funds within 45 days of a presidential request.
This rescission marked a historic first in defunding public media among Western democracies, succeeding where previous attempts in the US and elsewhere had failed.
In the US, Republican-led pushes to defund CPB date back to the 1970s under President Nixon, with notable attempts under Reagan, George W. Bush, and during Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign.
In Canada, the CBC has faced Conservative Party budget cut proposals to no avail.
In Europe, the BBC, Germany's ARD/ZDF, and France Télévisions have endured calls to reform or abolish license fees but retained government support.
And right here in Australia, the Coalition government has looked to trim around the edges, under Howard ($55 million reduction in 1996), Abbott ($254 million over five years), and Turnbull ($83.7 million over three years in 2018), though never fully defunded the broadcaster.
The 2025 US success hinged on unified Republican control of Congress, the will to invoke the rarely used rescission process, and Trump's once-in-a-generation talent for framing and persuading contentious political issues allowed for a swift, party-line vote to finally challenge a centuries old, entrenched belief system.
This alignment of political will, executive pressure, and procedural strategy marks a first among Western democracies. Defeating the Commonly Cited Objections to Defunding Public Media
Two primary arguments are typically cited by opponents of defunding public media: (i) the impact it would have on media access by rural communities, and (ii) its role in producing cultural and local content that the global media industry would not naturally prioritise.
Both arguments are increasingly outdated in today's media landscape.
Rural communities now benefit from significant internet penetration (
Critically, defunding public media has no bearing on funding for emergency alert systems, which are managed separately and thus ensure rural areas retain access to vital public service announcements.
The second objection—that publicly funded media is necessary for cultural and locally relevant content not prioritised by global media—ignores the extreme democratisation of content creation and distribution enabled by the internet over the past quarter century.
Independent creators are now producing a full spectrum of content from mass to niche, including cultural/ localised content and citizen journalism at a fraction of the cost.
As an example, private media companies (both corporate and independent) are two to five times as efficient as their publicly funded counterparts, demonstrating the expected differences in incentives and outcomes brought about by competition.
Finally, private donations has always been and remains a viable source of funding for local/cultural content that may not be prioritised by global media conglomerates.
Notably, one to two per cent of NPR's and only 15 per cent of PBS's budgets are funded by the American taxpayer whereas their counterparts in countries like the UK, Canada, Germany, France and Australia are close to or fully 100 per cent taxpayer funded.
While this may be a reflection of the more socialist heritage of these nations relative to the US, it is getting harder to defend in an era of irrational government debts, and conversely, so many more avenues for private funding from crowdfunded donations to traditional corporate and large-scale philanthropy. The Case and Blueprint for Australia
The bold precedent set by the US Congress last week, coupled with the structural shifts seen in the media landscape over the last twenty years, reveals how the case for eliminating publicly funded media in Australia is now more compelling than ever before. As mentioned above, it is 100 per cent taxpayer funded when compared to its US counterparts, disincentivising private donations that could foster accountability and diversity in funding,
Australia's rural broadband penetration is higher than the US, with only 10–15 per cent of its 7 million rural residents lacking access (compared to 24 per cent in the U.S.), enabling streaming alternatives to serve regional audiences effectively.
Australia's gross debt will exceed AUD $1 trillion by 2027
As an English-speaking market, Australia benefits from access to a vast array of top-tier global media, from major English-language broadcasters and platforms in news and entertainment, to independent media voices in podcasting, Substack, and beyond, offering diverse subjects and worldviews that reduce the need for a large and bloated taxpayer-funded broadcaster.
Last week's historic precedent in the US offers a blueprint for any Australian politician willing to build on the case made by previous Coalition governments and take it to its logical endpoint.
The Liberal-National Coalition must embed ABC defunding in its election platform, as the US.
Republicans did with CPB cuts.
This aligns with criticisms from Liberal figures and the Institute of Public Affairs, which regularly cite ideological biases in the ABC alongside its fiscal unsustainability.
A skilled PR campaign, mirroring Trump's 'one-two-punch' approach of political pressure and narrative persuasion, should leverage public scepticism about the ABC.
A 2022 Guardian Australia poll showed 56 per cent of Australians supported restoring ABC funding, but 44 per cent were opposed or neutral, indicating a sizable persuadable audience.
The campaign should emphasise conceptual obsolescence, fiscal responsibility, and ideological bias.
To win over sympathetic rural communities, where 24 per cent lack adequate broadband, the policy prescription must emphasise that it would preserve essential services like emergency broadcasts, while highlighting the expected ongoing increases in internet connectivity across rural Australia.
Lastly, the parliamentary budget process in Australia is generally easier to execute than the recissions procedure in the US congress, due to its annual cycle and simple majority requirements – a greater indictment on the lack of success towards this goal by the Coalition government thus far.
When next in a parliamentary majority, the Coalition can defund the ABC through an amendment to zero out its $1.1 billion allocation in the annual budget or a standalone bill amending the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983, requiring only a simple majority in both houses.
To counter Labor and Greens opposition, citing the ABC's 14.5 million monthly reach, the Coalition could propose a transition plan (e.g., partial privatisation) and secure crossbench support.
A taskforce would oversee asset sales and ~4,000 staff redundancies, with targeted subsidies ensuring rural service continuity to mitigate backlash from groups like ABC Friends. In Conclusion
As the airwaves of yesteryear give way to the boundless digital frontier, the US Rescissions Act of 2025 stands as a clarion call, shattering the myth of state-backed media's indispensability and igniting a revolution in how nations fund their narratives.
Australia, tethered to the ABC's $1.1 billion yoke, now faces a pivotal choice: cling to a fading paradigm or embrace a vibrant, market-driven media ecosystem.
The numbers lay bare the ABC's inefficiencies against a range of comparable media entities.
As the US forges ahead, finally breaking its decades old public media burden, Australia has a fleeting chance to sever the chains of subsidy, unleash private creativity, and redefine its voice in a world where the marketplace, not the state, shapes the stories we tell.
Kosha Gada is a tech entrepreneur and broadcast commentator on US and international current affairs, appearing live three nights a week on Sky News Australia. She is a board member of sports betting platform PointsBet.