LILY RESLINK
Staff Writer
According to PBS CEO Paula Kerger, what “the pursuit of happiness” really means is “lifelong learning.” Whereas learning is limitless, funding — the elephant in the room for PBS since 2025 — is a finite resource.
In looking at the United States’ — and thereby the Declaration of Independence’s — semiquincentennial anniversary, Kerger has given thought to “the pursuit of happiness” and what that idea means in practice.
“It means not just thinking about one’s economic circumstance, but the ability to continue to develop as individuals and to have the opportunity to achieve one’s full potential. To me, that is a definition of both ‘the pursuit of happiness,’ and it’s the definition of what [PBS does].”
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting — the entity that funds PBS and NPR as well as many affiliate public media outlets across the nation — lost $1.1 billion in federal funding following a congressional rescission of previously allocated funds in 2025. The change in funding had local, state and national implications — many of which Kerger has been tasked with addressing.
Kerger will deliver a lecture at 10:45 a.m. today in the Amphitheater to discuss both challenges in making tough calls for the organization and successes from community participation. She said her lecture will focus on the profound shift in media, diversification of media consumption methods and ways that PBS has evolved to meet people where they are.
“What I’m hoping that people will take away is an understanding that we, in public media, are in this together with the public,” Kerger said.
While many other public broadcasters are solely government-funded, Kerger said the majority of PBS’ funding comes from donations. She said community support carried several projects to the finish line after rescinded federal funding left sudden gaps.
After losing this federal funding in the middle of producing the first season of “Phoebe and Jay,” Kerger said PBS could “quickly identify a few people” willing to fund the show’s completion. According to Kerger, the show centers around characters in lower income characters in Los Angeles and is designed to help children read informational text.
“It has been unbelievably successful coming out of the gate,” she said. Kerger added that seeing the show do well after overcoming the daunting problem-solving process to get it on air is a part of the job that makes it feel gratifying. To her, the other lesson to be learned from that experience “is that when you ask, people will respond.”
In another instance, a donor stepped in to fund a program that incorporates American Sign Language because, even though his usual focus is older adults, he found the kids’ show compelling and important for the deaf community.
Kerger said misconceptions arose about what the government cuts meant for PBS’ continued future. “The one thing that I want to make sure that people recognize is we’re still here, and we will be here as long as people believe, and that’s why viewers like you — which we thank all the time — are so profoundly important.”
Although people across the country have helped fill the gaps, Kerger said that the loss of resources came with assessing long-running running programs and scaling back. The shrinking resource pool brought challenges in continuing the “American Experience” documentaries.
“At first I felt horrible in the early conversations about this series that I very much appreciated and enjoyed, and to say ‘We’re going to pause for now’ didn’t feel great,” she said. However, Kerger said the ability to work together and figure out a reasonable path forward for the series landed them in a great spot.
Amid resource loss and hard decisions, she finds a shred of positivity. According to her, “there’s nothing like a funding crisis” to stir up change. “I think a lot of organizations find themselves in a position where they would like to make change, but there’s no impetus to do it.”
She emphasized PBS’ commitment to accessible education and said the organization wants to invest in the content that supports this. “Obviously, we want to invest in news and public affairs; our principal investments are ‘NewsHour’ and ‘Frontline,’” Kerger said.
She referenced the quote from novelist Richard Powers: “The best arguments in the world won’t change a person’s mind. The only thing that can do that is a good story.” To Kerger, PBS’ educational mission is contingent on quality storytelling.
She said there is a big gap in scientific understanding, and making that knowledge “accessible and interesting and engaging” is important.
“We’re very interested in continuing to develop a lot of science and natural history programming. That’s something that has been a hallmark of PBS, going all the way back to everything from nature and ‘Nova’ to all the work we’ve done with David Attenborough, and so forth,” Kerger said.
Kerger said PBS adapts to fill gaps in educational coverage, charting plans to make cuts that do not compromise the knowledge accessible. For historical documentaries, Kerger said she thinks “it’s especially important to make sure that we’re telling the story of all of America.” Kerger has collaborated with filmmaker Ken Burns, whose range includes programs on the Civil War, national parks, Lewis and Clark, baseball and jazz. She said they are in the process of making his entire library accessible. “This is where technology gives us the opportunities that we never had before,” Kerger said.
If PBS had unlimited resources, Kerger said, she would leap at the opportunity to invest in science, as well as arts programming and gaming platforms.
For her, serving kids, “particularly kids that don’t have access,” is a high priority in decision-making at PBS. Kerger explained how games can help expand access to learning and engagement. “Half the kids in the country aren’t former pre-K, and I think some of the most powerful work we do is in providing games that parents or caregivers can download into … their phones.”
Having taken the stage at Chautauqua once before, she is excited to return to where she said she felt like she was among her people. “Chautauqua … is filled with people who are deeply dedicated to lifelong learning,” Kerger said.
