PBS and NPR were never beholden to the US government.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting was created so that the US government could fund public media without public media being influenced by the government. It was a private non-profit funded by the government, not a part of the government itself. This is by design. This was a good thing. It meant that even small local TV and radio stations, could afford to create media for the public good, without government influence.
This meant TV and radio stations for poor communities. For non-english speaking communities. For rural communities. For minorities. It meant that free and accessible media could be created for everyone, even if the government didn't like it.
That's why conservatives defunded it.
Because if they couldn't control it, and if it helped the people they hated, then they would have to destroy it. Do you really think that a fascist government would defund their own propaganda machine?
Not only is the idea that PBS before being defunded was propaganda wrong, but ignores the fact that defunding it is going to have long-term negative effects on vulnerable communities.
OP of the post in the screenshot called me an idiot and blocked me for pointing this out. So I'm setting the record straight. The CPB was never our enemy.
So, I think there are some important things I should address.
First: The show in question, PBS Origins, has been running since 2017. They have been focusing on these sorts of topics the entire time. This is not the first time the channel has discussed the US government's role in genocide and slavery. It's not the first time it has criticized the US government. It is also not the only shown on PBS to have ever done so.
Second: People have considered PBS and NPR to have a left-wing bias for a long time, even before it was defunded. That's why conservatives wanted it defunded, and why they had been trying to defund it for decades.
Third: PBS and NPR did a lot more than history and politics. Weather reports, local news, children's programming, cooking shows... Something like PBS Origins, even an episode as provocative as the one in the OP, would pass under the radar of most people, especially because it doesn't usually play on TV. (It's made primarily for YouTube)
Third: Defunding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was not an easy task. It took decades to finally pass a bill doing so. It was not something the government could just do at the drop of a hat if PBS did something the current government didn't like.
And, finally, and most importantly I think: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting funded the creation of radio and TV programming in underrepresented communities, such as Native American communities, rural communities, poor communities, non-English speaking communities, etc. Not only does that mean these communities were able to create programming relevant to them, but those programs were also sent to other stations which could be broadcast. And thus the political opinions and discussions of issues that affected them could be shared. So, even if the big productions were being influenced by the funding from the government, the small independent yet still funded by the CPB broadcasters made up for it (IMO) by making the opinions of underrepresented communities more visible.
