Trenton Lawmakers Rally to Save PBS NJ After Trump Savages Funding
- voteauradunn
- Nov 20
- 2 min read
It's deja vu all over again in Trenton, where the impact of President Donald Trump's Hessian-style, Idiocracy-priority savaging of public broadcasting has PBS making a gallant stand on the Delaware.
Senator Andrew Zwicker (D-16), chair of the Senate Legislative Oversight Committee, and other New Jersey lawmakers want to help save public broadcasting in New Jersey following Trump's mega MAGA dumb-down, which includes - for personal and political reasons - pulling the plug on the precious news, information and cultural resource.
Following a hearing Monday, InsiderNJ contacted Zwicker.
"There seems to be bipartisan consensus over the need to figure out a dedicated source of funding," said Zwicker.
At issue is the source of funding and how much.
The State of New Jersey contributed a high of $6 million in one budget to the current PBS configuration but generally forks in about a million to keep public broadcasting alive (sometimes a little higher, sometimes lower). Trump's federal cuts put public broadcasting in line for a final June 30th 2026 bayoneting. The total annual cost of the current operation in New Jersey (including salaries, operating expenses, license and rental fees) is a projected estimated $60 million.
The state won't float the continuing operation, but it will be a part of the solution, as a consortium, which includes higher education institutions (Montclair and Rowan among them) and private funding sources, seeks a way forward. Given its studios and resources, Montclair will likely occupy a significant spoke in the wheel. But the specifics aren't there at present. Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill has made what PBS allies interpret as encouraging statements about her government's role in helping the public broadcasting partnership.
What exists - Zwicker confirmed to InsiderNJ - is the will to get it done by July.
Among those giving testimony at Monday's hearing:
Scott Kobler, Former Chair of the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Service
Mike Rispoli, Senior Director, Journalism and Civic Information at Free Press Action
Tom Bracken, President and CEO of the NJ Chamber of Commerce
Mark Magyar, Director of the Steve Sweeney Center for Public Policy at Rowan University
Rick Williams, Executive Director of the NJ Public Broadcasting Authority
Keith Strudler, Dean of the College of Communication and Media at Montclair State University
Chris Daggett, Member of the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium
Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald, 6th Legislative District
Assemblywoman Aura Dunn, 25th Legislative District
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