Montana PBS a lifeline for rural communities

As present or past members of the Friends of Montana PBS Board, we urge Montanans to contact Sens. Steve Daines and Timn Sheehy and Reps. Ryan Zinke and Troy Downing to voice your support for federal funding of Montana PBS, to maintain the physical infrastructure and the community built by volunteers, contributors and viewers over our 40-year history.  

For about $1.60 per American per year — less than 0.01% of the budget — federal funding allows Montana PBS to provide trusted educational resources, homegrown programs and public safety partnerships. Cutting federal funding would leave many Americans, especially those in rural states like Montana, without critical services local public television stations provide.  

Montana PBS began as a grassroots effort 40 years ago led by a Bozeman mom who wanted quality educational programming for her children. These programs are free, widely available and rigorously developed to match educational standards. They prepare the over 50% of 3–4-year-olds in the U.S. who don’t attend preschool to be as ready for kindergarten as those who do. PBS has been ranked No. 1 by parents for helping prepare children for school and Montana PBS supplements that with professional development for teachers and free classroom resources — even in the most remote rural schools. 

Montana PBS tells stories that are key to our identity as Montanans. “Backroads of Montana” is a big favorite. “Montana Ag Live” and “11th & Grant” deliver advice and entertainment across the state, while documentaries like “Butte America” and “Class C” reflect the culture, challenges, and pride of Montana communities.  

Montana PBS is also home to MPAN (Montana Public Affairs Network), a statewide television channel offering gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Legislature and its committee work year-round. Montana PBS broadcasts MPAN free over the air, providing unfiltered access to Montana citizens about their government.  

Among the few remaining locally owned media, PBS stations provide public safety alerts and warnings, including in communities that have no other local broadcasters. Public television’s infrastructure provides a pathway for Wireless Emergency Alerts, enabling cellphone subscribers to receive geo-targeted text messages in emergencies, even when cell service is disrupted. All these services are made possible by federal funds, the foundation of our successful public-private partnership.  

Montana PBS leverages every $1 invested by the federal government to raise an additional $5 from local and private sources. For the 22nd year in a row, public television was ranked the most trusted nation-wide institution, with 76% of Americans agreeing that public television provides an excellent value to communities.   

We strongly urge Congress to stand by its appropriation for public media and to continue to support Montana PBS. To learn more about how you can protect public media funding, visit protectmypublicmedia.org.  

Pat Doyle, Jen Hensley, Dax Schieffer, Walter Fleming, Joel Krautter, Michael Sanderson, Bob Kelly, Jessica Christ and Rachel Gregg are current and former Friends of Montana PBS board members.