Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, February 10th, 2025:
PBS BENDS A KNEE
According to a memo sent out on Monday by PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger, PBS is shutting down its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) office and its diversity officers are leaving in response to President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
Here is the text of the announcement:
Dear Colleagues,
As we discussed at our recent Town Hall, since the President's Executive Order about DEI was announced in January, we have been working with legal counsel to understand how this potentially affects our organization.
To ensure that we are complying with the President's Executive Order we have closed our DEI office, and Cecilia Loving and Gina Leow are leaving PBS. I know you will join me in wishing them well in their future endeavors.
Our mission to educate, engage and inspire the wide variety of American communities we serve will continue to be at the center of our work, and we'll also continue to ensure that PBS remains a welcoming place for everyone.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly.
All my best,
Paula
Actually Paula, I do have some questions.
1) Has there been any indication from the Trump Administration that failing to make this move might impact the future of government funding for PBS and its stations? Or was this decision the result of concerns that might happen?
2) How was this decision communicated to PBS stations and are they expected to make similar moves with whatever DEI programs they might have on a local level?
3) Do you think this decision will have any impact on producers who might see this move as an indication that PBS is wavering on its commitment to diversity?
4) Have you and the lawyers at PBS given any thought to what your reaction might be if the Trump Administration ties other demands to continued government funding?
5) Do you have a red line for demands? Is there a point at which you make the determination that you can't agree to a demand, even if it means losing the 15% of the PBS budget that comes from government funding?
6) Are they any programs that are currently airing that give you pause in this new environment, or ideas in the planning stage that you are concerned might draw the anger of the Trump Administration?
To be clear, I really like PBS. There are a lot of thoughtful and smart people working there and I watch a lot of their programming. And these are certainly not the kind of questions that Kruger should be answering publicly.
And I get it. Making this decision likely seems like a relatively painless way to help ensure the federal government will continue to provide funding to PBS in the future.
But as I have written about other media companies in similar situations, going along to get along almost never ends well. Winning one battle doesn't satisfy a bully. It only encourages them to ask for something else, because you've already proved you'll fold.
It pains me more than I can say to write this. But I am disappointed and sad about this decision. Honestly, I might have considered canceling my membership, but at this point, I suspect PBS needs all the support it can get.
ODDS AND SODS
* Fox has acquired Red Seat Ventures, a podcast company with clients that include Tucker Carlson, Nancy Grace, Megyn Kelly and Piers Morgan.
* John Pompliano's great sports newsletter Huddle Up tackles the question Is Tom Brady Worth $375 Million To Fox?
* Former CNN reporter Chris Cillizza has decided he is going to describe himself as an "independent news creator," a title that feels right to me.
* Sure, the traditional cable bundle had a lot of good points. But is also spun off enough money to allow a full season of Ooh, Nooo! Mr. Bill Presents to air on what was then the Fox Family Channel in 1998.
* Naples is a city of culture, of creativity, but also a city of chaos and criminal neglect. The documentary Posso Entrare? An Ode To Naples takes a candid look at the underbelly of Naples and here is a first video look at the program, which airs soon on Hulu.
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10TH:
Breaking Dad: Britain's Unlikeliest Drug Dealer (Britbox)
Calipari: Razor's Edge (Vice)
Extracted Series Premiere (Fox)
Surviving Black Hawk Down (Netflix)
This Time Next Year (The Roku Channel)
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11TH, 2025:
Felipe Esparza: Raging Fool (Netflix)
50,000 First Dates: A True Story Series Premiere (Prime Video)
Muslim Matchmaker Series Premiere (Hulu)
Pitino: Red Storm Rising (Vice)
Stags Series Premiere (Sony Pictures Core)
The Witcher: Sirens Of The Deep (Netflix)
SEE YOU ON TUESDAY!