THE INFAMOUS chainsaw wielded by Elon Musk in the well-circulated video did come into action and chopped off federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It has been in the crosshairs of Republicans for a long time.

In 1961, Newton Minow, chairman of Federal Communication Commission, in a speech titled “Television and Public Interest” called television a vast wasteland. Considered as one of the most influential speeches of all time, the speech gave impetus toward creating public television and radio in the United States.

In 1967, Carnegie Corp. published a report that aimed at creating a funding mechanism for educational broadcasts that were independent of federal control. It also sought to provide a more stable national platform for programming than what the National Edu

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