PBS CEO recounts dramatic year for organzation, calls legal battle with Trump 'the most sobering moment'

ASPEN, COLORADO — PBS CEO Paula Kerger recounted the "extraordinary" year her organization has had after President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans revoked its federal funding.

Appearing Sunday at the Aspen Institute's Ideas Festival, Kerger was asked to summarize the dramatic saga PBS underwent, which she referred to as a "year of letters," the first in January 2025 from Federal Communications Committee (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr, who was probing PBS' corporate partnerships, followed by a letter that March from then-Rep.