PBS's chief executive told public television officials Thursday that it was cutting about 15 percent of its jobs due to the move by Republicans in Congress to eliminate all federal funding for public broadcasting. Thirty-four PBS staffers were notified Thursday that their positions were being cut. Taken with the loss of a longstanding federal grant for an educational initiative earlier this summer, and the elimination of about three dozen other vacant positions, PBS will have lost more than 100 jobs in all.
The Republican Study Committee's meme accused PBS of 'grooming children' in response to Sesame Street's Pride month post, highlighting the division over children's programming.