PBS shutters DEI office to comply with president angry about diversity 

The Public Broadcasting Service is made possible by viewers like you, but not you or you. 

By Matt Schimkowitz  |  February 10, 2025 | 9:37pm
Courtesy of PBS
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PBS shutters DEI office to comply with president angry about diversity 

In another dispiriting bit of news, which says nothing about our backsliding democracy, PBS has closed its DEI office to comply with President Trump’s recent executive orders. Ever angry about the idea of a diverse workforce or, god forbid, an inclusive one, the President has put killing DEI initiatives that many companies were quick to adopt after George Floyd’s murder at the top of his list of things to crush. Way back in 2020, it was believed that making majority-white workplaces a little more welcoming to other races would help ease the racial strife that has plagued the country for hundreds of years. Alas, we have recently been informed that that’s woke, and that woke is bad, and that to make America great again, we all have to be terrible to each other.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, in a statement, a PBS spokesperson assured those concerned about the station’s suspicious inclusivity that the monsters diversifying the company’s talent pool “are leaving PBS.” To that end, PBS promises to “continue to adhere to our mission and values” and will continue reflecting “all of America and remain a welcoming place for everyone” so long as they aren’t working in DEI departments.

In a leaked memo to employees, CEO Paula Kerger claimed that the company has been “working with legal counsel to understand how this potentially affects our organization.” It turns out that the best way to comply with it is to immediately fold in hopes the President will stop his good faith attacks on PBS. Kerger also announced the exit of two DEI officers and “wished them well in their future endeavors.”

But, as anyone could’ve guessed, the Trump administration isn’t through dismantling the Public Broadcasting Service. FCC Chair Brendan Carr has already promised to investigate PBS and NPR, both of which receive government funding, for violating rules surrounding airing commercials. We wish them well in their future endeavors, indeed.

 
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