The first rule in the despotic leader playbook is to attempt to control the press. In 1930s Germany, Nazis broke into the offices of opposing political parties and destroyed their printing presses. In 1940s Russia, formerly the USSR, the communist party commandeered the media, controlling the flow of information by suppressing foreign correspondents. 

Now, this tactic has reached today’s America as agents from the Department of Government Efficiency dismantle the U.S. Agency for Global Media, effectively eliminating funding for Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and Voice of America.

Debates surrounding funding for public media aren’t new. Republican lawmakers have long taken issue with government funding for stations they see as promoting progressive viewpoints. 

However, the administration’s current effort to abolish public media is clearly not about money. Americans pay roughly $1.60 per person a year for access to educational shows, emergency broadcasting and a variety of news and local content – in numerous languages. Public Jim Schachter, the CEO of New Hampshire Public Radio, told CNN that these attacks are part of a larger effort to target the free press, not the miniscule amount the government spends on this type of media. 

Without federal funding, small local stations will effectively be forced off the air, especially in rural areas. 

In seventh grade, I discovered NPR’s “This American Life” podcast. 

I don’t know what possessed 12-year-old Meghan Hirsch to listen to the podcast; maybe I saw that it was topping the charts, or perhaps I stumbled on it in a happy accident. Regardless of how I discovered “This American Life,” I still credit the show for helping me discover the power of public media. 

Over its 30 years of production, “This American Life” has covered a variety of topics, choosing weekly themes of focus. Some weeks, the show covers a murder case; others, it tells the story of car dealerships trying to meet their monthly quotas. You really never know what type of story you’re going to get. But that’s what makes it so engaging. 

The same can be said for much of public media. It spans from PBS’s “Antiques Roadshow” — which is a self proclaimed “Part adventure, part history lesson, part treasure hunt!” — to NPR’s “Planet Money,” a podcast that tries to break down complex economic forces in an entertaining way. 

Listening to “This American Life” broadened my worldview because I got to hear about people living lives that are very different from mine through their own voices. The strength of public media specifically shines when reporters focus on communities that typically do not receive national coverage.

Sure, reporters from public media outlets cover current events and pressing national issues, but they also cover niche, local stories that private outlets may not have the bandwidth to report on. For example, on Maine Public, there’s a multi-platform series called “Borealis” where reporters ski, climb and do other outdoor activities to highlight Maine’s nature.

Another important aspect of public media is that it’s created to serve the public interest — not their wallets, since it’s free. Rather than picking up stories based on how they will improve a paper’s bottom line, public media stations are instead driven to create programming for local populations that they will find insightful.

Public media also has the power to create a shared American experience that transcends localities. Following my first exposure to “This American Life,” I quickly became an avid NPR news reader and listener. I did my co-op at NPR’s Boston affiliate, GBH News, partly because I wanted to produce the kind of content that I credited with broadening my worldview. There is no doubt in my mind that public media has profoundly influenced who I am today.

Public media is also necessary when seen from the purely utilitarian perspective of how it tangibly benefits its viewers. In some parts of the U.S., public broadcasting is often the only option for emergency news, particularly in rural areas. During the wildfires in Los Angeles, for instance, local media stations provided lifesaving alerts and resources.

Besides the ability of public media to cater to local populations, scholars also often look to public media to gauge the overall health of a country’s democracy. Research shows that countries with higher public media funding have a wider range of story coverage, higher political awareness levels and less extremism — which are, you guessed it, all indicative of a healthy democracy.  

The Trump administration’s continuous attacks on public media are not only indicative of him trying to strangle the free press but of an erosion of our democracy altogether. 

While seventh grade Meghan discovering “This American Life” was certainly a niche experience, dictators and despotic leaders attempting to strangle the press and crush their opposition is not. 

Despite what some might think, public media first and foremost serves the public. If this entire system is under siege, so are we.

Meghan Hirsch is a fourth-year media and screen studies and  history combined major. She can be reached at hirsch.me@northeastern.edu.