Speaking to the City Club of Cleveland, Paula Kerger said public TV still connects Americans with science and art programs not available anywhere else, and is especially important to children who miss out on preschool.
KERGER: "We are more than just a line item in a budget. We are an essential part of this country."
Funding for public media has once again become a campaign issue, with Republican Mitt Romney pledging in the first presidential debate to cut funding for PBS.
Kerger says federal funding makes up an average of 15 percent of PBS stations' budgets. She says bigger stations could adapt to cuts, but that might not be the case in smaller rural stations.
KERGER: "If you are a station where 50 or 60 or even 30 percent of your funding suddenly went away, particularly during this era of very difficult economic times, those stations will certainly go dark."
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting gives federal dollars to local public radio and TV stations, including ideastream. Last year, Republicans in the House and Senate tried unsuccessfully to cut public funding. But the issue could come up again during the federal budget battle expected to erupt after the election.
