Nebraska U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., is the current owner of an IOU worth millions of dollars. The chit is the result of his vote for the small-minded, unattractive and unpopular bill working its way through Congress, part of which will cut funding for Nebraska Public Media (NPM).

Full disclosure: In the past I have contributed several op-ed pieces for Nebraska Public Radio and have twice been a guest on “All About Books,” discussing one book I read and another I wrote. I have been a financial supporter of Nebraska Public Media.

Bacon said the House Speaker assured him that money lost in the massive bill would be restored later. His optimism is noteworthy (or perhaps naive) in a place where the only sure thing these days is that nothing is a sure thing. We’re teeter tottering on tariffs, immigration and war, with policies seemingly changing based on the latest news cycle.  Or worse, whims.

Right Instincts

The congressman’s instincts were right. Cutting funds to NPM would especially hurt the rural parts of the state. That’s where, according to NPM leadership, the loss of funds — even though only a percentage of the networks’ total budget — would have the greatest impact.

His colleague, U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., said he voted for the bill because its “spending priorities (were) overwhelmingly supported by the American people at the ballot box last November.” Last I checked, 49.8% of the vote is anything but overwhelming.

Even though Bacon’s vote matched his concern, hearing him raise it from the majority seats was an outlier in a Congress on the verge — at least in practice — of abdicating its role as a co-equal member of the republic’s three branches of government.

The push to defund PBS and National Public Radio has been a goal of those now pulling the levers of government for some time. As far as I can tell, it has nothing to do with fiscal mismanagement, poor performance or any nefarious practice.

Content Fight

It’s simply about content, which apparently doesn’t match the administration’s world view. Curiously, in the Media Bias Chart, an ongoing research project from Ad Fontes, both NPR and PBS rank near the top of all media outlets for their lack of bias. You can see the research at: https://guides.library.harvard.edu/newsleans/thechart

Getting accurate news is an increasing problem. Misinformed, disinformed or uninformed people are serious drags on a dynamic democracy. One solution is accurate reporting from credible news sources such as those at the top of the Media Bias Chart, including PBS and NPR.

Another is the introduction in schools of thinking and reasoning skills, learning to sift fact from fiction that is being sold either by mistake or devious scheme.

The Nebraska Legislature adjourned earlier this month after passing a law that limits cell phone use in schools and another requiring schools to address discrimination and antisemitism issues. Other educational bills were left on the table, including some that are best left there.

Smart News Consumers Vital

Still, as the government moves to defund a source of information it apparently doesn’t like, schools can remain bulwarks against disinformation. They can also serve as a counterbalance to a new information eyesore: the rewriting of American history.

Along Highway 395 in California’s Sierra Nevada range is a sacred obelisk, its bright white a contrast against the stark environment of high desert just west of Death Valley. The monument is part of the Manzanar National Historic Site, commemorating Camp Manzanar where 10,000 Japanese Americans — nearly all U.S. citizens — were interned during World War II.

I once stopped at Manzanar on the way home from a fishing trip to Mammoth Lakes, in part because of its historic past and in part because my friend, Mitz Sasahara, was a child there. I found an eerie, unsettling silence at Manzanar, perhaps because I knew a little of the toll it took on Mitz and his family.

Now, however, the government has installed two signs at Manzanar, which, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, “encourage visitors to report any depictions of U.S. history that ‘inappropriately disparage Americans past or living’ or fail to highlight the ‘beauty, abundance or grandeur.’” Similar signs are now posted at every national park.

Nevermind deputizing tourists as amatuer snitches. Are we now downplaying, diffusing or even dismissing what is our history? Perhaps the Nebraska Legislature or state education officials can’t write a curriculum that teaches our kids to challenge disinformation or the rewriting of history. Perhaps Nebraska Public Media will be hamstrung in its ability to bring us the facts.

Nevertheless, in a democracy, demanding the truth is not simply our right. It’s our responsibility.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/06/23/accurate-information-our-respons...