Michelle Obama Given PBS Show After Democrats Gave Public Broadcaster $75 Million in Coronavirus Relief Bill

Former First Lady Michelle Obama has been given a show by PBS starting next week, the taxpayer funded network announced Friday. The timing of the announcement comes after Democrats marked $75 million for PBS’s parent the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in the coronavirus relief bill that passed at the end of March.

Newsbusters reported the $75 million is on top of the $465 million given CPB in the current year’s federal budget, which is an increase of $20 million over the previous year. Local PBS and NPR stations receive funding from CBP as well as donations from the public, businesses and charitable foundations.

When a crisis hits and a massive legislative package is organized to meet it, it’s never surprising when Democrats go to supporting their own media assets. So there on page 746 of the 854-page “stimulus” bill is a provision granting $75 million to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting “to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, including for fiscal stabilization grants to public telecommunications entities.”

This isn’t about keeping the public informed, since every other news network is offering coronavirus information nearly 24/7. This is about maintaining the PBS and NPR stations. The bill directs the CPB to take out “no administrative costs” to pass the money along, “to maintain programming and services and preserve small and rural stations threatened by declines in non-Federal revenues.”

Obama will be hosting a weekly children’s show for the next four weeks, reading books to kids who are being kept at home while schools are closed due to pandemic stay at home orders.

Good Morning America

✔@GMA

Former first lady Michelle Obama is teaming up with PBS Kids and Random House to read stories to children virtually! https://gma.abc/2zaAy6i 

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4:30 PM - Apr 18, 2020

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PBS KIDS

✔@PBSKIDS

Join us for “Mondays with @MichelleObama!” In this weekly read-along series, she’ll read 4 of her favorite children’s books (one book every Monday). It begins Mon. @ 12pm ET with “The Gruffalo” on @PBSKIDS & @PenguinRandomHouse Facebook pages! #ReadTogetherBeTogether #pbskidsread

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10:40 PM - Apr 17, 2020

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Excerpt from the PBS press release:

“MONDAYS WITH MICHELLE OBAMA,” STORY-TIMES WITH PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AND PBS KIDS STREAMING ON YOUTUBE AND FACEBOOK, START MONDAY, APRIL 20, 12 NOON (ET)

(Friday, April 17—NEW YORK, NY)—Penguin Young Readers, Random House Children’s Books, and PBS KIDS today announced a special collaboration with former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, in support of the recently announced “Read Together, Be Together” Penguin Random House literacy initiative and PBS KIDS’ “Read-Along” effort on Facebook and YouTube. On Monday, April 20, at 12 noon (ET), “Mondays with Michelle Obama” will kick off a four-week series of videos that will feature Mrs. Obama reading aloud from beloved children’s books (one book every Monday through May 11). “Mondays with Michelle Obama” (#PBSKIDSRead, #ReadTogetherBeTogether) will be livestreamed simultaneously on PBS KIDS’ Facebook page and YouTube channel, and on Penguin Random House’s Facebook page, and will remain available for viewing on demand on all of those platforms immediately thereafter. The four books Mrs. Obama will read are:

April 20, 12 noon ET: THE GRUFFALO
Written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler

April 27, 12 noon ET: THERE’S A DRAGON IN YOUR BOOK
Written by Tom Fletcher and illustrated by Greg Abbott

May 4, 12 noon ET: MISS MAPLE’S SEEDS
Story and pictures by Eliza Wheeler

May 11, 12 noon ET: THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR
By Eric Carle

Michelle Obama says, “As a little kid, I loved to read aloud. And when I became a parent, I found such joy in sharing the magic of storytelling with my own children—and then later, as First Lady, with kids everywhere. At this time when so many families are under so much stress, I’m excited to give kids a chance to practice their reading and hear some wonderful stories (and to give parents and caretakers a much-needed break).”

A suite of activities, tips, and resources for each of the books that Mrs. Obama will read are available at www.readtogetherbetogether.com, and companion literacy resources are available on pbskidsforparents.org…

…PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for kids, offers children ages 2-8 the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, digital media, and community-based programs. PBS KIDS and local stations across the country support the entire ecosystem in which children learn, including their teachers, parents, and community. Provided by stations, the free PBS KIDS 24/7 channel and live stream is available to more than 95% of U.S. TV households. Kidscreen and Webby Award-winning pbskids.org provides engaging interactive content, including digital games and streaming video. PBS KIDS offers mobile apps to help support young children’s learning, including the PBS KIDS Video app, which is available on a variety of mobile devices and on platforms such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung TV, and Chromecast. PBS KIDS also offers parent and teacher resources to support children’s learning anytime and anywhere. For more information on PBS KIDS content and initiatives supporting school reading and more visit pbs.org/pressroom, or follow PBS KIDS on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.