MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday removed five members of the seven-member Alabama Educational Television Commission, reshaping the governing body of Alabama Public Television days after a state-commissioned survey found broad support for keeping the network’s PBS affiliation.
The action is the latest Alabama chapter in a national Republican campaign against public broadcasting, whose critics, including President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, have long accused PBS and NPR of liberal bias. It also comes after Congress, at Trump’s request, rescinded $1.1 billion in previously approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the federal entity that supports PBS, NPR and local public media stations. The cuts have forced public broadcasters around the country to confront programming and budget pressures.
Ivey removed commissioners Les Barnett, Pete Conroy, Bebe Williams, Ferris Stephens and William Green from the Alabama Educational Television Commission. Tijuanna Adetunji and Logan Glass remain on the panel.
The commission, created by state law to oversee Alabama’s educational television system, has seven members, one from each congressional district.
The governor named Wallace Gilberry to replace Barnett in the 1st Congressional District, Ric Smith to replace Conroy in the 3rd District, Neil Lamb to replace Williams in the 5th District, Sally Smith to replace Stephens in the 6th District and Samory Pruitt to replace Green in the 7th District. The appointments are subject to Senate confirmation.
Ivey’s office had not publicly detailed a specific reason for the dismissals by early Saturday. But the decision followed nearly a year of conflict within the commission over whether Alabama Public Television should sever its PBS relationship — a move that would have cost the statewide network access to much of its programming, including “PBS NewsHour,” “Sesame Street” and “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.”
The controversy began in late 2025, after commissioners Stephens and Barnett raised the possibility of disaffiliating from PBS in the wake of national Republican efforts to eliminate federal support for public media. Barnett said at the time that PBS was “anathema” to Trump and objected to what he characterized as the network’s political philosophy.
The commission later renewed APT’s PBS contract through mid-2027 rather than end the affiliation immediately. But the debate continued through 2026, with commissioners authorizing a public-opinion survey after Ivey had urged them to seek public input before making any decision to leave PBS.
Results released this week showed 54.2% of respondents supported continuing APT’s PBS relationship, while 17.7% favored ending it and 28% were unsure. The survey, conducted by the Virginia-based firm Cygnal, included 600 Alabama registered voters contacted by telephone and text message.
A separate finding underscored the concern that had built around the commission’s deliberations: 62% of respondents said politicians should not influence Alabama Public Television programming decisions, according to reporting on the survey results.
The clash in Alabama reflects a larger ideological fight over the role of publicly supported journalism and educational programming. Republicans nationally have argued that taxpayers should not subsidize outlets they believe lean left, while public-media advocates contend that local stations provide educational programming, public-affairs reporting, cultural coverage and emergency information that commercial broadcasters often do not provide.
Congressional Republicans approved the $1.1 billion rescission in July 2025, and Trump signed it into law. The elimination of the money prompted the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to begin winding down after nearly six decades as a conduit for federal support to public media. The lost funding affects more than the national PBS and NPR brands; it also affects more than 1,500 local public television and radio stations, particularly smaller and rural operations that have fewer underwriting and donor resources.
In Alabama, the political dispute has centered on PBS programming rather than a documented finding of partisan interference in APT news coverage. Public media’s mission includes educational children’s programming, documentaries, cultural content and public-affairs reporting, and APT is a statewide network supported through a mix of state funding, private donations, grants and program-related revenue.
The commission’s decision to keep PBS programming through 2027 left unresolved broader questions about APT’s future after the federal cuts. The network’s PBS affiliation gives Alabama viewers access to national programming that includes children’s shows, documentaries, drama, science programming and “PBS NewsHour,” while its statewide infrastructure also gives the network a presence in communities that may have limited local media choices.
Ivey’s removals became possible under House Bill 220, a law signed this year that took effect Wednesday. The law allows appointing authorities, including the governor, to remove and replace board, authority and commission members over whom they hold appointment power.
The timing — two days after the survey documented majority support for PBS and one day after the new removal law took effect — is likely to intensify questions about whether Alabama’s public television system can remain insulated from partisan struggles over programming and public trust.
For now, the new commission will inherit a network still affiliated with PBS, facing the loss of federal public-media support and navigating a debate that reaches well beyond Alabama: whether public broadcasting is a civic resource serving viewers across ideological lines or another institution drawn into the country’s widening culture wars.