Two influential lawmakers are demanding a “top-to-bottom analysis” of public television in New Jersey following today’s news that New Jersey PBS will cease its operations in July 2026.
A call for a review by State Sens. John Burzichelli (D-Paulsboro) and Andrew Zwicker (D-South Brunswick) express a growing concern that without a dedicated public television station, New Jersey will become even more of a news desert, wedged between the priorities of New York and Philadelphia broadcasters.
“This is another destabilizing setback to a news sector that has experienced recurring obstacles to its ability to keep the public knowledgeably informed,” Burzichelli and Zwicker said in a joint statement. “For NJ PBS, the federal government’s decision to cancel funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was the devastating blow.”
Burzichelli said the “shutdown of public TV in New Jersey will have real-life consequences.”
“The television network has played a pivotal role in New Jersey, bridging the divide between New York and Philadelphia with trusted information relevant to the lives and civic activities of the state’s residents,” they said.
Now they want to form a working group to figure out how New Jersey can maintain public television.
“We should assemble a working group of the best minds on this issue to find new ways to meet the challenges that confront public broadcasting,” Burzichelli and Zwicker said. “We need to decide what role we want public TV to play in New Jersey, what is needed to make it viable and what sources of support will be available. The bottom line is: Do we want public broadcasting to thrive and, if we do, what needs to be done to preserve and sustain its operations?”
Their statement follows news that New Jersey PBS will shut down in July 2026 after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting lost its federal funding. In New Jersey, the recent state budget trimmed its contrbution from $1 million to $250,000.
