Elmo appears on “Sesame Street” in 2023.  The Trump administration cut off federal funding for public media last year, putting California’s 33 public media stations in financial peril.

I learned English by watching public television. As an immigrant child from the Philippines, shows like “Sesame Street” and “The Electric Company” were my first teachers. They not only helped me understand the language, but they also opened up the world to me, sparking a lifelong curiosity. That spark has kept me returning to public media.

That’s why the loss of federal funding for public media last year wasn’t just a policy decision to me — it’s a threat to one of the most important civic institutions we have.

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The cuts put California’s 33 public media stations in financial jeopardy, especially those in smaller communities. While the majority of U.S. states contribute to their public media stations, California does not. This year, that........

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