PBS Launches 'Press Pass' As Fundraiser Initiative

PBS News has launched Press Pass, a fundraising initiative that asks audiences to contribute $8 a month in exchange for behind-the-scenes content and events. The effort is intended to bring in revenue directly from supporters as the organization faces funding pressures.

Benefits include a weekly behind-the-scenes newsletter, virtual events with PBS News journalists and sponsor-free versions of PBS News podcasts, with more offerings planned. PBS News says its reporting and programming will remain free and accessible to all.

The initiative comes as WETA, the Washington, D.C., station that houses PBS News, contends with financial challenges following the end of federal funding for public broadcasting. WETA CEO Sharon Rockefeller previously told staff the loss of Corporation for Public Broadcasting support created a $6.7 million shortfall for fiscal year 2026 and an estimated $9 million shortfall for FY27.

WETA has already made cuts: last fall it ended PBS News Weekend, closed a News Hour bureau in Phoenix and eliminated dozens of positions. PBS News Senior Executive Producer and WETA Senior Vice President Sara Just said the organization knew it would need to address the funding gap, though its size was initially unclear.

PBS News is looking to its expanding digital audience as a source of support. During FY26, its online reporting reached an average of 30 million accounts a month across its website, podcasts, Apple News and YouTube, while its social media accounts reached 71 million monthly. Those figures were up 36% and 433%, respectively, from FY24. Average monthly digital video views rose 184% over the same period, to more than 94 million.

“Our digital content has become a huge part of what we do,” Just said.

The team designed Press Pass benefits to offer extras without placing its news behind a paywall, Just said. “We continue to be free and available to anyone,” she said. “We wanted to create some content for Press Pass that goes beyond the news of the day.”

The first planned benefit is a weekly newsletter offering exclusive insight into PBS News’ coverage of the White House and the Trump administration. White House correspondent Liz Landers is leading its development, and the newsletter will include her observations and details about the week’s news. The idea drew on audience surveys and the popularity of the organization’s politics newsletter, “Here’s the Deal.”

PBS News also plans virtual events where supporters can hear from reporters and producers about specific stories and ask questions.