Alabama Public Television officials last week released results from a survey gauging statewide opinions on PBS. Survey results showed that 54% of survey respondents support APT’s affiliation with PBS.

The survey found that 54.2% of respondents said APT should continue its affiliation with PBS, with another 28% of respondents saying they weren’t sure and 17.7% saying APT should disaffiliate with PBS. Results also showed that 67% of respondents felt that APT was valuable to families and students, and that 49.3% and 60.3% of respondents had favorable views of APT and PBS, respectively.  

The survey comes in a year-long debate among the Alabama Educational Television Commission and Alabama Educational Television Foundation Authority, APT’s governing bodies, about whether APT should remain affiliated with PBS. Two commissioners, Les Barnett and Ferris Stephens, suggested disaffiliating from PBS in October 2025. 

The commissioners cited the dissolution of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provided funding for public television and radio stations across the country, by Congress — complicating funding for local stations. However, Barnett said he opposed APT’s affiliation with PBS due to PBS’s alleged political bias against conservatives.

Roughly 90% of APT’s programming comes from PBS, including many educational TV staples for children, such as “Sesame Street.”

“I just, I don’t want to fund it, PBS has made themselves the enemy of what I stand with, and so I do not like them. I don’t follow the philosophy of feeding the beast,” Barnett said at last October’s meeting.

Commissioners approved the survey earlier this year. Funding for the $39,500 survey, controversially, came from APT’s emergency fund. The polling was conducted by Cygnal, a Republican-aligned polling firm. 

Following the release of these survey results, Gov. Kay Ivey terminated five members of AETC, including Barnett and Stephens. Others terminated included William Green, Bebe Williams and Pete Conroy.

“It was business as usual for the first several years. But as soon as Ferris Stephens and Les Barnett wanted to make an issue of PBS, that’s when all the drama started,” Conroy told Al.com.

To replace the five terminated officials, Ivey has nominated Wallace Gilberry, Ric Smith, Dr. Neil Lamb, Sally Smith and Dr. Samory Pruitt. Two commissioners, Tijuanna Adetunji and Logan Glass kept their positions on the commission. 

Alabama top stories in brief

TikTok settles in Alabama mental health lawsuit

• TikTok has settled a lawsuit with the state of Alabama, agreeing to pay the state at least $100 million and implement safety features for teen users of the app.
• The state sued TikTok in 2025, claiming the social media platform has negative effects on teen’s mental health — specifically claiming that the app’s algorithm is uniquely addictive to younger users.
• The state has said the settlement money will be used to fund youth mental health services.
• Teen users of TikTok in Alabama will also see changes to the platform. Teens in the state will have the option to select a non-personalized content feed — essentially, opting out of the platform’s algorithm. Additionally, teens in the state will not be able to use the app’s cosmetic filters, and time limits will automatically be placed on their usage of the app.

Alabama joins lawsuit over abortion ‘shield laws’

• Alabama last week joined two other Republican-led states to challenge abortion “shield laws” that protect healthcare providers who mail the abortion pill mifepristone to patients in states where abortion is illegal from prosecution.
• The attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana announced their suit last week. They are challenging laws in California, Massachusetts and New York, saying that those states’ laws undermine their state’s abortion bans and sovereignty. 
• “We need and deserve the opportunity to be able to enforce our laws against those who have chosen, despite their knowledge of the illegality, to continue to foster abortion in our state,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said during a press conference about the suit.
• In May, the Supreme Court ruled that healthcare providers can continue to mail mifepristone to states with abortion bans while this legal battle plays out. 

Gulf of America law goes into effect, as some raise First Amendment concerns

• Alabama’s law requiring all state employees to use the name “Gulf of America” rather than “Gulf of Mexico” went into effect last week. 
• Some state employees are raising concerns that the law violates First Amendment free speech protections.
• Last week, the executive director and general manager for WBHM — a public radio station based in Birmingham and licensed by the the University of Alabama at Birmingham — Will Dahlberg expressed concerns that the station was being coerced by the law and UAB officials to use “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico” in its reporting. 
• “Journalistic independence is foundational to a news organization. It’s a key part of how we maintain your trust. This law threatens that independence. It also puts us at odds with our partners at NPR, the Associated Press, and others who will continue to use ‘Gulf of Mexico,’” Dahlberg wrote.
• The Associated Press, which maintains the style guide that many journalism outlets use to guide their newsroom’s practices, continues to use “Gulf of Mexico” as the preferred name after President Donald Trump renamed the body of water, along with other landmarks, in 2025.

Trump stumps for GOP candidates at Mobile rally

• President Donald Trump last week hosted a campaign rally at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, campaigning for Republican candidates in the upcoming November election.
• “I’m here really because, you know, sometimes, even though you don’t have to come here, you gotta pay respect to the people that have loved you right from the beginning,” Trump said at the rally. Trump held one of his first rallies during his campaign for president in 2015 in Mobile.
• Trump encouraged rally attendees to vote for Republican candidates in November’s midterms, saying, “Just close your eyes and pretend I’m on the ballot.”
• Trump said he will be returning to the state this Saturday, Oct. 10, to attend a football game between Alabama and Georgia in Tuscaloosa.

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