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Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt Takes Aim at Public Broadcasting Service’s ‘Indoctrination’ of Children

ByAlki David

Apr 29, 2023

Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma is on a mission to dismantle the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA), the state’s only Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) affiliate. The governor has accused OETA of airing content aimed at indoctrinating children.

In his latest move, Stitt has vetoed a bill that would have allowed OETA to continue its operations through 2026. If two-thirds of the House and Senate do not override the governor’s veto, the PBS affiliate will cease operating this year.

OETA offers a wide range of programming, including children’s shows such as “Sesame Street” and “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” as well as “Antiques Roadshow” and news programs like “Washington Week” and “PBS Newshour.”

Governor Stitt has taken issue with some of the programming offered by OETA, claiming that it promotes a left-leaning agenda and seeks to indoctrinate children. In a statement, Stitt said, “OETA has moved away from its core mission of providing educational programming and instead has become a vehicle for pushing a political agenda.”

The governor’s decision to eliminate OETA has sparked controversy and drawn criticism from those who argue that the network plays a vital role in providing educational content to Oklahomans. Supporters of OETA have pointed out that the network offers programming that is not available on commercial networks and serves as an important resource for rural communities.

Critics of Stitt’s decision have accused the governor of playing politics and seeking to silence dissenting voices. Some have pointed out that OETA has a long history of providing educational content to children and adults alike and that eliminating the network would be a blow to the state’s educational infrastructure.

As the debate over OETA’s future continues, many Oklahomans are watching closely to see how the situation will unfold. Whether the network will continue to operate or cease operations this year remains to be seen.

By Alki David

Alki David — Publisher, Media Architect, SIN Network Creator - live, direct-to-public communication, media infrastructure, accountability journalism, and independent distribution. Born in Lagos, Nigeria; educated in the United Kingdom and Switzerland; attended the Royal College of Art. Early internet broadcaster — participated in real-time public coverage during the 1997 Mars landing era using experimental online transmission from Beverly Hills. Founder of FilmOn, one of the earliest global internet television networks offering live and on-demand broadcasting outside legacy gatekeepers. Publisher of SHOCKYA — reporting since 2010 on systemic corruption inside the entertainment business and its expansion into law, finance, and regulation. Creator of the SIN Network (ShockYA Integrated Network), a federated media and civic-information infrastructure spanning investigative journalism, live TV, documentary, and court-record reporting. Lived and worked for over 40 years inside global media hubs including Malibu, Beverly Hills, London, Hong Kong and Gstaad. Early encounter with Julian Assange during the first Hologram USA operations proved a formative turning point — exposing the realities of lawfare, information suppression, and concentrated media power. Principal complainant and driving force behind what court filings describe as the largest consolidated media–legal accountability action on record, now before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Relocated to Antigua & Barbuda and entered sustained legal, civic, and informational confrontation over media power, safeguarding, and accountability at Commonwealth scale.