It is clearly an attempt to muzzle free speech.
Bill Moyers left and was replaced by Tucker Carlson. (of Crossfire which has since been cancelled) Tucker Carlson (clear right wing bias) has since left pbs but in the ad for his show, he stated that he has no time for anyone who cant explain their position in 30 seconds or less.

Thats the problem with American news, many if not most issues require a hell of a lot more than 30seconds.

PBS shows such as Bill Moyers NOW, MaCNEil Lehrer Newshour, Charlie Rose, Frontline,
offered a refreshing alternative to Fox and most biased non-news chat shows like O'Reilly, Hannity etc. Even CNN which tries to be portray itself as more balanced than Fox had an interview in which Karen Hughes from the Bush Administration replied with a straight face that
Americas invasion of Iraq did not in fact alienate its European allies and the rest of the world, and the interviewer didnt even call her on it.

what the hell, it worked for Goebells.