Last week we reached a milestone in the fight to protect public media. A spontaneous creative outburst of support for Big Bird flooded Facebook and Twitter.

The next stage in this fight is in Congress — where there are five bills pending that could slash funding for NPR and PBS. Washington needs to know why we all care so much about public media. If we’re going to stop these threats in their tracks we’ll need thousands of stories from people like you. We'll use these anecdotes to pressure lawmakers to support public media.

So … what does public media mean to you?

Did you grow up with Sesame Street? Is your local NPR station the only source of quality news in your town? Do you use NOVA in your classroom? Are you addicted to the interviews on Fresh Air?

Don’t let your story go untold! We need to protect public media 365 days a year, whenever and wherever it's under threat. Please share your story today.

The image depicted is owned by Sesame Workshop.

Want examples of the movement to protect public media? Check out the collection we put together: 

http://www.freepress.net/resource/100368/internet-stands-big-bird