Only about 15% of PBS's annual budget comes from government funding. Most of that is directed at educational programming.
NPR does not receive any direct federal funding, but it does receive a small number of competitive grants from CPB and federal agencies like the Department of Education and the Department of Commerce. This funding amounts to approximately 2% of NPR's overall revenues.
In both cases, it's money well spent in my opinion. Do you know who the majority of the US public debt is owed to? Us...