Part of that agenda is about controlling the message. Read the section of "Reagan In His Own Words" found at Google Books. These notes are from 1976. The Reagan administration's proposed rescission of funding for public broadcasting occurred in early 80's. At that time, President Reagan suggested that if public broadcasting were to produce programming favorable to his administration, he might spare its funding. He suggested public broadcasting be more like Voice of America. After the cut in funding failed in Congress, Reagan made sure appointees to the CPB Board reflected his views.
President Reagan was not the only conservative to take aim at public broadcasting. Read the article in Current from 1985. Most of the article is about the CPB board clash between Reagan appointees and appointees from earlier administrations. Further down you'll find information about how President Nixon wanted to control PBS and CPB.
"PBS and CPB had shared headlines a dozen years ago, when ideology once before intruded into the affairs of public broadcasting. Nixon aides, some of whom were planning and covering up Watergate during the same period, were plotting to gain control over both CPB and PBS and eliminate what they saw as liberal, anti-Nixon public affairs programming on public television."
