PBS to launch conservative talk show April 13

Amy Holmes and Michael Gerson will co-host "In Principle," which PBS says will be a conservative-oriented talk show.

PBS, the public television network long accused of having a liberal bias, plans to launch a weekly conservative-oriented talk show April 13.

“In Principle” will feature hosts Michael Gerson and Amy Holmes, who plan to interview two guests each Friday on topics including race, gun control and whether conservatism is the right message for the working class.

“I find when I go around the country that there is actually a hunger for serious, civil dialogue as an alternative to the bitterness of our civic discourse," said Gerson, a columnist who has been a frequent guest on “PBS NewsHour.”

"We need a place where we can have thoughtful, reasonable, in-depth conversations about politics, policy, culture — you name it — where we're really talking to each other instead of shouting at each other," said Holmes, who has appeared on Fox News Channel and worked for Glenn Beck’s “The Blaze.”

While Gerson has often found himself at odds with President Donald Trump, he said Holmes more often takes the president's side, or acts as the "anti-anti-Trump."

"I think the Trump era has been a very difficult time for traditional conservative discourse," he said. "I think a lot of institutions and places have been co-opted in this era. I view conservatism not only as a belief but a state of mind, a respect for tradition but also a respect for facts."

"I view conservatism not only as a belief but a state of mind, a respect for tradition but also a respect for facts."

— Michael Gerson, co-host of "In Principle," on PBS

“In Principle” arrives just weeks after the White House unveiled a 2019 federal budget proposal that would eliminate all federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes allocations to PBS and NPR.

The Trump administration contends that the broadcasters’ “non-federal” funding sources make public subsidies unnecessary, Fox News reported.

“In Principle” will originate from PBS’s WETA-TV studio outside Washington. The chief programming executive at WETA, Dalton Delan, will be executive producer.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.