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Cutting PBS......Good or Bad?

by Tryan Hartill
From FreePress:

Public broadcasting is again under attack in Washington by those who would cripple public spirited alternatives to the commercial media and muzzle the critical voices and diverse fare that PBS, NPR and other public media offer to Americans.
The cuts to journalism, educational and community programming at more than one thousand stations threaten the survival of public broadcasting in communities that need it most.

In June 2005, the majority party in the same House subcommittee voted to slash more than $200 million in funding. A bipartisan majority in the House came to the defense of public broadcasting by voting to restore $100 million in funding after an intense grassroots campaign. The remaining $123 million in funding was subsequently restored by the Senate and accepted by the full Congress in December. More than one million Americans contacted their representatives to protest the cuts.
Now, Congress is again contemplating drastic cuts to funding that supports the programming at PBS and NPR. Specifically, the propose cuts would:

1. Rescind funds already approved by Congress.
2. Eliminate major funding for public broadcasting’s digital transition and program distribution system.
3. Eliminate millions for a critical equipment replacement program.

Association of Public Television Station President John Lawson said, “The action by the House subcommittee today shows a blatant disregard for the millions of Americans who voiced their support of public broadcasting to Congress last year. The subcommittee is also ignoring 67 percent of House members who voted last year to reject similarly disastrous funding cuts. I guess we’ll have to start ringing phones on the Hill again.”
Free Press activists are monitoring the appropriations process as it moves forward and will put on notice members of Congress who vote to slash public broadcasting.

Since I don’t watch TV, I really don’t care about PBS, frankly I think everyone should turn off their TV, but do people really get the most out of this huge subsidized program?

I know some here are big Seaseme Street fans, but is one show enough to keep the funding at historic levels?

Would you cut PBS funding , keep it the same, or just scrap the whole thing all together?

Jun 8, 10:45 am | Tryan Hartill
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8 comments on this article (post your own)

1 On Jun 8, 11:40 am, lee wrote:

I’d give PBS a lot more money so the newshour would again be oblidged to report news that is in the public interest and not Corporate or Partisan Interests.

More shows of quality without silly commercials and weeks of fund raising would be truely wonderful.

People who like garbage with commercials can watch cable.

2 On Jun 8, 12:19 pm, Cary wrote:

I dont watch the “idiot box” much but if I do its not PBS. Sounds like they get a pretty large chunk of change from the taxpayors. We need to examine if the benefits are there, or if a small minority are the only ones watching. How may people are watching PBS?

They say “More than one million Americans contacted their representatives to protest the cuts”. Well, thats a quite a number, I would like to know how they came to that.

Maybe if the one million who contacted their reps just sent in some money, the problem would be solved!! The ones who are watching PBS, I think should be the ones who pay for it.

3 On Jun 9, 07:08 am, Walter Richards wrote:

I think gov’t funding for PBS should be entirely eliminated.

You can bet Sesame Street would be picked up by a private broadcaster. Any show that wouldn’t, obviously doesn’t have enough viewers.

Besides, A&E and the History Channel does a better job of documentaries than PBS. CNN has better political discussions. Etc, etc, etc. There’s enough cable channels out there, with better programming on things that you used to only find on PBS, that (IMO) PBS isn’t providing much “real” service.

4 On Jun 9, 08:22 am, Patrick McGee wrote:

Let PBS die?

No way!

Miss “Austin City Limits”?

I’ve been contributing to PBS for well over 20 years and don’t regret it one moment but, there is a valid arguement for Documentary networks that surpass most anything PBS can do but, still…It’s PBS for God’s sake.

5 On Jun 9, 09:36 am, lee wrote:

It’s not as good anymore because it doesn’t get enough funding that doesn’t come with the required accessory. The Stun-belt.

6 On Jun 9, 02:00 pm, Walter Richards wrote:

It’s simple, really.

1 = It’s not a necessary function of gov’t.

2 = Therefore, if they can’t get enough funding from the people who want it, there’s no reason gov’t should force the rest of us to pay for it.

A formula that should be applied to ALL gov’t programs/agencies.

7 On Jun 9, 03:23 pm, lee wrote:

2 = Therefore, if they can’t get enough funding from the people who want it, there’s no reason gov’t should force the rest of us to pay for it.—-
I meant to post my thoughts on this earlier. Many people who don’t have to have cable to have TV don’t need to buy it. They only watch OPB. That’s all I watch.

My mother has been contributing lately to every pledge drive. She does it for everyone, not just her. In fact she has cable also.

Do you want the quality of OPB to crumble because people can’t afford it.

Do you know of anyone who watches it,can afford to contribute, but would rather spend the money on something else and skim some fat from my lamb. Should I be just as stingy? It’s getting hard to contribute with the cost of living.

could we reduce expenses by making sure the rest don’t benefit from my dime? IMPOSSIBLE-

People with children that would rather eat or pay for ISP, than buy cable/ but get to enjoy or learn by watching a couple quality OPB shows is an incredibly good thing. I don’t mind contibuting a little. It’s actually an investment in the future.

My points are moot for now but hopefully our treasury will be in a position to do some good for the commons, Rather than taking the good away to give to the over privledged.

8 On Jun 15, 10:59 am, Cindy wrote:

Th funding cuts would be from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds public radio as well as public television. But it favors television over radio in its funding schemes. Your public radio stations would likely be most affected. Personally, I rarely watch public television and I rarely listen to anything other than public radio, no matter where I am in the country. I think all of the good public TV programming would be picked up by cable or broadcast—Sesame Street, Austin City Limits, the News Hour, Frontline, Nova. But who would foot the bill for the cuts to public radio?

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