Hands off Public Broadcasting
Seattle Times: The worst recession in 80 years and a bloated deficit means the federal government has to cut its spendy ways. But budget cutting is best done with a surgical knife, not a billy club.
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are considering defunding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This annoying hardy perennial proposal from Republicans is no wiser this time around than it was when it was presented and beaten back many times before.
In fact, with a decline in the total number of reporters, also known as watchdogs, and a reduced number of media outlets presenting news and public affairs, there is more need than ever for high-quality programming, or as Seattle PBS station KTCS president Moss Bresnahan calls it, “the best our culture has to offer.”
If you get out your remote and flip through the hundreds of cable stations, you might come to a different conclusion. You might say, who needs PBS when there are hundreds of other channels? We all need PBS, NPR and numerous local public radio and TV stations. They help educate our children. They enrich us culturally and provide community connections not available anywhere else.
More than half of all Americans use public media every month, connecting through 368 public television stations and 934 public radio stations.
Dialing back public funding for public radio and TV would be a shortsighted move. Congress should leave the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the unique programs it funds alone.
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