Those that question the value of publicly funding PBS are usually derided for a)lacking the cultural sensibility to appreciate PBS's place as the cultural high ground or b) wishing to deny children (especially poor children) the entertainment and/or education of a Sesame Street or Red Rover. As I've written before, the arguments for fuding PBS with tax dollars don't really hold up to scrutiny - which is why it's good to see lawmakers now publicly questioning the level of federal funds PBS receives.
Besides, as Rick Martinez writes:
One public TV big shot has already warned that this cut will begin "a spiral of death for public broadcasting."
We should be so lucky.
Taxpayer-funded radio and TV has become a huge industry. In 2003, the nation's 784 public radio and 356 public television stations raked in $2.3 billion in revenue from all sources. The House's proposed $100 million cut in federal funding is chicken feed. Even with the cut, the House will fork over $300 million from the public trough. Keep that in mind when the Big Bird lobby aims its hysteria at the Senate.
Sadly, the push to grab every federal dollar reveals a fundamental reality: public broadcasting is more about greed than need. If the CPB went out of business today, there would still be an ocean of tax money in the stations' budgets. In 2003, state legislatures, public colleges and universities and local governments directed nearly $600 million to public broadcasting. The private sector kicked in another $1.3 billion.
With those resources at their disposal, broadcasters should muster the moral courage to voluntarily get off the federal dole. The $300 million or so they bleed from the budget would be better spent on health care or other pressing social needs. But instead of weaning themselves off tax funds, they've become addicted to crying for more.
He's right. And don't let the proponents fool you. This is less a cultural issue than it is a simple case of an entrenched special-interest group lobbying for more funding and special protection.
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