The Importance of Publicly Funded Broadcasting

Posted by Peter Block

Thankfully the recent federal budget agreement kept the public funding intact for 2011, after the House of Representatives voted to eliminate it. The fight is not over, which is why it is important to stay informed about this issue. 

Here are three points of view on the importance of publicly funded broadcasting.

David Brooks on Public Media Funding

David Brooks is a conservative columnist who makes the case for public funding for public broadcasting. In this short video he is concerned about the importance to the culture of our common story. This story is told in the most  balanced way by public radio and television. Brooks is worth watching for thoughtful and long term perspective. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJhuPOUwV08

NPR: The Saga Continues

By Bill Moyers and Michael Winship

Moyers is a consistently strong voice for how our democracy is under assault by the media movement towards ideological reporting. In this piece he points out the conservative support for public broadcasting and give example of the type of reporting we would love is we stop our government funding for PBS.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-moyers/npr-the-saga-continues_b_837761.html

Do We Still Need Public Broadcasting? Newton Minow Says Yes!

By Nell Minow

Public broadcasting was begun as an answer to what Newton Minow called the “vast wasteland”  of commercial media. This article is about an interview with him by his daughter Nell. He talks about the value of public broadcasting. He points out it costs each citizen $1.35 a year. A good value.  http://www.bnet.com/blog/corporate-governance/do-we-still-need-public-broadcasting-newton-minow-says-yes/243