3/04/2005 07:00:00 AM|||Toni|||George Will: We have no more need for PBS
I've long thought that PBS was a relic and should be de-funded by the State and Federal Government. But my dander hit an all time high just before the election (early October). Frontline had a "special" called 'Choice 2004'. I know that PBS is unbiased cause they tell me they are (when a media outlet has to keep saying this I tend not to believe what they say). Their 'Choice 2004' was essentially a 2 hour commercial for John Kerry for President. I dutifully sent off emails to my representatives and Senators. The response I got? Well, lets see. Got an auto response from Senator Norm Coleman. Nothing from Senator Dayton and nothing from Representative Jim Ramsted. This is pretty much how all emails go to my representatives. But I'm glad to see George Will deliver a blow to the bloated organization known as PBS. Since I rarely watch or listen (PBS/NPR) it was informative to learn that they are showing HBO programming. Huh? NPR in Mpls recently purchased another station which plays contemporary music in direct competition with radio stations that don't receive government funding.
George Will says:
Public television, its supporters say, is especially important for poor people who cannot afford cable or satellite television. But 62 percent of poor households have cable or satellite television and 78 percent have a VCR or DVD player.
Public television is akin to the body politic's appendix: It is vestigial, purposeless and occasionally troublesome. Of the two arguments for it, one is impervious to refutation and the other refutes itself.
The impervious argument is: The small size of the audiences for most of public television's programming proves how necessary public television is. The big networks gather big audiences by catering to vulgar cultural tastes, leaving the refined minority an orphan, because any demand the private market satisfies must be tacky.
The self-refuting argument is: Big Bird. Never mind that the average age of PBS viewers is 58. ``Sesame Street'' -- see how its merchandise sells, and Barney's, too -- supposedly proves that public television can find mass audiences.
So here ya have folks. We've got another entitlement for the 'Boomer Crowd', the lefties of the 60's and 70's!|||110986394945927130|||For Once I Can Agree With George Will - PBS BE GONE!