July will prove a significant month for public broadcasting, and efforts to protect the public's airwaves will take on great significance. The bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee in June with $95 million in cuts to the budget for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will soon be up for debate on the House floor - and so will the future of public television and radio.
In a July 3 National Review article, Kate O'Beirne & Richard Lowry wrote:
Republicans ought to pledge to eliminate CPB funding entirely and redirect the hundreds of millions to homeland-security needs, including restoring the scheduled cuts to New York and Washington, D.C. Let's see what Hillary Clinton does when she is asked to choose between protecting Big Bird and the Brooklyn Bridge.
But saving the CPB is about far more than saving Big Bird. (Though it is important to note that the proposed budget cuts will eliminate funding for Ready To Learn, the service that produces shows like Sesame Street and characters like Big Bird.) The CPB is important not only because of characters like Big Bird, Clifford, and Elmo, but because public broadcasting is a critical source of public affairs and election coverage. Public broadcasting connects people to their communities, by airing local news and artists. Moreover, when a few media conglomerates control the vast majority of our airwaves, public broadcasting is one of the few remaining outlets for journalists to report the news, unfettered by concerns of angering their corporate owners.
You are not logged in.
In order to post a comment, you must be logged in. If you have a member account, please log in to comment.
If not, you can make an account just by filling out the form below. It's quick and free.
