Wednesday, June 11, 2025
The case for public media
Federal funding is threatened (again) for public radio and television. Sigh.
If that happens, it won't get rid of public media-- it will just mean that the strongest stations, in affluent markets, will survive while stations in rural areas shrink or die. It also means that federal influence will be gone. Put it together, and basically public media will become more liberal-- the opposite of what those trying to de-fund it want. But, logic is not much in play here, just retribution.
The fact that public media doesn't rely on advertisers has been very important in American life. For example, children's programming was long captive to advertisers like cereal companies, who supported shows that were as devoid of real content as a box of Sugar Smacks. Then the Children's Television Workshop came along on PBS. That changed everything, and many of us grew up watching television that had some real value.
And that will still happen-- just not in the areas who need it the most, many of them represented by red-state legislators.
