Democracy Now: PBS TV Station President Warns CPB Funding Cuts Will Launch "Spiral of Death for Public Broadcasting"

Some left-leaning colleagues have commented lately that it really doesn't matter if PBS is defunded (of course, even more are seriously pissed off and are attempting to stop this move)... I think that this attitude ignores the important role PBS and NPR play in initiating critical thought in our citizens. True, they are not radical as many would desire (and perhaps that is valuable in itself), but they are an intelligent option that does reach those that do not access other independent, alternative news and entertainment agencies. NPR and public radio stations also play vital roles in providing forums for independent artists and presenting diverse issues and opinions on our radio airwaves (much better than the piped in dreck of the corporate airwaves). For instance, where else on TV (where for better or worse most people get their info about the world), are you going to find a documentary criticizing the role of private warriors in Iraq? For more on that show check out Frontline: Private Warriors

In the last class that I showed Amy Goodman's documentary Independent Media in a Time of War I asked my 25 students how many of them had heard of Amy Goodman and 5 said they had heard her broadcasts for Democracy Now. All five of these students had heard it on the afternoon local NPR radio station (two on their own and three when there parents were playing the station) and none of them knew that you could access the show online for free. What will be lost through the defunding of this important public resource?

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PBS TV Station President Warns CPB Funding Cuts Will Launch "Spiral of Death for Public Broadcasting"
Special Report by Amy Goodman
Democracy Now

On Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee voted to drastically cut
funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. We host a roundtable
discussion on the continuing fight over public broadcasting in this country
with the presidents of two PBS stations as well as Jeff Chester of the
Center for Digital Democracy.

Watch/Listen/Read