Public Broadcasters Seek an Extra $300M From Obama Administration
TPMDC has obtained a letter from the leading players in American public broadcasting -- National Public Radio (NPR), PBS Television, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), and the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) -- to White House budget director Peter Orszag.
The letter (read it here) outlines the dire financial straits facing public media and seeks $307 million in additional government funding as part of the president's 2010 budget. In stark terms, the CEOs of the four public broadcasting entities urge the Obama administration to help shield them from a rapid drop in support caused by the economic recession:
Every revenue source upon which our operations depend is under siege. State funding support is in a wholesale free-fall. Financial contributions from foundations and underwriters, at the local and national levels, have declined precipitously. Individual contributions, the bedrock of every public station's annual operating budget, are dropping, reflecting the effects of rising unemployment and declining personal discretionary income.
Looking back to congressional Republicans' failed attempt to cut off their budgets in 2005, the CEOs of the four public broadcasting entities add:
The raw fiscal impact of today's crisis on public broadcasting is at least 50% greater than the cuts initially proposed in 2005.
Funding for public broadcasting is usually approved two years in advance, which made future aid a tempting target for Bush administration cuts as recently as last year. The $307 million being requested by the public media entities is in addition to already-approved 2010 funding, and a pending 2012 request for $542 million.
Josh
Elana
Matt
Eric
Make them put Bill Moyers in charge, before we give them any money.
No telling what kind of Bushian holdovers dwell in the upper-echelons of those "public" broadcasting entities.
No good reason to enable them any more, until we know they once again represent that word "public."
March 11, 2009 12:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly!! I don't care to put $$$ into the hands of those loonies that Bush appointed to PBS' governing board.
March 11, 2009 12:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
the president doesn't appoint anyone to the board of PBS.
the president appoints the directors at CPB.
March 11, 2009 3:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why so little? Why not $1B--peanuts in today's budget? National Public Radio is a national treasure, and has arguably supplanted The Times as the "newspaper" of record. To allow this precious resource to deteriorate and attrit staff is to hack away at the free flow of unbiased information necessary for the continued functioning of what is left of our democracy. With our finest newspapers under seige, often due to unconscionable debt loads piled on them by vulture capitalists, the health and functioning of NPR grows evermore critical. Relatedly, we need to see newspapers and broadcasters as more of a public utility, like ports, universities or healthcare, i.e. those things which make capitalism itself possible, as opposed just ordinary business ventures on their own. Lose this, and all that remains is rumor and opinion. Sometimes it seems we are dangerously close to that now.
March 11, 2009 12:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
If they do give them money, clean out the gooper swine from NPR news division. I am tired of the incessant use of Hoover,Hudson,Cato,AEI,etc as the total source of "color" commentary as well as biased scrips that seem to come off the Michael Gerson tainted wire. If they dont, let all but PRI turn to dust.
March 11, 2009 12:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Is that really fair? I've been listening to NPR since its inception, and I have yet to hear their news division shilling for Republican apologists, or shaping issues from the wingnut end of the continuum. NPR's centrist stance is what makes it effective, and ultimately guarantees its bipartisan support at budget time. Force it to become Air America, and you've destroyed its value. I love Air America and MSNBC, but not as hard news sources.
March 11, 2009 12:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't think NPR is a right-leaning news source, but it has the same problem as the rest of the MSM: it doesn't do very much actual journalism these days and instead relies on talking head shows to provide "analysis" of events. And because they are dedicated to "balance" they must always find people to express two sides to the argument. Even so, I could stand that, but more often than not, one or both sides is represented by a think tank hack with a political agenda. I don't care if the "expert" is from a liberal or a conservative think tank. By their very nature, their job is to formulate an argument and massage the data into such a way that it appears favorable to their particular agenda--not to inform the public. That is at odds with NPR's stated mission which IS to inform the public.
It all came home to me the other day when I realized I had neglected to listen to my NPR podcasts for the week and yet I seemed to know just as much, if not more, about what was going on in the world than Neal Conan when I got back to listening to him.
March 11, 2009 1:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
bingo.
npr suffers from the same disease that's infected all 'news reporting'/journalism these days. equal time for unequal arguments that epitomizes the misguided 'ideal' of 'we report, you decide'. (though fox's claim, like its 'fair and balanced' claim was always a phony charade, NPR really seems to believe in it.)
however, the quality of the tits for tats on npr IS actually still better than those found on commercial msm. but the problem of finding high-quality, honest arguments from the right is that they are in such short supply.
and the time and detail that NPR devotes to their reporting is what really sets it apart from commercial msm. which i think all goes a long way to explaining why npr listeners are almost always generally more informed (and less mis-informed) than non-npr listeners. (though i think these numbers have been softening a bit.)
March 11, 2009 3:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
I haven't given these clowns a dime in tears, and it isn't because of the recession. You've heard of Voice of America? NPR is Voice of the Village. "moondancing" is absolutely right. Make them clean up their act (beginning with axing Fox Democrat Juan Williams), get rid of the belief tank "scholars" and "fellows," and do some genuine journalism, then they can have all the money they need.
March 11, 2009 12:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree with Lee Gibson. No more money until they get all of the right wing hacks out of ALL public broadcasting administration.
The problem tends to be that whereas the left wingers tend to believe in giving everyone a voice on the air (even the said right wingers), the right tends to shut everyone up except their own echo chamber. This is what killed NPR as the best damn news in the country. The first sign that the right was shutting NPR up was when they shit-canned Bob Edwards for no good reason and put Inskeep and Montagne on instead. Montagne is a lightweight and Inskeep is a right wing hack.
March 11, 2009 2:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Where is the evidence for the extraordinary assertions in your last sentence?
March 11, 2009 2:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
for that matter, where is the evidence that there are any right-wing hacks in NPR's 'administration'? who are they? what are their names? who hired them?
do you even know how NPR's governing board is selected??
(and bob edwards was not shit-canned for political reasons. they got rid of bob edwards in an ill-conceived attempt to grab a younger demographic - and better ratings - for morning edition.)
March 11, 2009 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
NPR's political reporting is garbage and pandering to the right wing. Not a dime for them! Cokie Roberts, Juan Williams, Mara Liasson. Need I say more. Sounds more like a panel for Fox News.
March 11, 2009 3:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sound like a Democracy Now listener to me. forgive my curiosity, but did you vote for Nader?
March 11, 2009 3:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
No money for NPR until they get rid of Juan Williams and Cokie Roberts.
March 11, 2009 3:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
you must be a big fan of monica goodling.
March 11, 2009 3:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ms goodling must be smarter than I thought if she didn't like juan williams or cokie roberts either.
March 11, 2009 3:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Geez, people, I can't stand any of those people either, but I really don't want NPR to sound like Pacifica either.
Personally, I beg them to please just give 'em however the hell much it takes to end the horror of the Spring, Fall and Oops We Didn't Make our Goal so Here's Another One pledge drives once and for all.
March 11, 2009 3:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
even better ideas:
fire anyone who isn't sufficiently liberal!!!!
require loyalty oaths to the democratic party!!!
play the internationale at the top of every hour!!!
March 11, 2009 3:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
"play the internationale at the top of every hour"
Naw, but I'd go for "La Marsellaise." Aux armes, Citoyens! Formez vos bataillons!
March 11, 2009 4:23 PM | Reply | Permalink