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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – We used to air news stories during the Christmas season about shoppers getting into brawls over the last Tickle Me Elmo. It was the hottest gift for years. At the start of the school year, kids show up at class with their Big Bird lunchboxes. And Bert and Ernie pencil boxes. And Oscar The Grouch jackets and Cookie Monster hats and mittens.
And yet we are told that if federal funding goes away, so will Sesame Street. Bull! This is the most successfully marketed children’s programming ever. Surely some of the licensing revenue could make up for our tax dollars.
We are told that public broadcasting is essential. They cover stories that for-profit newsrooms don’t. Over my career, I’ve had several friends who’ve worked in both public and private broadcasting. Their comparisons are all the same. Public broadcasting’s liberal bias is real. Their stations are fat with staff who tend to have a much lighter workload than their for-profit counterparts. There are hundreds of public stations that don’t pay for their studios, or their transmitter sites, or all of their administrative costs. They’re affiliated with colleges and universities that absorb some or all of these costs.
We’re told that without public broadcasting, the fine arts would disappear from the airwaves. I’m unconvinced. The hottest ticket on Broadway is Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal in Othello. In Washington DC the waiting list for events at the Kennedy Center is legendary. Surely these patrons of the arts could donate generously to their local public broadcasting outlet. They could even get a tote bag or golf umbrella.
If taxpayers claw back the $500-million that goes to public broadcasting, it would actually be a happy day for PBS. When they stand on their own – through donations and corporate sponsorships – they can finally break free of the tired, obvious bias argument. Take the taxpayers out of the equation, and they can say “we provide programming that’s to the liking of our audience.”
Chris Conley
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