What is the point of PBS and NPR?

[eohrnberger]

What appears might be an interesting discussion broke out in the cartoons thread.

Ah yes ... PBS and NPR -- just like North Korea.

Neither PBS nor NPR are "government run." They are independently run non-profits.

Why does the tax payer have to support a media outlet? An arguably leftist one at that.
Why are they incapable of competing in the marketplace of ideas? If their coverage is all so superior?

Why do you post memes lying about what PBS and NPR actually are?

Save me the taxpayer and "marketplace of ideas" garbage. That's not the point of PBS and NPR. I know in Conservaland, money rules all and all that stuff, but get serious for once.

Not wanting to run afoul of the cartoon thread rules, I thought I'd bring the discussion here.

Kobie, now granted the meme is a bit over the top, but I'd like to understand more of your points "Save me the taxpayer and "marketplace of ideas" garbage. That's not the point of PBS and NPR."

Specifically:
What is the point of NPR and PBS?
Why do you think that the taxpayer and "marketplace of ideas" is a garbage position?

Does not NPR and PBS receive at least some of their funding from the government, i.e. the tax payers?

And do please elaborate as to what is 'point' of NPR and PBS.

 

[Kobie]

Oy vey.

You need someone to explain to you why public broadcasting exists?

 

[Unitedwestand13]

What appears might be an interesting discussion broke out in the cartoons thread.

​

Not wanting to run afoul of the cartoon thread rules, I thought I'd bring the discussion here.

Kobie, now granted the meme is a bit over the top, but I'd like to understand more of your points "Save me the taxpayer and "marketplace of ideas" garbage. That's not the point of PBS and NPR."

Specifically:
What is the point of NPR and PBS?
Why do you think that the taxpayer and "marketplace of ideas" is a garbage position?

Does not NPR and PBS receive at least some of their funding from the government, i.e. the tax payers?

And do please elaborate as to what is 'point' of NPR and PBS.

PBS and NPR require government funding because they use local broadcasters that depend on funding to stay active

 

[ocean515]

What appears might be an interesting discussion broke out in the cartoons thread.

​

Not wanting to run afoul of the cartoon thread rules, I thought I'd bring the discussion here.

Kobie, now granted the meme is a bit over the top, but I'd like to understand more of your points "Save me the taxpayer and "marketplace of ideas" garbage. That's not the point of PBS and NPR."

Specifically:
What is the point of NPR and PBS?
Why do you think that the taxpayer and "marketplace of ideas" is a garbage position?

Does not NPR and PBS receive at least some of their funding from the government, i.e. the tax payers?

And do please elaborate as to what is 'point' of NPR and PBS.

I think to understand "the point", one needs to be old enough to remember why PBS and NPR came to be.

Both were designed to provide programing that did not have commercial considerations.

Of course, this was before Cable with 100's of channels, and Sat Radio with it spectrum of programing.

Today, very little funding comes from the government. Also, both have become politicized, as evidenced by the over the top reaction to cutting the tiny bit of government funding both receive.

 

[Kobie]

| CPB

 

[eohrnberger]

According to NPR, here is where their funding comes from.

Public Radio Finances : NPR

Admittedly, 14% isn't much, seems like they could close that gap with a bit more fund raising.

On the flip side, some of the expenses they incur.

...The executives at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which distributes the taxpayer money allocated for public broadcasting to other stations, are also generously compensated. According to CPB's 2009 tax forms, President and CEO Patricia de Stacy Harrison received $298,884 in reportable compensation and another $70,630 in other compensation from the organization and related organizations that year. That's practically a pittance compared to Kevin Klose, president emeritus of NPR, who received more than $1.2 million in compensation, according to the tax forms the nonprofit filed in 2009.

Today's media landscape is a thriving one with few barriers to entry and many competitors, unlike when CPB was created in 1967. In 2011, Americans have thousands of news, entertainment and educational programs to choose from that are available on countless television, radio and Web outlets.

Despite how accessible media has become to Americans over the years, funding for CPB has grown considerably. In 2001, the federal government appropriated $340 million for CPB. Last year it got $420 million. As Congress considers ways to close the $14 trillion deficit, cutting funding for the CPB has even been proposed by President Obama's bipartisan deficit reduction commission. Instead, Mr. Obama wants to increase CPB's funding to $451 million in his latest budget.

Meanwhile, highly successful, brand-name public programs like Sesame Street make millions on their own. "Sesame Street," for example, made more than $211 million from toy and consumer product sales from 2003-2006. Sesame Workshop President and CEO Gary Knell received $956,513 in compensation in 2008. With earnings like that, Big Bird doesn't need the taxpayers to help him compete against the Nickleodeon cable channel's Dora the Explorer.
WATCH LIVE: President Donald Trump Rally in Louisville, KY - Fox Nation

From another source:

And they know this so one must look deeper to find the source of their phony outrage and upon lifting a few rocks the answers magically appear.

And you will be shocked when you discover what PBS and NPR executive make. PBS pays their president, Paula Kerger, a $632,233 yearly salary. CEO Gary Knell received $956,513!

Now, remember this is Washington so they will lobby and get all their other employees who are sucking on the government teat to lobby and donate and save their salaries.
https://www.worldnewspolitics.com/2017/03/19/wont-believe-much-pbs-npr-executives-make/

But the question still stands. Why does the government and tax payers, need to support this?

What is it about those local broadcasters that's so important?

 

[Unitedwestand13]

According to NPR, here is where their funding comes from.

Admittedly, 14% isn't much, seems like they could close that gap with a bit more fund raising.

On the flip side, some of the expenses they incur.

From another source:


But the question still stands. Why does the government and tax payers, need to support this?

What is it about those local broadcasters that's so important?

Because apart from the local broadcasters who would bother?

 

[eohrnberger]

I think to understand "the point", one needs to be old enough to remember why PBS and NPR came to be.

Both were designed to provide programing that did not have commercial considerations.

Of course, this was before Cable with 100's of channels, and Sat Radio with it spectrum of programing.

Today, very little funding comes from the government. Also, both have become politicized, as evidenced by the over the top reaction to cutting the tiny bit of government funding both receive.

Perhaps not commercial considerations, but seems they've picked up ideological considerations along the way.

Given the change in the broadcasting landscape, where there are indeed 100's of cable channels to chose from, and even more Internet streaming from acorss the nation, if not the planet, has NPR and PBS not outlived their non-commercial considerations?

 

[eohrnberger]

| CPB

Clicking on the link, I get:

Forbidden

You don't have permission to access /aboutcpb/goals/goalsandobjectives on this server.

Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

I can see that this should be a page about CPB's goals and objectives, can you revise with a link that works please?

 

[Kobie]

Clicking on the link, I get:


I can see that this should be a page about CPB's goals and objectives, can you revise with a link that works please?

The link should read www . cpb.org/aboutcpb/goals/goalsandobjectives (obviously without the spaces before the first dot). Not sure why it's not working for you, it worked fine for me when I tried it from the post.

| CPB

 

[Henrin]

Oy vey.

You need someone to explain to you why public broadcasting exists?

Sure, go ahead.

 

[ocean515]

Because apart from the local broadcasters who would bother?

Exactly. PBS and NPR have become political animals. Why else would George Soros give so much money to them?

Let them swim in the marketplace.

 

[Dragonfly]

PBS offered age appropriate television to small children without inundating them with advertising and marketing.

Much of it was also lightly educational.

So yeah, it had value.

I don't know if it still does, but it sure did about 15 years ago.

 

[Fletch]

Oy vey.

You need someone to explain to you why public broadcasting exists?

Id like to hear that explanation too, kobie.

 

[Kobie]

Perhaps not commercial considerations, but seems they've picked up ideological considerations along the way.

Given the change in the broadcasting landscape, where there are indeed 100's of cable channels to chose from, and even more Internet streaming from acorss the nation, if not the planet, has NPR and PBS not outlived their non-commercial considerations?

Ah yes, this again. Anything that doesn't march in lockstep with conservative dogma is biased against them!

 

[Henrin]

| CPB

Sounds like something we could cut.

 

[Fearandloathing]

What appears might be an interesting discussion broke out in the cartoons thread.

​

Not wanting to run afoul of the cartoon thread rules, I thought I'd bring the discussion here.

Kobie, now granted the meme is a bit over the top, but I'd like to understand more of your points "Save me the taxpayer and "marketplace of ideas" garbage. That's not the point of PBS and NPR."

Specifically:
What is the point of NPR and PBS?
Why do you think that the taxpayer and "marketplace of ideas" is a garbage position?

Does not NPR and PBS receive at least some of their funding from the government, i.e. the tax payers?

And do please elaborate as to what is 'point' of NPR and PBS.

In this country we have the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation of which I was told is the largest broadcasting company in the world with two television networks, English and French, two all news services, English and French, two AM radio services, English and French two FM channels English and French, Two world short wave radio channels English and French, and two radio stations to serve the Caribbean since so many of us live there.

So I don't really have much of a problem with NPR.

What I do like about CBC radio is that it is commercial free.

 

[eohrnberger]

The link should read www . cpb.org/aboutcpb/goals/goalsandobjectives (obviously without the spaces before the first dot). Not sure why it's not working for you, it worked fine for me when I tried it from the post.

| CPB

No idea.

How close does WikiPedia's entry track the CPB's page?

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress and funded by the United States federal government to promote and help support public broadcasting.[SUP][2][/SUP]
CPB’s mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, high-quality content and telecommunications services. It does so by distributing more than 70% of its funding to more than 1,400 locally owned public radio and television stations.[SUP][3][/SUP]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation_for_Public_Broadcasting

 

[chuckiechan]

I think to understand "the point", one needs to be old enough to remember why PBS and NPR came to be.

Both were designed to provide programing that did not have commercial considerations.

Of course, this was before Cable with 100's of channels, and Sat Radio with it spectrum of programing.

Today, very little funding comes from the government. Also, both have become politicized, as evidenced by the over the top reaction to cutting the tiny bit of government funding both receive.

Basically in the days of NBC, CBS, and ABC, there was no way to broadcast programing that was "fringe" - like ballet, opera, etc. They didn't have the following to create enough of an audience to interest the "big three", so PBS was created.

That need has vanished.

And the royalties from Big Bird's and other Sesame Street merchandise alone can probably support the station, along with donations from rich democrats. Did I say "democrats"? They have up and fired new people who voiced conservative ideas or went of Fox News, and have threatened others for lesser slights. Juan williams was threatened and quit and went to work for Fox. Mara Liasson, withstood the intimidation, and is still there. You are not allowed conservative thought on PBS.

The need for a government supported partisan broadcasting network has also vanished because it should have never been there in the first place.

 

[Kobie]

No idea.

How close does WikiPedia's entry track the CPB's page?

It's the Cliff's Notes version.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967. CPB's mission is to ensure universal access, over-the-air and online, to high-quality content and telecommunications services that are commercial free and free of charge. It does this in conjunction with non-commercial educational telecommunications licensees across America.

The purpose of public media is to provide programs and services that inform, educate, enlighten, and enrich the public and help inform civil discourse essential to American society. It is CPB's particular responsibility to encourage the development of content that involves creative risk and that addresses the needs of unserved and underserved audiences, especially children and minorities. CPB acts as a guardian of the mission and purposes for which public broadcasting was established.

The Board of Directors established the Goals and Objectives to set CPB's strategic direction. The Goals and Objectives, which are periodically reviewed and updated by the Board, are set forth on the following page. They outline three broad areas of impact: Content and Services, Innovation, and Support for Public Media.

CPB awards grants in support of content and services that are educational, innovative, locally relevant, and reflective of America's common values and cultural diversity. Under a framework referred to as the “three Ds” — Digital, Diversity, and Dialogue — CPB's grants support innovation on digital platforms; content that is for, by and about the diverse communities we seek to serve; and content and services that foster dialogue and engagement among members of the audience and the broader community.

There's more (it's essentially a mission statement), but nothing that's not basically covered by the preamble.

 

[calamity]

Exactly. PBS and NPR have become political animals. Why else would George Soros give so much money to them?

Let them swim in the marketplace.

Soros? :lol:

Funders | PBS NewsHour

Nope, No Soros on that list. You have got to find yourself a new boogieman.

 

[eohrnberger]

It's the Cliff's Notes version.



There's more (it's essentially a mission statement), but nothing that's not basically covered by the preamble.

Thanks for the quote.

All laudable goals, I have to admit. But why does the tax payer have to support it?

Given only 14% of their operating budget is from the government.
Given that they have valuable intellectual and artistic assets that are probably undervalued, and could earn more revenue for them.
Given that the TV and radio broadcast landscape has altered significantly since CPB's inception.

Why is it that tax payer needs to fund this? Seems they are more than capably equipped to fund themselves.

 

[eohrnberger]

In this country we have the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation of which I was told is the largest broadcasting company in the world with two television networks, English and French, two all news services, English and French, two AM radio services, English and French two FM channels English and French, Two world short wave radio channels English and French, and two radio stations to serve the Caribbean since so many of us live there.

So I don't really have much of a problem with NPR.

What I do like about CBC radio is that it is commercial free.

I agree, commercial free is nice. Major plus with a DVR is to be able to skip past the commercials.

 

[Fearandloathing]

I agree, commercial free is nice. Major plus with a DVR is to be able to skip past the commercials.

Even better they archive all programs on line. Missed that comedy special Saturday...no problem

There are several programs on NPR from the CBC. I know at least one comedy show, The Irrelevant Show I think is also broadcast on NPR. I love it as its all spontaneous comedy. They also have a show The Art of Persuasion where a narrator gives the inside scoop on advertising in history...A fascinating show.

I have never missed having a TV.

 

[PirateMk1]

Exactly. PBS and NPR have become political animals. Why else would George Soros give so much money to them?

Let them swim in the marketplace.

A lot of their programing already does essentially. Sesame Street being a prime example. Only 5% of their budget comes from the Feds.