PBS Scrutiny Raises Political Antennas
Is PBS being forced to toe a more conservative line in its programming by the Republican-dominated agency that provides federal funds to the service? Officials at that agency - the Corporation for Public Broadcasting - say they're merely seeking to ensure "balance and fairness." How do "you" spell F-O-X?
PBS Scrutiny Raises Political Antennas
3 Comments:
So many fronts to cover. Market control of the media only works for the public good if the controlling corporation isn't filled with those answering to the conservative agenda. Jody's article puts it right on. The CPB and PBS are increasingly managed by these conservatives that go as far as we let them.
On another front...
You may have noticed that Republicans in Washington are trying to push conservative judges on America. The catch is that Congressional support isn't there to hire these judges. So, they want to change the rules by lessinging the congressional consensus. And all this to please the social conservative voters who now expect something for their loyalty (votes).
That said, the filibuster is all we've got as a minority party. Don't let Republicans take this away!
We do have a say. Luckily, we are constituents of two legislators that are charged with deciding if filibuster rules should be changed.
Steve King is on the House Judiciary Committee. Chuck Grassley is on the Senate Judiciary Committee. They both have staffers paid to gather public opinion.
Please do the following:
Call the legislator
Grassley -- 202-224-3744
King -- 202-225-4426
A nice staffer will answer the phone. Tell this person:
You are a constituent. You do not want the filibuster rules changed. There are important economic issues we are facing in Iowa -- the legislator should concentrate on these.
That's it. You've done your duty.
Government control, rather. Freudian slip. I was thinking that this government wants eventual market control, to stop funding public media altogether.
The Nation today published a story on this called "Republican Broadcasting Corporation"...
A majority of the CPB’s eight-member board—chaired by Ken Tomlinson, a good friend of Karl Rove—are now Republican appointees. Two of the newest, Gay Hart Gaines and Cheryl Halpern, have donated more $800,000 to the Republican Party since 1995. Gaines once ran a political action committee for Newt Gingrich, who as speaker of the House pushed to “zero out” all of PBS’s federal funding. In 2003, PBS President Pat Mitchell offered Gingrich a town-hall style show. It would’ve happened if Gingrich wasn’t already under contract with Fox News.
Ironically, the CPB was created to shield PBS from political pressure, just as PBS was intended to address the “needs of unserved and underserved audiences.”
The article
We are behind the game on TV control. Another medium --the Internet -- is still a fair playing field. It's no surprise that we have to focus on saving that, as well, from conservatives in the FEC who want to assign market rates for click-thrus to campaign sites, the value of which would be counted as a campaign donation.
http://news.com.com/The+coming+crackdown+on+blogging/2008-1028_3-5597079.html
We also have to watch the conservative FCC, who want to regulate Internet spectrum space. I don't have to tell you who gets first dibs on spectrum space -- the TV industry is a good model.
What can we do? Elect Democrats that will give us a fair deal. And it wouldn't hurt if the DNC started forming alliances and grooming individuals who work for our principles.
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