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From an ideological perspective, the idea of any state-run media is pretty dissonant with my views. Being opposed to the very idea of PBS or anything like it is

From an ideological perspective, the idea of any state-run media is pretty dissonant with my views. Being opposed to the very idea of PBS or anything like it is a totally understandable position. The case for PBS is a pragmatic one: it serves millions of kids everyday and supplies unrivaled public educational programming, for what most would consider a very reasonable public expenditure. I completely agree that other agencies should look to PBS as a financial model to be emulated.[1] But it's unfair to discount the validity of your opponent's argument just because the pragmatic counter-argument is strong. [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/pentagon-loses-sight-of-500-million-in-counterterrorism-aid-given-to-yemen/2015/03/17/f4ca25ce-cbf9-11e4-8a46-b1dc9be5a8ff_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/penta...

wilg 10y ago
There's an important distinction between https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_broadcasting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_broadcasting and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_media https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_media though. I'm pretty into the former but share your distaste for the latter.
- gingerbread-man 10y ago
  From a practical perspective I completely agree, but my nightmare scenario for PBS isn't seeing it defunded, but seeing it lose some or all editorial control. That scenario seems very unlikely at present, but not impossible. I just wanted to point out that it's not a completely unreasonable case to make.
gavinpc 10y ago
I certainly believe people who say they want to cut PBS simply because they don't like it, or don't see it as the government's province. But in the context of trying to balance the federal budget over time, PBS is beyond a micro-optimiziation (if, indeed, it would not actually backfire in the long term). I'm willing to assume that anyone who puts it on their shortlist is being disingenuous about their motives.
gibbitz 10y ago
I see media as being at least partly behind this. They can't advertise toys and games to kids on PBS. Regardless of how much time kids spend watching ads on non-PBS channels, there could always be more. The broadcaster hunger for these ad dollars can't be greater than now, when kids and their parents have other media vying for control of their time (internet video, I'm looking at you). It's completely in the wheelhouse of broadcasters and cable providers to try to meddle with policy through lobbying and strategic placement in policymaking positions. If only our government were transparent enough to follow the money...

wilg 10y ago

There's an important distinction between https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_broadcasting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_broadcasting and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_media https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_media though. I'm pretty into the former but share your distaste for the latter.

gingerbread-man 10y ago
From a practical perspective I completely agree, but my nightmare scenario for PBS isn't seeing it defunded, but seeing it lose some or all editorial control. That scenario seems very unlikely at present, but not impossible. I just wanted to point out that it's not a completely unreasonable case to make.

gavinpc 10y ago

I certainly believe people who say they want to cut PBS simply because they don't like it, or don't see it as the government's province. But in the context of trying to balance the federal budget over time, PBS is beyond a micro-optimiziation (if, indeed, it would not actually backfire in the long term). I'm willing to assume that anyone who puts it on their shortlist is being disingenuous about their motives.

gibbitz 10y ago

I see media as being at least partly behind this. They can't advertise toys and games to kids on PBS. Regardless of how much time kids spend watching ads on non-PBS channels, there could always be more. The broadcaster hunger for these ad dollars can't be greater than now, when kids and their parents have other media vying for control of their time (internet video, I'm looking at you). It's completely in the wheelhouse of broadcasters and cable providers to try to meddle with policy through lobbying and strategic placement in policymaking positions. If only our government were transparent enough to follow the money...