I'm pretty certain that if public libraries didn't already exist and someone proposed the idea now it would be labeled "woke" and "socialist" and not get anywhere. We're in a very weird era, but pendulums swing and this too shall pass (in the meantime lots of damage is being done).
Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations
171–180 of 646 posts
Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
Rural stations relied heavily on CPB funding; urban stations get most of their funding from donations or corporate underwriting. So big city public TV and radio will survive, but those in less populated areas might go under unless some other source of funding is found.
I agree overall that this is not a good thing for also furthering a knowledge gap between rural and urban areas. But in the age of internet streaming, wouldn't rural areas still have access to stream public radio? Genuinely asking. I tried looking for sources on station audience sizes, alternatives they might have, etc. But it was difficult to find.
Local reporting is basically dead outside of metro areas.
Sure, you can stream, but the content will be focused on another locale or won't address local issues.
Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations
#173What's really horrifying here is that, even if the appetite for funding CPB were to come back in 2026, 2028, or whenever, you can't just spin it up again; those people have moved on, those assets are liquidated. You would have to start up again pretty much from scratch. That's why this careless crusade against governmental institutions is so horrific. Institutions with decades of history are being destroyed, and it w…
I guess I just don’t find that as horrifying as you do. The market cannot hold public broadcasting accountable, and this is one of the few levers that we have to do so.
Conservatives have wanted to defund public broadcasting for decades. What made it finally possible was that public broadcasting made their bias obvious and undeniable. Over the past 10 years, the stark shift leftward has been undeniable — they became what they’ve been accused of being for a very long time.
Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations
#174Earlier quoted context omitted.
A lot of people are unable to see their own political bias; they look at BBC or Fox News and see “unbiased true reporting”. I highly suggest using Ground News (ground.news) for a week or a month as your sole portal into news stories, and then use their features to analyze bias in your selection of news stories and outlets. I use it regularly to try to offset my own biases.
Also the Wikipedia Current Events portal [1]. It’s definitely biased by the Wikipedia editors decisions on what to add there (especially the “Topics in the News” box) but it gives a more or less neutral dump of the daily events. It’s pretty much the only place I know to find news on all the conflicts that Western media tends to ignore. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Current_events
Notably when I was checking the Current Events Portal for a while, most coverage of the Israel/Hamas war was sourced from Al Jazeera and it definitely felt biased. Checking it just now, it appears to be more balanced now.
Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thats expected. In functioning democracies state media is run for the purpose not profit. It doesnt have the corrupting influence of political money. PBS in the US could be so much better. Just look at what BBC is able to do in the UK.
>Just at what BBC is able to do in the UK. Every household that watches BBC in the UK needs to pay £174.50 ($230) a year. (the wording here has to be done carefully, let's not digress into being exact on who has to pay it) Federal funding for public media distributed out to $1.54 per person in the US last year. There's... uh... a bit of a difference in the national funding for the BBC and public media in the US.
Every household that has a TV, regardless of their use of the BBC. I don't know why people who essentially use a TV as a monitor for games consoles need to pay it.
Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations
#176This is sad but the US is too diverse to have a single source of public broadcasting. It was always destined to end like this.
Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations
#177I hear many things on broadcast media that are contrary to my values, and tend to prune those sources from my media diet. When I am obliged by law to support those sources anyway, I get resentful. So I have been wishing for this since Ronald Reagan proposed it. To me the bright line of "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech" is crossed at least in spirit when the state seizes a dollar from a…
So the government should just not say anything? Let’s just get all our news from X, the famously truthful platform!
And balanced. Don't forget balanced.
Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations
#178I'm sure the elimination of free, educational content will be great for the working class.
Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations
#179> Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country,” Harrison said. If that was true, losing the CPB would be a travesty. But as a loyal NPR listener for decades, I've found their stuff lately to be unlistenable. It's Fox, but for the Left, and with a bit more of an…
> It's Fox, but for the Left
There was a distinct shift to the right at NPR when Obama took office, and by the time he took his second term, NPR News' social media was posting clickbait trash instead of real headlines. "The liberal media" is an irrational boogeyman used to whip ownership in line. Everyone who complains about "bias in the media" is arguing in bad faith while they continue to turn a blind eye to the overwhelmingly dominant conservative slant of the 21st century American media.
Re: Corporation for Public Broadcasting ceasing operations
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thats expected. In functioning democracies state media is run for the purpose not profit. It doesnt have the corrupting influence of political money. PBS in the US could be so much better. Just look at what BBC is able to do in the UK.
>Just at what BBC is able to do in the UK. This is funny because BBC is a prime example of being a propaganda channel for the government of the day. And that's not new at all just look back at the coverage of the Troubles or the miners strikes in the 70s-80s. Yes it's not on the level of CGTN or Russia Today but BBC is not neutral at all https://theconversation.com/hard-evidence-how-biased-is-the-...
It would help a lot if you would offer some points of comparison for which channels you think do a better job in this area.