Posted on 03/19/2011 7:46:06 PM PDT by TheConservativeCitizen
For the past couple days members of my circle on facebook who are known to be not-so-conservatives have been whining and nashing their new crowns on the House of Representatives “de-funding” NPR and PBS.
Any viable enterprise should be able to survive without government support. In the case of NPR spinning out on their own would not be a far stretch. NPR has its own programming and news bureau which is followed by a core of listeners. That’s the traditional business model for radio and if the powers that be at NPR can make it work as a non-profit, more power to them. Federal dollars supporting NPR amount to 10% of operating costs according to most sources. If they can raise 90% in a stressed fundraising environment, they should be able to raise the rest.
PBS, on the other hand, is a different story. PBS’s business model is for a series of non-profits to buy third party programming and rebroadcast it with no advertising revenue. Prime time slots are programmed with the same material nationwide so as to market it more effectively. That’s not the way to make a profit in the entertainment world. Which, of course, is the point. PBS has big-dollar corporate sponsorships, membership dues from it’s affiliates, public fundraising drives for much of its costs, but not the same large percentage going toward operations that NPR does. Federal dollars make up the rest.
Federal dollars come with a lot of strings. A lot of strings. This is why many non-profits chose to forgo them. For whatever reason, NPR and PBS have retained their federal dollars in their fundraising plans. This must effect their programming in some way, because equal time guidelines have to be met. How they are met is not outlined to my knowledge, but as a conservative, I forgo their political programming. That is my choice as a consumer – as it is my choice not to “belong” to the local PBS affiliate.
Frankly, it’s about time that someone, somewhere started putting the mechanisms into place to spin both broadcasting arms out of government funding. If we can’t afford to pay our troops who keep us safe, how can we afford to broadcast material that doesn’t have enough market share to attract advertisers?
I think it is spelled gnashing, not nashing. 98% sure.
otherwise.... BUMP
BINGO!
De-fund!
De-fund!
De-fund!
NOW!
True that!
There is no reason whatsoever that government should be funding PBS or NPR or Pacifica or Planned Parenthood or anything else that is not part of the government.
As a matter of fact the government should claim ownership of a bunch of those stations and sell them.
Somebody ought to be looking into the possibility of making better offers to the handful of npr programs which are worth bothering with and which are not political. The Car Guys would be such a case.
Sesame Street makes enough selling it’s Chinese produced merchandise that they don’t even need ANY more government funding.
And hey, we’re fair!
In return for cutting federal funding of NPR and PBS, they can cut all federal funds going to Fox News and the EIB Network.
"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." – Thomas Jefferson, 1779.
...and NPR and PBS propagate horrible opinions which I disbelieve and abhor DAILY.
The next CR should include these cuts as well as Planned Parenthood and the National Endowment of the Arts. If the dems vote these spending cuts down, then the onus is on their heads for shutting the government down.
Soros’ll never let ‘em go off the air - he’ll find some loose change someplace to keep ‘em going.....
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