Left-wing TV/radio is irrelevant, a waste of taxpayer funds

For years, the government-owned Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and its affiliates, National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), have been the recipients of large public handouts.

Tax dollars from wealthy, middle-income and lower-income Americans have gone to subsidize programming whose audience is disproportionately upper-income. The dollars flow to CPB and then to PBS and NPR and their member stations in the form of direct handouts as well as tax deductions for contributions made by individual viewers. In 2003, CPB received a $363 million federal appropriation.

When CPB was created in 1967 -- before the Internet, before satellite television, before VCRs or DVDs, before cable TV with hundreds of channels -- a stronger case could be made that there was a public benefit to subsidize other voices and programming. But now, with the media explosion of the past quarter century, there is certainly little justification left for public subsidies.

Why continue to underwrite Julia Child and Emeril Lagasse -- especially when viewers can watch the Food Network, where the latter often appears?

Why subsidize history programming on PBS when viewers have the History Channel or can rent history documentaries at their local video store?

Along with all the stations on free radio, listeners can tune in over the Internet to hundreds of stations all over the world. And for less than $10 a month, listeners can receive the 100 channels of XM Radio in their cars and homes.

Further, while PBS and NPR have perhaps made some improvement in recent years, they still often reveal a substantial leftward bias.

Recently, NPR's ombudsman harshly criticized host Terry Gross for being unfair to conservative Bill O'Reilly in an interview. Gross repeatedly referenced material from Al Franken's book that is highly critical of O'Reilly and as the ombudsman observed, 'By the time the interview was about halfway through, it felt as though Terry Gross was indeed `carrying Al Franken's water.' ''

In discussing NPR, Richard Rahn observes that the public subsidies and leftward tilt are related events: ``NPR will never be fair and balanced. Because it depends on government, it will always support government spending over the rights and needs of taxpayers. It attracts a staff that is hostile to the private sector and that loves government.''

PBS and NPR have proven quite capable of generating healthy cash flows. Successful PBS children's programming has produced tremendous revenues.

For example, the show Dragon Tales -- which had received more than $4 million in federal subsidies -- now brings in buckets of cash through sales of books, DVDs, CDs, and other items. Another PBS series, Clifford the Big Red Dog, also has generated big bucks from traditional sources as well as from lucrative deals with candy and cereal makers.

But beyond great success in marketing, PBS and NPR get generous support ''from viewers like you.'' Most recently, Joan Kroc, the widow of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc, gave the staggering sum of $200 million to NPR. Surely, with this massive new amount in hand, NPR is more than capable of completely weaning itself from taxpayer dollars.

In the 1960s, when television comprised just the three major networks, the Internet was undreamed of and media choices were greatly limited, there was more rationale for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and having tax dollars flow to PBS and NPR.

Today, we live in a different world. It is time to recognize that taxpayers can get a far better return on their dollars elsewhere.

John Berthoud is president of the National Taxpayers Union, a 350,000-member organization dedicated to lower taxes and less wasteful government.

Ah - every post is music to my ears!

Just for all of you, I have secured a transcript from the popular program 'All Leftist Things Considered' for your pleasure...

[The plucked notes of a banjo are heard and the unmistakable crooning of a deep-south, rural African-American man are heard singing a traditional ballad…]

[Over the fading music the host intones:]

HOST: "It's as hot and steamy as a Mississippi crawdad boil. The heavy insect hum is as thick and constant as the color of night in this remote corner of the bayou. From the porch of a floating trailer, 127 year old Hound-dog Harold sings back into the night the strains of a heart that has never known freedom since the Clinton era."

[The volume on the Balladeer rises…]

BALLADEER: "Yas, Suh!"

[The Balladeer's voice recedes and the voice of the Host comes up. The staccato notes of the banjo mimic the cadence of the speaker's voice as though they were scripted]

HOST: "It would seem reasonable to most Americans caught up in the hectic rhythms of their daily lives to pay little or no attention to the folk wisdom of Americans 2,000 miles away from anything remotely resembling civilization. But the deep spiritual power of these aged voices will not be silenced and, tonight, they will be heard."

[The over-voice fades and the balladeer comes up as he finishes a riff. He pauses, as though giving credence to what the Host is saying and says:]

BALLADEER: "Yas, Lawd!"

[The thrum of the insects is now brought up and the faint sounds of hip-hop can be detected as contrapuntal notes. A fade to NYC traffic noise takes the listener from the Mississippi bayou to 5th avenue at five o'clock in the evening. The bustle of pedestrians can be heard over the breathless reporting of Host's narrative.]

HOST: "This is New York City. The 'Big Apple.' The city where nothing ever sleeps. Whatever you want to call it, this is the main vein of American hopes and dreams.

Despite what folk wisdom might say, whatever is spoken from the pulpits in the Heartland's churches and in the corner booth of the truck-stop cafes tomorrow is written and performed in clubs and studios here, tonight. And tonight, we're going to hear voices from the forgotten, REAL America…"

[Again, the Mississippi Balladeer. Volume comes up…}

BALLADEER: "…let my people go…"

[Fade on the Balladeer}

HOST: "We're here in the club district of New York to listen to the newest sensation that has riveted critic and club-goers alike. The fresh sound of America's grimy backside. In the club we're about to enter, all of the most important people in America have gathered together tonight to listen to authentic backwater music and nosh on catfish canapés."

[The clink of glasses and a bartender is heard saying: "Here's your white wine spritzer, Sir."]

HOST: "The contrast between the primal sounds we'll hear to night and the cosmopolitan noise of traffic outside is a gulf between two worlds. Not unlike the rift between what some see as the run-away policies of the navel-gazing Bush administration and the harsh realities of the workin' for a livin' struggle that everyone outside of New York must endure.

The 'elder-wisdom' of these men, these American balladeers, is unmistakably chiseled in their wrinkled brows, their stubbled chins, their whisky-rough voices, their prison tattoos, their toothless mouths and their cigarette smoke wreathed faces. A new generation of patriots will be born tonight as the underbelly of America speaks out against oppression…

[A wild guitar note is plucked. A cracked voice wails…]

BALLADEER: "Ya' know I love to lick yo' gravy, Baby! Woan' ju set still and ride? Well, I love ta lick yo' gravy, Baby…"

[Balladeer fades. Host comes up…]

HOST: "The love of these people for their heritage is strong. Pulsing as clear and bright as the sunrise at dawn over the Delta, these men of the earth are unmistakable in their calm, patient patriotism. Waiting for a new day of freedom to dawn, their humble songs harken to better times ahead…"

[Host fades. Balladeer comes up…]

BALLADEER: "Ah cut his ass wif a piece of glass an' he doan ho' no mo'…"

[Balladeer fades. Host comes up…]

HOST: Its clear that America's salt-of-the-earth folks have been hardest hit by the Bush economic policies. In the face of such woe and the power of common wisdom, what defense can be mounted from Washington's high towers for the arrogant disregard of the oil-fattened frat-boy as he surveys his kingdom from Pennsylvania Avenue?

[Host fades. Balladeer comes up…]

BALLADEER: "Gimme a drank o' thet wine. I said, gimme a drank o' thet wine. It sho' been a long time since I ever done poontang that fine…"

[Balladeer fades for the last time. Host comes up…]

HOST: "Outside the club, the night is dark. Down on the bayou where these men have journeyed from, it is dark as well. In fact, all across America, it's just plain dark as hell. The stinking, choking, stygian blackness of Republicanism is like being buried alive! I…can't…stand it! I've, I've, I've…got…to…to get…away! F-Fr-ance…yes! Mon amis…arghhhh…je suis mort!

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