PBS vs. RNC
Last night I had the good fortune of watching the PBS mini-series “Guns, Germs, Steel”. It’s based on (and features) Jared Diamond’s book of the same title. Really interesting subject matter, as he tries to answer the question of why some cultures have and some have not. If you have the chance, I highly suggest watching.
But that’s not the point of this post. The point I want to make is that the Republican’s attack on PBS is very, very dangerous and should not be taken lightly.
PBS offers a service that is different than any network or cable broadcasting company. Simply put, the programming produced by PBS is of a different breed than the shows we get from other broadcasters. Guns, Germs, Steel would not be produced by–much less aired on–NBC/CBS/FOX/etc. The idea behind PBS is to provide educational, quality television programming as a public service. For-profit broadcasters are ultimately worried about just one factor when deciding which shows to produce and air: profits. This is a crucial distinction and cannot be taken lightly.
Now, I’m no socialist and I do believe in the power of a free market, but there are some very crucial distinctions between profit-driven corporations and the publicly funded PBS. Prime example: reality television. The dozens of reality shows produced in recent years are great for making money. People like to watch their peers experience emotional and physical injury. Advertisers like to buy ad-time for these shows. Everyone wins except Joe American who gains ten pounds and whose brain turns to mush during the television season by sitting on the couch eating junk food for hours.
PBS doesn’t produce reality TV. PBS takes seriously their responsibility to produce engaging, enlightening, educational programming. More importantly, PBS is the only remaining source for news programming written by journalists and not lobbyists. With no corporate advertisers, PBS journalists can practice true journalism and not be afraid of financial ruin.
Why do the Republicans hate PBS so? Part of it is their general contempt for any public, shared good. Fair enough. But I wager that there is more to it. The current Republican agenda centers on shifting more and more power away from democratic institutions and towards private business. PBS represents a gaping hole in their grip on the [formerly] public airwaves. Worse, PBS represents a media source that can’t be purchased by one of the six companies that currently control almost all of our nation’s media outlets. To many Republican ideologues, this is sacrilege.
How can our democracy flourish without a truly free press?
Filed under Uncategorized : Comments (0) : Jul 13th, 2005 by tadfad
