House Committee Screws PBS

[LowerCaseRepublican]

Last week, the House Appropriations Subcommittee voted to slash the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s budget for next year by $100 million and eliminated another $23 million used to pay for shows such as Sesame Street and Arthur. To make matters worse, the subcommittee also voted to entirely eliminate federal funding for the CPB – the government agency that dispenses public funds for PBS stations across the nation -- within two years.

 

What a f***ing crock. If you've got a minute, give your Congressman a call and tell them that these cuts are total and complete bulls***. I'm glad Congress has got a lot of important things on their schedule. Halliburton pilfers billions from US taxpayers in moving empty trailers, outright fraud and who can forget overcharging for items but who cares about that -- we gotta stop federal funds from being wasted on giving children educational programming.

[Balta1701]

You'll note, they also casually took revenge on that "Postcards from Buster" show, which had the audacity to actually show a same-sex couple on it that wasn't immediately on its way to Hell.

 

It lost all its funding too.

 

Seriously, I've always wondered why some of the shows on that network (notably Sesame Street) can't raise enough money to pay for itself solely by selling merchandise. Some of their other programs are worth a little bit of public funds because they're educational, but Sesame Street is such a nationwide icon that it should be able to fund itself.

[FlaSoxxJim]

You'll note, they also casually took revenge on that "Postcards from Buster" show, which had the audacity to actually show a same-sex couple on it that wasn't immediately on its way to Hell.

 

It lost all its funding too.

 

Seriously, I've always wondered why some of the shows on that network (notably Sesame Street) can't raise enough money to pay for itself solely by selling merchandise.  Some of their other programs are worth a little bit of public funds because they're educational, but Sesame Street is such a nationwide icon that it should be able to fund itself.

Who would have thought a Vermont lesbian couple on a kids show could bring down such wrath?

 

As for the Sesame merchandising thing, I suppose it can be done if the tax status of CTW is reworked and if they buy out the licensing contracts to Mattel and other licensees.

 

As the father of two young children, I can tell you that the PBS childrens programing lineup is probably stronger and better produced than it ever has been – no thanks to the repeated cuts in federal funding it has endured over the years.

 

The bottom line is that PBS is evil, NPR is evil, the NEA is evil, and they all need to be starved to death before everybody figures out that they too can be free thinkers.

[southsider2k5]

Great, one of the few public education tools that actually works is being taken out.

[Gene Honda Civic]

Seriously, I've always wondered why some of the shows on that network (notably Sesame Street) can't raise enough money to pay for itself solely by selling merchandise.  Some of their other programs are worth a little bit of public funds because they're educational, but Sesame Street is such a nationwide icon that it should be able to fund itself.

 

I imagine that Sesame Street probably does fund itself, or at least come close. The real black holes are the jewels of PBS. Frontline, Now, etc; those shows take months of reasearch and travel to produce 1 single episode. Not so coincidently these are the same shows that are critical of the bush administration.

[jackie hayes]

Those tax cuts look a whole lot less problematic to people who can't count.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Those tax cuts look a whole lot less problematic to people who can't count.

Zing!

[KipWellsFan]

PBS Updates Editorial Standards

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/a...pbs_standards_2

[FlaSoxxJim]

PBS Updates Editorial Standards

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/a...pbs_standards_2

Seems the smart thing to do.

[Texsox]

It's the next small step towards the Taco Liberty Bell Grande, the Grand "Golden Palace" Canyon, The Lincoln "Financial" Memorial.

[KipWellsFan]

House Votes to Nix CPB Funding Cuts

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,160534,00.html

 

CPB Names Ex-GOP Head as President

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,160509,00.html

"We find it astonishing that Ms. Harrison, given her former prominence as a partisan political figure, would even be considered as a candidate for a job that demands that the occupant be non-political," the senators said in their letter.

 

 

Okay so the President and Chairman are now Republicans if you're keeping score

[LowerCaseRepublican]

I know the vote was a voice vote instead of an electronic one, but is there any way to find out specifically how these House members voted? I mean, I know there is Thomas and stuff but I don't know the legislation Res name etc.

 

Any assistance would be great -- cuz I've been railing on my Congressman for days and want to see if he actually voted on it and if so how he voted.

[Balta1701]

House Votes to Nix CPB Funding Cuts

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,160534,00.html

 

CPB Names Ex-GOP Head as President

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,160509,00.html

Okay so the President and Chairman are now Republicans if you're keeping score

Just remember, as they themselves have said...they're not there to institute a right-wing bias or prevent any balanced reporting on PBS...they're only there to make sure that PBS reflects the values voted for by a majority of Americans.

 

(Someone other than me better be smart enough to pick up the contradiction in those statements. Here's a source.)

[Heads22]

I bet if you keep an eye on CSPAN you can find out.

 

I watched a lot of PBS in elementary school. That and the Simpsons.

[FlaSoxxJim]

I watched a lot of PBS in elementary school. That and the Simpsons.

 

Thus cancelling each other out.

[Balta1701]

I don't see this posted anywhere...but there's an update on this story...it seems PBS escaped the knife in the House. Via the LAT

 

The House of Representatives voted Thursday to restore $100 million in proposed cuts to public television and radio, softening a measure that public broadcasters had warned could cripple small stations.

 

Even as the vote gave solace to public television and radio officials, the board of the nonprofit Corporation for Public Broadcasting tapped a former Republican Party co-chairwoman to lead the agency, alarming Democrats who contend an ideological takeover of public broadcasting is underway.

 

Acting on an amendment from Reps. David R. Obey (D-Wis.), Nita M. Lowey (D-N.Y.) and James A. Leach (R-Iowa), the House voted 284-140 to restore money to the agency's $400-million budget. The measure would be paid for with savings from unrelated federal education, health and labor programs. Eighty-seven Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the amendment.

 

If approved by the House today as part of a larger appropriations bill, the current budget reduction would amount to a 25% cut for public broadcasting — far less than the 46% originally proposed.

 

"This kind of bipartisan support [for the amendment] just kind of cuts through all the clutter about CPB," said John Lawson, president of the Assn. of Public Television Stations. "It says that a lot of people of all political stripes support us and our funding."

 

Despite Thursday's bipartisan vote, the debate fell mostly along party lines, with Republicans arguing that the system has sufficient resources, and Democrats, joined by a few GOP colleagues, countering that the proposed cuts could wipe out small stations.

 

Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Ohio), chairman of the subcommittee that first approved the cuts, said the reductions were necessary to overcome a budget shortfall.

 

"I am a fan of public broadcasting and public radio," said Regula, adding that his grandchildren love "Sesame Street" characters Elmo and Big Bird.

 

"But keep in mind that this was created at a time, some 30-plus years ago, when we didn't have the huge variety of programming that's available today," he said. "And keep in mind, of course, that we have limited amounts of money."

 

Regula and other Republicans pointed out that cable channels had multiplied since the creation of public broadcasting in 1967, and that they now offered the kind of programming found on PBS. They said they believed public broadcasting had sufficient support from corporate and private donors.

 

"Big Bird and his friends can fly on their own," said Rep. Ernest J. Istook Jr. (R-Okla.). "This will not jeopardize any program or any station, because they have ample resources already on hand to make up that difference."

 

Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.) pulled out a poster of Big Bird standing before a pile of cash. "What PBS doesn't want you to know: Big Bird is a billionaire," she said, arguing that the licensing of "Sesame Street" characters brings in more than $1 billion annually.

 

In fact, the royalties bring in about $60 million annually, 60% of the budget of Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit production company that makes "Sesame Street" and other educational programs, according to the workshop's chief executive, Gary Knell.

 

Democrats rejected arguments that public broadcasting could survive on its own, saying the loss in federal funds would shut down small and rural stations that did not have the large base of donors enjoyed by stations in urban areas.

 

"Big Bird will be around, but many small stations won't," said Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.). "You are undermining the fabric of the public station infrastructure that allows it to be seen in the first place."

 

Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) blamed Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, for the proposed cuts, saying he "opened the floodgates of criticism" by questioning the balance in programming.

 

Many Democrats pleased with the House vote nevertheless expressed worry about the future of public broadcasting under the agency's new administrator, Patricia de Stacy Harrison.

 

As its president, Harrison will oversee the private agency that distributes federal funds to public television and radio stations nationwide. She enjoys wide support among GOP conservatives, including chairman Tomlinson, who has set out to right what he perceives as a liberal bias in public broadcasting shows.

 

Harrison's selection drew criticism from liberal groups, who said she was too partisan and had no background in broadcasting. It also sparked a call for a government inquiry of the appointment process from one lawmaker, who said Harrison's previous stint as co-chair of the Republican National Committee made her selection questionable.

 

"The appointment of Patricia Harrison as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's new president smells to high heaven of secrecy and partisanship," said Rep. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles). "Such an outrageous choice of CPB president demands an immediate investigation into the search and selection process that led to this egregious appointment."

 

Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) said he too would support an investigation and said he had asked the Senate Commerce Committee to convene a hearing.

 

In a statement, Tomlinson said an executive search firm had "extensive discussions" with 80 candidates for the post. The eight-member agency board interviewed four finalists earlier this week before selecting Harrison.

 

Station representatives said that while they also had concerns about the process, they view Harrison as a capable manager who supports public broadcasting. They pledged to work with her.

 

"Patricia Harrison has a reputation for competence and inclusiveness," said Lawson of the Assn. of Public Television Stations. "She has a unique opportunity to reach out to all sides and begin rebuilding trust in CPB."

 

Harrison, who most recently served as the State Department's assistant secretary for educational and cultural affairs, said in a statement that she would work to restore any budget aimed at public broadcasting.

 

Still on the table is the elimination of the $23-million Ready to Learn program, which helps finance programs such as "Sesame Street," along with the eradication of $79 million in federal funds earmarked to help stations convert to digital broadcasts and upgrade the PBS satellite system. The cuts are part of a large package of reductions in the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill, which is facing a $1.6-billion shortfall.

[LowerCaseRepublican]

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll305.xml?tr=y&auid=960473

 

You can see how your Rep. voted on the bill.

 

Mine voted against putting the funding back in -- what a dick.

[Texsox]

Mine voted for. In a side note, I really like my congressman. He has an excellent staff that goes out of their way to help and offer information. Last election he pulled in like 88% of the vote.

[Heads22]

Nussle's an ass.

[Balta1701]

Time to bump this thread...

 

This MM to Republican Senator Chuck Hagel is easily the funniest thing I've read all day.

 

June 30, 2005

 

Sen. Chuck Hagel

248 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

 

Dear Sen. Hagel:

 

Recent news reports indicate that Corporation for Public Broadcasting chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson commissioned a $14,000 study to determine if there was an ideological imbalance in the guest lists of various Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) programs. To support Tomlinson's contention that the guest lists tilt to the left, the study identified you as a "liberal."

 

Would you describe a study that reaches such a conclusion as well conceived and executed, or fundamentally flawed? Do you think Tomlinson's study should have been funded with taxpayer money?

 

Sincerely,

 

David Brock

President & CEO

Media Matters for America

[Rex Kickass]

Media Matters makes me laugh.