Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Don't let PBS Die

When I was a child, I has what was easily my favorite item of clothing ever. It was a Twiddlebugs dress that I got when it was knee length and had to give up wearing when it was shirt length and wouldn't go over my head anymore. I also love Mr. Rogers, and a shining moment of my life was getting to hold King Friday and meet The Purple Panda. As an adult, I am captivated by Planet Earth, watch Collin Firth jump into that lake in "Pride and Prejudice" and still have my VHS recording of Ken Burns' "The Civil War." These moments were all make possible by PBS.

On February 19, 2011, the House of Representatives voted to cut all Federal spending on Public Broadcasting. H.R.1 now faces the Senate. If passed, this measure would place a tremendous burden on Public Broadcasting and many rural stations would be forced to limit programming or go off of the air.

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It is estimated that 170 million Americans, or 55% or the population, regularly view PBS. I would take that further and say that I believe that there is no American - not one - that hasn't been affected by PBS in some way, even if it's just because they love to hate Barney. It is a part of our culture. In 2010, Americans rated public broadcasting as an “excellent” use of taxpayer dollars, second only to defense spending. 80% of those polled said funding for public broadcasting is money “well spent. Roughly 14% of a stations funding comes from government grants and funding; this amounts to less than $2.00 per American.

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Please join me in supporting 170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting, a campaign funded solely through public dollars. Make your voice heard, and keep programming such as Nova, Masterpiece Theater, Mystery, Sesame Street, and Word Girl (not to mention Public Radio shows like Car Talk, Prairie Home Companion, and Whadd'ya Know) on the air. Join other bloggers like Jen of grainline and me and get the word out. Don't let PBS die.

22 comments:

Lois Evensen said...

Back in the 1950's my older brother was one of the first people to appear on our local PBS TV station playing his trombone. That's when it was all in black and white and programming was all about education. I remember how exciting it was that there was educational TV.

From 1978 to 1998 I volunteered for the annual fund raiser for our local PBS TV station Action Auction. I coordinated all of the people who collected all of the money throughout the auction so it was a job that took months of planning for staffing and full time away from my job and family during the nearly two weeks the auction was on the air. I also donated items and purchased items in support of the auction. When PBS became so very political, I had to bow out. It was about the same time that the auctions began to decline so others must have felt the same way.

There are so many different channels available now that the programs that are viable will be picked up by commercial stations. The ones that aren't viable will disappear rather than being supported by tax dollars.

I vote to discontinue funding to PBS and let the market decide which programs are viable.

Jamie said...

Will be SPREADING the news! Thanks for this wonderful info. xo

Jamie said...

How sad! I fear I'm part of the reason this is happening. Rather than watching on PBS I wait and find things on netflix.

Joanna said...

This would be a tragedy :(

Anonymous said...

Thanks for following...returning the favor...and I always loved PBS watching my childhood shows...

Mary @SweepingMe said...

We have been donors to PBS since my daughter was about 1. It would be great if more people supported Public Broadcasting!

Thanks for this wonderful post.

Mary/SweepingMe

Unknown said...

We love PBS! Very nice blog you have. I can't wait to read more posts. Thank you so much for stopping by and following. I am your newest follower.

Vickie
Http://victoriasvoice44.blogspot.com

everyday products and more said...

thanks for stopping by my blog i am now following you back
http://everydayproductsandmore.blogspot.com/

1grown2togo said...

Thanks for posting this I had no idea!! I love PBS!!

Also thank you for stopping by today Following you back (Shari L. Alligood)

Mama on a Green Mission said...

Thanks for following my blog! I'm now your newest follower!

April
http://greenmissionmama.blogspot.com

MMAR said...

I will be spreading the word!! Thanks for sharing this!! My daughter loves sesame street... Thanks for stopping by Keeping Up With The Rheinlander's! I look forward to your post!
~Melissa

L.A.C.E. said...

wow, getting rid of PBS?? No more Sesame Street? I'm not American, but we get PBS on channel two here in Winnipeg. I do the Netflix too, but seeing as I still pay for cable I do watch television. And my kids love to watch Sesame Street along with a few others. It would be sad to see it go. Why do they mess with the good ol' fun stuff and not with the stuff that really makes society disfunctional like Beverly Hills 90210? Sheesh.

New follower. great blog :D

http://theblogger-lace.blogspot.com/

MikiHope said...

Following back!! And I also like PBS!!

Michele aka MikiHope

www.mikishope.com

Unknown said...

I left a comment but have a feeling it disappeared in space. I won't re-write but ... I am following your blog ... love this post & support it ... and will be back to read more!

Thanks!

EVE UNDERGROUND said...

I grew up without cable and still don't have it, most of what I watched growing up was on PBS, these days I don't watch much tv and actually prefer it that way.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, looking forward to checking yours out as well! :)

Eve
http://eveunderground.blogspot.com/

Ashley said...

I hope they decide not to get rid of it. Oh and I am following your blog. :)

Ashley
www.TheThriftyWife.com

Little Hatchlings said...

wow, I didn't even know this was going on. I kind of took PBS for granted. I totally grew up on PBS as did my oldest daughter. Following you back from the mid-week mingle.

Chase said...

Following you back from the hump day blog hop!

Bethe77 said...

I had no idea this was happening. But shouldnt surprise me none. As this country is falling apart in a hand basket. Thank you for stopping by my blog and the follow. I diffetnly will be following this peice of information as you metioned I dont hink there wasnt a person in America who hasnt been touched in some way by PBS programing. I intend to let everyone I know about this and make some phone calls. This is horrible. Thank you again for your very informative artcile. Blessings

Twinpossible said...

I grew up watching mostly all PBS shows. Extremely sad to see that it might be done with for good.

I think nowadays is when kids need to watch the innocent programming on that station, the MOST! It would be more then a shame, if they ripped PBS off of the air, after all of these years:(

Hugs, Shelly

http://www.twinpossible.com/blog

Krisztina Clifton said...

Hi.:) Thanks for stopping by The Blog Entourage. I'm already a follower. Please join us on FB where you can promote your own posts. http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Blog-Entourage/125418247524715

Lynn Benoit said...

PBS is fine programing. But so is (pick one). My point is, where does the Federal Government get off using our tax dollars for the station of their choice?

If PBS is so beloved it will thrive on the money from those who choose to give.

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