Moveon reports GOP just voted to kill PBS/NPR funding

[papau]

Everyone expected House Republicans to give up efforts to kill NPR and PBS after a massive public outcry stopped them last year. But they've just voted to eliminate funding for NPR and PBS—unbelievably, starting with programs like "Sesame Street."1

Public broadcasting would lose nearly a quarter of its federal funding this year. Even worse, all funding would be eliminated in two years—threatening one of the last remaining sources of watchdog journalism.2

Sign the petition telling Congress to save NPR and PBS again this year:

http://civic.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/?id=7964-3047713-Z25FwRdrvYk3jHY7VEUtvQ&t=2

Last year, over 1 million of us signed the petition, and Congress listened. We can do it again if you pass this message along to any friends, neighbors, or co-workers who count on NPR and PBS for news or children's programming.

This would be the most severe cut in the history of public broadcasting. The Boston Globe reports the cuts "could force the elimination of some popular PBS and NPR programs." NPR's president expects rural public radio stations may be forced to shut down.

The lawmakers who proposed the cuts aren't just trying to save money in the budget—they're trying to decimate any news outlets willing to ask tough questions of those in power. Americans trust public broadcasting more than any corporate news media.3 This is an ideological attack on our free press.

President Bush's budget proposed cuts to NPR and PBS4, but Congress is going even further: slashing 23% of this year's public broadcasting budget—$115 million—and denying NPR and PBS any funding in two years. The cuts immediately terminate support for commercial-free children's shows like "Sesame Street," "Clifford," and "Maya and Miguel."

The House and Senate are deciding if public broadcasting will survive, and they need to hear from viewers like you. Sign the petition at:

http://civic.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/?id=7964-3047713-Z25FwRdrvYk3jHY7VEUtvQ&t=3

Thank you for all you do.

–Noah, Eli, Adam G., Tom, Marika and the MoveOn.org Civic Action Team
Thursday, June 8th, 2006

P.S. You can learn more about the threat to public broadcasting from our
friends at Free Press at:

http://www.freepress.net/publicbroadcasting/

Sources:
1. "GOP takes aim at PBS funding," Boston Globe, June 8, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1864&id=7964-3047713-Z25FwRdrvYk3jHY7VEUtvQ&t=4

PBS' Ready to Learn program (funds "Sesame Street" and other children's shows)
http://www.pbs.org/readytolearn/

2. "CPB Responds to House Appropriations Subcommittee's Proposed Funding Levels for Public Broadcasting," Corporation for Public Broadcasting, June 7, 2006
http://www.cpb.org/pressroom/release.php?prn=551

3. "2005 'Open to the Public' Objectivity and Balance Report," Corporation for Public Broadcasting, January 31, 2006
http://www.cpb.org/aboutcpb/goals/objectivity/

4. "Bush Budget Pumps Propaganda, Slashes PBS," MediaCitizen, February 7, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1865&id=7964-3047713-Z25FwRdrvYk3jHY7VEUtvQ&t=5

[elehhhhna]

1. I'm shocked! The cReeeps who wanted to blow up AL JAZ & Anthrax'd

the US MSM on 9/12/01 would CUT funding for public television? NO!

[no_hypocrisy]

2. You know what this means: fundraising 24/7 on PBS and NPR.

No escape.

As per Mike Malloy, have I told you HOW MUCH I hate these people?

[leveymg]

33. If they tell the truth one hour a week, it would be an improvement.

If Congress cuts off their funding, then they don't have to pander to the Rightwingers and carry Shrub's stump speech every day. They can go back to public service broadcasting - even if they have to cut executive salaries, fire their paid Board members, and do more fundraising, that's okay with me.

[Minnesota Libra]

3. We knew NPR and PBS not spewing the official neocon talking points........

....might be a problem as soon as they got an opportunity to cut the throats of those telling the truth. As for "Ready to Learn" and "Sesame Street" the neocons have been grumbling about their acceptance of anything but the far right wing talking points for a long time. What is it going to take for the general public to wake up? :wow:

[Sawkrates]

4. Let's keep this near the top...

[WePurrsevere]

5. K & R... please help save PBS. n/t

[sinkingfeeling]

6. Signed the petition.

[papau]

7. Thanks :-) n/t

n/t

[ladjf]

8. Damn right! We can't have people listening to all that classical

music. It will turn them into libruls.

[darkism]

9. Oh, that's IT! NOBODY messes with Sesame Street!

NOBODY!

It must be because Bert is in league with Osama.

[RoseMead]

17. Ha! Evil Bert!

Always loved that photo. :D

[Blaze Diem]

10. Will they also kill the upcoming FRONTLINE program on Cheney!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2668330

-------------------------------------------------------------------

No more 'liberal' documentaries for PBS.

Man, these nasty fuckers have got to be removed from our American governing system..

[Blaze Diem]

11. Kick & Recommend

Stop them.

[Gregorian]

12. It's time to start supporting stations like LinkTV.

Forget about federal funding. As sick as this gop crappy move is, we cannot waste any more time. I say we get on with stations that are just starting, and who've proven they can do the job.

Viewer sponsored is the only way. Any corporate funding is a losing proposition.

[medeak]

13. We need Mr. Rogers now more than ever

kick kick kick

[glitch]

14. PBS & NPR have been trying to coddle the right wing to avoid this.

Look at what good it did. They need to take off the gloves and start fighting back, and hard. They've got plenty of ammo.
Tell the truth about what has happened to the Republican Party in the last 40 years PBS and NPR, do it now. It is your only hope. And their are plenty of real journalists to help too, starting with Robert Parry.

[ourbluenation]

15. When your not down with Kermit THE frog, the hell with you.... eom

[deaniac21]

16. What else would you expect from a bunch of killers?

[laylah]

18. Of course they did...

the repugnant anal openings wish to further the "dumbing of 'merka" and boost the population of worker bees...:mad: such assholes, raging, ignorant, greedy, scum sucking, bootlicking, reprehensible, bottom feeding assholes! And THOSE are their finer points!

Jenn

[file83]

19. Hitler would be proud of these Republicans.

[mom cat]

20. Leave more children behind! That is the Republican agenda.

An informed citizenry is dangerous to oligarchy so illiteracy is an important tool in supressing protests.

[iconoclastNYC]

21. When we get the power of the purse

We should create a national endowment for these two programs that will live on even if Republicans cut the funding to increaes the endowment.

That was PBS and NPR will still have interest income disbursements from the endowment to hold them over.

[coalition_unwilling]

22. Excuse me, am I supposed to feel sympathy for

National Pentagon Radio and the Pentagon Broadcasting Service? Their breathless stenography of BFEE's pre-war claims renders them at least partially complicit in BFEE's depredations. Every time Gwen Ifill or Judy Woodruff on Lehrer newshour interviews about Iraq situation, somehow the progressive viewpoint is never, repeat never, represented, (except once when I saw Jody Evans of Code Pink go head-to-head with Richard Perle -- that was sweet, but never repeated).

[Joe Bacon]

28. I agree

Bob Somerby's Daily Howler and FAIR document how far right PBS and NPR have shifted. I'm at the point where I am ready to cut the funding because I'm sick of the right wing garbage that is spewed by Jim Lehrer and the National Petroleum Radio Goon Squad.

[Pachamama]

23. Bad News and Good News - Bad News is that they don't have the $$$ and now

have to fundraise - the good news - they won't have to walk around with Richard Perle and answer to these Neo-con pieces of shit.

Ironically, I stopped giving to PBS because of their recent right leaning/bending over....

Lets look at this as a positive development....Sesame Street, NOW, Frontline and others will be able to remain independent and not taken over by the Neo-cons. And we all need to do our part, even if it means sending them $1, $5, $10 ...basically whatever we can.

But the real message here is that the GOP will keep slashing and burning any and all programs and funding to anything that doesn't further their agenda or benefit "their base"....We know this is going to be an ugly time and they will turn around at any moment they can to destroy all that is good in this country. I'm sure ANWR, the Arts, Public Education and much more is all on the chopping block for these scum....

:grr:

[FreeStateDemocrat]

24. The petition is a great idea but moveon.org is wrong group to sponsor it.

for the obvious reason that no repuke member will pay any attention to it with their name attached to it.

[Joanne98]

25. They're killing "Net Neutrality" too. Right now on C-span 1.....

e-mail your congressman. We don't want a caste system on the web.

[CatholicEdHead]

26. NPR is better off in long run if funding is cut

Let me present this piece from Wisconsin Public Radio MediaTalk host Dave Berkman. He wrote this for the Milwaukee Shepard Express in June 05. If NPR does not gets its funding, it can make it up by having a more independent presentation of their shows.

http://www.shepherd-express.com/6_23_05/cover.htm

As long as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting receives government funding, it will be open to political criticism and influence. Thus, if public broadcasting is to retain any independence nationally or locally, it will have to give up the federal contribution of 15% (or $460 million) of the total $2.3 billion in revenues it received last year.

But that amount can be raised from other sources.

Currently 26% of public broadcasting’s revenues come from its viewers and listeners, a group that, with its almost proprietary regard for these services, has consistently increased donations whenever these media faced financial threats. Thus, it’s not unrealistic to anticipate a pledge increase of, say, a third if funding appeals explain that rejecting federal money is the only way to maintain independence. Foundations, always generous contributors, would certainly come through with a few years of increased grants to partially cover shortfalls. More aggressive pursuit of corporate funds with proper insulations against “strings attached” underwriting is another potential source. And finally, a successful effort to establish a large endowment could generate hundreds of millions in yearly operating income. (This last proposal will be the most difficult to achieve, given the size of the endowment that would be required. But there is already a precedent in the quarter-billion-dollar gift to NPR that Joan Kroc, the widow of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc, established in her will.)

A temporarily tight budget for the next few years is a small price for public broadcasting to pay to finally become a truly independent media force.

[sendero]

27. Losing Federal Funding would be the best..

.. thing that could happen. Then they can go back to doing real journalism without watching their backs all the time.

If they dump the winger bullshit, I'll start sending them money again. I'm sure others will too. Really, for a paltry 25%, the compromises they've already made are way too much. Time to go it alone.

[alfredo]

29. they want to sell off the bandwidth to religious broadcasters.

[Hekate]

30. My comment in the comments section...

"Eliminating NPR and PBS is morally indefensible. Unbelievably disgusting that you would kill Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers and leave our children at the mercy of the crap on commercial television."

Hekate

[marmar]

31. Well, Sesame Street does promote tolerance, which the Reich hates...

All those multi-colored faces. (And Bert and Ernie are GAY - Jerry Falwell told me so!) Repugs can't stand all that diversity.

[Tsiyu]

32. You lie down with dogs....n/t