Well, especially since the Trump administration is again trying to zero out all funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting:
> “PBS and our 350 member stations across the country have earned bipartisan Congressional support over the years due to the high value the American people place on the services we provide their communities. For a modest investment of about $1.35 per citizen per year, public television provides school readiness for children, support for teachers and caregivers, public safety communications and lifelong learning through high-quality content.
> “For the 16th year in a row, Americans named PBS and member stations #1 in public trust among nationally known institutions. The same survey revealed that Americans rank PBS and our member stations second only to the country’s military defense in terms of value for taxpayer dollars. PBS and its supporters across every region of the country will continue to remind legislators that federal funding is critical for public television to do this essential work.”
To be fair, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a mess. It's so bad that member stations are defecting.
Los Angeles is a good example. It used to be like most other cities - A single, large PBS flagship and one or two secondary stations. That flagship bolted because CPB can't keep its finances in order and is demanding crazy amounts of money from the member stations.
There are a surprising number of very good public television stations across the country that are not part of PBS/CPB.
I'd be happier with PBS if the programs created with my tax dollars weren't spun off into "independent" companies that then make millions on the intellectual property that my tax dollars created.
WLAE, in New Orleans, was set up by some local lay Catholics in the late 70s. It now has an arm’s length relationship with CPB and the other affiliate for reasons not totally due to finances.
> “PBS and our 350 member stations across the country have earned bipartisan Congressional support over the years due to the high value the American people place on the services we provide their communities. For a modest investment of about $1.35 per citizen per year, public television provides school readiness for children, support for teachers and caregivers, public safety communications and lifelong learning through high-quality content.
> “For the 16th year in a row, Americans named PBS and member stations #1 in public trust among nationally known institutions. The same survey revealed that Americans rank PBS and our member stations second only to the country’s military defense in terms of value for taxpayer dollars. PBS and its supporters across every region of the country will continue to remind legislators that federal funding is critical for public television to do this essential work.”
http://www.pbs.org/about/blogs/news/pbs-statement-on-adminis...