(GOOD NEWS!) House Won't Cut Public Broadcasting Funds (Wash Post)

[Up2Late]

(They say some small cuts are still possible, and the Digital Broadcast conversion funds are still in danger.)

House Won't Cut Public Broadcasting FundsBy ANDREW TAYLOR
The Associated Press
Thursday, June 23, 2005; 5:11 PM

WASHINGTON -- Big Bird and National Public Radio won a reprieve Thursday as the House restored $100 million that had been proposed as a budget cut for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The 284-140 vote demonstrated the enduring political strength of public broadcasting, whose supporters rallied behind popular programs such as "Sesame Street," "Postcards From Buster" and "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer."

The Public Broadcasting Service undertook a high-profile campaign to rescind the proposed cut. Lawmakers were flooded with letters and phone calls.

The vote came as the House worked on a $142.5 billion spending bill for health, education and labor programs for the budget year beginning Oct. 1.

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/23/AR2005062301341.html>
(more at link above)

[Rainscents]

1. Wow... The power of people jamming law makers office with phone

calls, letters and petitions!!! WOW!! I know, MoveON had over million petitions and who knows how many others had!!!

We all rock!!!:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[BrendaStarr]

36. Big Bird funding is still cut.

read the entire article.

The true AP article does even hide the fact that the Sesame Street underwriting funds (Ready to Learn) are still out.

I knew that Ready to Learn was the funds for Sesame Street from another article I read yesterday.

Also the Congress didn't put back in the funds for conversion to digital, which all TVs might be by 2008.

So we went to the phones and the neocon rank and file went to the mixed message boards as they have been doing for over a decade. It looks like they won altogether.

And most Americans won't even know because corporate news won't tell them and we don't get out to mixed boards enough and spread around what is really happening.

[struggle4progress]

40. Right. It's still a gigantic cut. eom

[Up2Late]

42. Yes, but the 5% of Americans who get most of their news from NPR...

...which includes me (well, more like 1/2 in my case, DU being my other source) Do know. NPR has covered this story heavily, go figure.

NPR and Public Radio, is also seeing rapid growth in audience, as the T.V. News audience give up on them, because of non-news BS they keep pumping out.

I see NPR and PBS News shows, as the true targets of this RW effort. Sesame Street is big enough to make up the difference of any cut to their budget. Sesame Street was just a smoke screen to what was really happening.

The rest of it is all still to be negotiated when they meet with the Senate, having this amendment going in to the conference, is much better than going into the conference without it.

In the recent past, House/Senate conferences were a sham. The House would stonewall until any Senate Amendments to the Bills they didn't like were trashed. If the Senate can pass a similar amendment on the Senate version, that most likely won't happen. The final Bill might even be better than this one.

This was just the First, but very important, victory. Only time will tell what eventually happens.

[mom cat]

2. (BAD NEWS): the full funding will be controlled by the REPUKES!

[Eloriel]

8. Exactly. I don't see it as good news at all. n/t

[wisteria]

24. Me either, not after this former GOPers appointment.

Seems like appointment = funds. I won't be contributing any longer.
Let them solicit contributions from the Right sect. I'm not contributing to support Republican propaganda.

[Lerkfish]

17. I was just going to say the same thing...

its not a victory at all, its a reward to the new regime's takeover of PBS.

[AnneD]

35. Same here

those newscasters in the wings (right) at PBS are looking more like lap dogs every day (hope this wakes 'em up). Since when did the 'Truth' become biased. Heard Bill Moyers say a few well chosen words on that topic. Seems that anyone quoating a factual truth that isn't inline with WH spin is written off as liberal bias. Most of the surveys that are done state that PBS is trusted and generally viewed as unbiased. To quote Jack....I think they can't handle the truth.

[Jon8503]

3. Public Broadcasting Names New President

by JENNIFER C. KERR, Associated Press Writer
Thu Jun 23, 1:41 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, already embroiled in controversy over allegations of a liberal-leaning bias in PBS programming, chose a former Republican Party co-chairman Thursday as its president and chief executive.

((The House votes for more funding then names this Republican as President along with the Conservative Chairman who claims PBS is too liberal. Why do you think they voted for the funds?)) The Republicans will now be completely running PBS.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050623/ap...

[Jacobin]

4. PBS is dead

[OldLeftieLawyer]

11. You got that right

More $$$ for more rightwing programming.

I give up.

I've made my last viewer donation, that's for sure.

[nikraye]

14. The sad part is...

The people who work at the local affiliate stations are the ones who'll be punished. Most of them work for PBS BECAUSE of the atmosphere there of freedom of broadcasting. I know that many employees who work at some of the Bay Area (CA) stations must be heartbroken at what's happening at the federal level to their job sites. I'm sure there will be those who will mutiny...others will simply lose their jobs due to the cut backs that are sure to come due to rapid loss of memberships.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

18. Maybe, just maybe

the job losses will be offset by the government funding. Although, in the Bay Area, like around here (the DC area), the cutbacks started a while back, at least on the FM radio arm of PBS here.

First, they eased out - in a most unpleasant way, because he didn't go quietly - the longtime host of the morning show, Bob Edwards. This was at least a year ago, so you get some idea of how long this pogrom has been planned. Bob Edwards was too closely aligned with the "liberal" sound of WETA-FM.

Then, they cut out all - I mean ALL - the music. It's gone, all of it. WETA here had the loveliest non-commercial classical playlist, and it's gone.

It's become talk radio, and it's very, very rightwing.

I'm heartbroken.

[Rainscents]

6. Well, thats not good.

:(

[Up2Late]

13. Man, You people are such "Glass Half Empty" Pessimists.

Let's try to be a little more optimistic. We are 1 of 2 today! At least we aren't 0 out of 2!

Now let's all go sign the "People For the American Way" Petition to FIRE Kenneth Tomlinson! (I posted the e-mail I got today below)

Sign our petition demanding President Bush Fire Tomlinson!

[Jon8503]

16. Thanks for that Link ---- Petition Signed.

Come on Everybody sign on.

[nikraye]

19. Wake up and smell the neocons

Tomlinson, Andrews or Harrison aren't going anywhere, so long as BushCo is in office. Bushco won't fire Tomlinson any more than they'll apologize for Rove's insults today, or admit to the allegations of high crimes in the DSM.

Pour yourself a Dixie cup of Kool-Aid. These people are evil. They have a plan for America and the world beyond that was set in motion over thirty years ago. The take-over of the American media is an integral part of that plan and Tomlinson's installation at the CPB is just one more checkmark on the task list of the Project for the New Amercican Century.

[Up2Late]

21. Well then, I guess we should all just Give up, get stoned, and zone out

Come on gloomy Guss, I don't know where you've been hanging out for the last 8 months, but here at DU, we have been working hard for the small victories we've had since November.

We haven't won everything, but we haven't lost every fight either. Their are a lot off very good things (because they are very bad for * (GWB)) going on right now.

Almost everything is moving in the correct direction right now, for not having any majorities, I think we are doing pretty good. Much better than I thought it would be November 3rd or January 21st.

[nikraye]

22. Rose-colored glasses

I wish I could share your fantasy...

But if 560,000 signatures on a petition can't elicit much more than a yawn by either BushCo or the MSM, what good is a few sigs going to do in getting Tomlinson fired. And even if you succeed, do you really think BushCo will appoint anyone less despicable to replace him? Bush, Rove, and Cheney have been absolutely consistent in pattern. They're not going to give an inch. You ask them to correct one evil, and if they do, it's only to substitute it with another, more dangerous evil.

"Gloomy Gus"??? Yeah, I guess I am. I'm tired of watching, day after day, this country being over-run and beaten down by Bush and the neocons while the democratic leadership (there's an oxymoron) sits on their thumbs...save for Conyers and one or two others.

A petition will not save PBS. Nor will one save this country, as much as I admire the efforts of Mr. Conyers. Petitions are too easily discredited, dismissed, and dumped in the trash.

What we need is an American revolution. What we need to DO NOW is what we did for Viet Nam. People then didn't "Give up, get stoned, and zone out." They didn't sit on their duffs in the air-conditioned comfort of their home offices and sign online petitions. They took to the streets, en masse, held sit-ins, marched, protested, and screamed, and didn't stop until we, THE PEOPLE, made it impossible for the powers-that-were to ignore us. We brought an end to the war.

So sign your petition. See how far that gets you. (wink, wink)

[alfredo]

25. Keep the pressure on, make their lives a living hell. Show the

same mercy they show us.

[ooglymoogly]

32. thank you for the link....sighned

please do a stand alone post to get this petition fired up

[ooglymoogly]

33. oh goody 100 million for more reichwing propaganda on pbs

[Parche]

15. PBS new president

The Republicans engineer an end run around us.............
we are torpedoed

[Robeson]

34. "The Republicans will now be completely running PBS"....

Yep. Republicans in charge of PBS means more money for propaganda.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

5. Yes, I'm not so sure this is good news if it's just more taxpayer bux

funding RW propaganda machine...

[nikraye]

7. Sigh. Not good news. This was a "negotiation"...WE ALL LOST

In exchange for restoring the $100M, Bush and his rethuglican congress got the green light to appoint one of his RNC whores as the new CEO of CPB. Now you've got that lying scumbag Tomlinson, his little White House spy/minion, Mary Catherine Andrews (nice Catholic name, eh?) AND Harrison all poised to completely destroy PBS and NPR as we know it. Expect both PBS and NPR to be pushed into the conservative dark ages from here on...

The non-profit Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds U.S. public television and radio stations, named former Republican National Committee Co-Chairwoman Patricia Harrison as its chief executive officer.

more at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aEhfegiSv2GA&refer=us

*******************

Tomlinson has repeatedly been questioned regarding his hiring in March of Mary Catherine Andrews, then-White House director of global communications, to design and oversee the new ombudsmen office at CPB. At issue was whether Andrews began work on the project while still employed by the White House. According to The New York Times and The Washington Post, Tomlinson denied that Andrews's work for the Bush administration overlapped with her work for the impartial CPB.

But a broad inquiry by the CPB inspector general has uncovered a series of emails proving Tomlinson's above statements false.

more at http://mediamatters.org/items/200506220009

edited to correct sloppy, chardonay-induced typo

[WePurrsevere]

9. Who are the 140 who voted against the funding?

I'm delighted that PBS will survive... ::doing the happy Elmo dance for adopted Granddaughter::: ;)

although I'm also a bit concerned about the Right changing what is wonderful and fun into the dregs so no one will care when they go after it again down the road. All I can hope for is that the Dems take full power again in '06 and '08 so perhaps this doesn't happen.

[nikraye]

12. It's back in the closet for Bert and Ernie...

Bert and Ernie will both be forced to get their own digs, take up with muppet beards as 'dates' to black-tie Sesame Street fundraisers, and join the Log Cabin Republicans.

Big Bird will be forced to take diction lessons to get rid of his decidedly feminine lisp, and wear a corrective orthopedic appliance to strengthen that limp wrist of his.

Miss Piggy will have to take a vow of chastity, unless she can find a shotgun with which to force Kermit into a 'sanctified' marriage.

And don't EVEN get me started about Teletubby, Tinky Winky.

[Up2Late]

10. Sign PFAW's petition demanding President Bush Fire Tomlinson!

Kenneth Tomlinson Must Go!

ACT NOW! (click link below)

Sign our petition demanding President Bush Fire Tomlinson!

We thank you for your willingness to take action to save PBS. The fight continues - and we still need your help.

With new revelations about Kenneth Tomlinson's attempts to turn public broadcasting into an arm of the Republican National Committee emerging by the day, the time has come to step up the pressure and demand that Tomlinson be fired.

Claiming to have concerns about the "objectivity and balance" of PBS, Tomlinson has used his position as head of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to enact an agenda designed to ensure that public broadcasting favorably reflects the Republican agenda, such as

*
Hiring a White House staffer to draft guidelines for a new PBS ombudsman to monitor programs for bias.
*
Hiring a Republican lobbyist who had recently resigned from his position as a top aide to Senator Mel Martinez of Florida after writing a memorandum describing how to exploit the Terri Schiavo case for political gain.
*
Secretly hiring a consultant to monitor broadcasts of "Now with Bill Moyers" for "anti-Bush," "anti-business" and "anti-Tom DeLay" remarks. Just yesterday it was revealed that the consultant had formerly worked at the National Journalism Center, a right wing organization best known as serving as a training ground for figures such as Ann Coulter.
*
Pushing to appoint a former co-chairman of the Republican National Committee to be the CPB's president and chief executive, despite the fact that she has no experience with public broadcasting.

Enough is enough! It is time for President Bush to replace Tomlinson with someone who realizes the vital role that independent public broadcasting plays in our society.

As someone who values independent public broadcasting, we need you to sign this petition joining 16 Senators in calling on President Bush to demonstrate that he respects public broadcasting and its mission by firing Kenneth Tomlinson.

Kenneth Tomlinson must go and we need your help in calling on President Bush to make sure he does.

Click here to sign our petition demanding that President Bush fire Kenneth Tomlinson

Here is the petition text:

President Bush,
As someone who respects the value of independent public broadcasting, I am outraged by Kenneth Tomlinson’s attempts to undermine the mission and credibility of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

His blatant attempts to remake the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to better suit his own political views are unacceptable and I call upon you to demonstrate that you realize and respect the integrity of public broadcasting by removing Mr. Tomlinson from his position as head of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Independent public broadcasting is a valuable resource for millions of Americans and we call upon you to do what you must to make sure he does.

[journalist3072]

20. Behind Doors Deal

Sounds to me like the public broadcasting company made a deal with the devil....in exchange for Congress not cutting their funding, they agree to hire a Rethug as their President. Me thinks that's what happened. Boy, the Republican Party is full of bastards.

[Ignoramus]

23. PBS is commercial television

pro-empire, pro-war, neo-liberal and racist propaganda, and it has been for quite a while. Bill Moyer's was the last shred of anything of value politically for PBS. So, it has already been lost.

Any effort people would put into saving PBS might be better spent supporting alternative media.

The critical thing to hang on to is free and unrestricted community media.

We might lose the internet as a communal free for all type environment if companies get to control what we can have access to, and you know they want to turn the internet into a television equivalent.

The media that is not peer reviewed, that is sloppy, e.g. indymedia and a lot of what is on FSTV, is critical to save.

On FSTV people were talking about

http://www.communitywireless.org/

in particular about the idea of people setting up community broadcast events over wireless, e.g. community television stations.

That's what we need to combat what is coming. People like crap, and they will happily agree to having all of their media choices taken away from them. Rather than trying to save what is already dead, let' s make something new.

[rocktivity]

26. Rachel Maddow called this shot over a week ago.

She said they were creating a crisis to get what they really wanted, their people running the show.

:headbang:
rocknation

[DeepModem Mom]

27. kick

[Danieljay]

28. They no longer need to cut... donations will drop due to the President

being a republican plant. My feeling is it will die on the vine anyway.

[redqueen]

29. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

:bounce:

[tandem5]

30. with the pugs in power I got a feeling the cookie monster is...

really going to be hurting for cookies now.

[merh]

31. Great news!

[Miss Chybil]

37. Yeeeeee...... hah!

:woohoo:

[mefoolonhill]

38. Public Radio / TV Survive GOP Budget Cuts

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/06/24/100m_cut_rejected_for_public_tv_radio?mode=PF

[marmar]

39. But isn't PBS stuck with that right-wing extremist as prez now?

:argh:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

41. That will change too, in time.

Especially if loyal members begin to protest with their wallets.

[Up2Late]

43. I agree with "GoddessOfGuinness," I'm really getting sick of the...

...people here who just give up on issues like this.

It really makes me wonder if the RW pundits are correct, when they call us a "bunch of wimps."

If we just give up and Roll over, we'll never reclaim our Government, a thought that
I just can't allow to happen without a fight.