Federal funding of public media under fire

[TomCADem]

Source: USA Today

Public broadcasting fans have a lot more to worry about than the embarrassing tape, released this week, of a National Public Radio executive criticizing Tea Party activists, evangelical Christians and Republicans.

Critics of the federal government's $460 million a year outlay to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) — which contributes to NPR and PBS— call the expenditure an unneeded luxury at a time when most households are awash in media. NPR CEO Vivian Schiller resigned Wednesday amid the political fallout surrounding the tape.

But supporters of public media say it's important to have programming that isn't beholden to advertising.

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Mark Meckler, national coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots, says the purpose of funding public media once "was to provide another voice. But there's a cacophony of voices on the radio and on the Internet today."


Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2011-03-11-publicmedia11_ST_N.htm

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The right wing/corporate effort to annihilate media outlets that do not spew the corporate media narrative continues. First, Comcast buys NBC, and fires Keith Olbermann. Now, the right wing targets NPR.

[Kalun D]

1. After All

Corporate funding and ownership of the media is SO much better