Author Topic: Public Broadcasting (in America though)  (Read 77 times)

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Offline Michael Hardner

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Public Broadcasting (in America though)
« on: December 10, 2017, 08:51:37 am »
https://www.knightfoundation.org/public-media-white-paper-2017-kramer-o-donovan

I am not really so interested in this topic, except as an examination of public engagement.  You may find it interesting.

The thing I found interesting about it, though, was the fact that something that was ostensibly designed for "the" public actually became an entertainment tool for the elite, by focusing on publics that had money to donate.  "The" public was thereby ignored, as poor people can't afford to donate to NPR, basically. 

So the poorest markets for attention went to the private sector, who supported their messaging by selling ads to predatory agencies, I suspect, such as quack medicine and so on.  This could have been done via AM radio (ie. right wing radio) or cheap TV.

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Offline Queefer Sutherland

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Re: Public Broadcasting (in America though)
« Reply #1 on: December 10, 2017, 09:40:40 am »
The thing I found interesting about it, though, was the fact that something that was ostensibly designed for "the" public actually became an entertainment tool for the elite, by focusing on publics that had money to donate.  "The" public was thereby ignored, as poor people can't afford to donate to NPR, basically. 

Interesting topic.  Do we really see PBS (I don't know anything about NPR as a Canadian) as an entertainment tool for the elite?  Is there programming espousing neoliberalism or the Iraq War etc?  I see the opposite: http://www.pbs.org/video/frontline-dark-side/

Poor people (or the urban working class and immigrants), as the article states, are the main characters & set locations of Sesame Street.  There's no mindless-yet-entertaining shows like Spongebob on PBS that I know. PBS creates probably the best newscasts and news series (Frontline etc) in America today.  There's no glam, just news, in all its bland glory.

Poor people can't afford to donate, but a lot of everyday working folks do, as we see on the televised fundraisers with a lot of $50 & $100 donations, but I have no idea about the large private donations from the wealthy.  Can we see where those donations have influenced the programming?

We also have to look at who is DESIGNING the programming.  Certainly not the poor, since they don't have that education & skill set.  So it's mainly middle and upper-middle class folks like you and I doing their best (I assume) to fulfill PBS's mission.
"Nipples is one of the great minds of our time!" - Bubbermiley

Offline Michael Hardner

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Re: Public Broadcasting (in America though)
« Reply #2 on: December 10, 2017, 09:45:08 am »
Right, but if you examine closer - Sesame Street is basically in New York, where the URBAN poor support government, Democrats etc.

Where is the Iowa Sesame Street ?

Offline Queefer Sutherland

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Re: Public Broadcasting (in America though)
« Reply #3 on: December 10, 2017, 09:59:02 am »
Right, but if you examine closer - Sesame Street is basically in New York, where the URBAN poor support government, Democrats etc.

Where is the Iowa Sesame Street ?

Iowa Sesame Street doesn't appeal to the educated liberals who produce the programming sans corporate pressure for profit.
"Nipples is one of the great minds of our time!" - Bubbermiley

Offline wilber

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Re: Public Broadcasting (in America though)
« Reply #4 on: December 10, 2017, 10:08:19 am »
I see and hear a lot of stuff on public broadcasting that I never would on commercial stations who’s advertisers also cater to people with money.
"Never trust a man without a single redeeming vice" WSC

guest7

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Re: Public Broadcasting (in America though)
« Reply #5 on: December 10, 2017, 10:15:20 am »
I just read the first couple of paragraphs.  First they told us their race and age, and then they said they had to blow it up and start again.  I knew then I would probably be ill by the time I finished it so I quit while I was ahead.

I was going to comment about PBS and NPR but then I read DuckFace's post and he seems to say what I would say, regarding PBS.  It would be ditto for NPR, which is, along with the BBC World Service, my most listened to radio station.

Poor people can't donate, but they can watch and learn.  Nobody forces them to watch Big Brother.

That said, I have donated while both poor and not so poor.  I wanted that Red Dwarf T-shirt, dammit, and I didn't care what I paid for it.  It felt good to help, though, and I have done so since.