“(CNN) -- The House of Representatives has scheduled a vote Thursday on a bill that would bar federal funding for National Public Radio.
The move to pull funds from the public broadcasting outlet comes after a conservative activist secretly taped an NPR executive criticizing Tea Party supporters and saying NPR would be better off without federal money.
On Tuesday, the House voted to cut $50 million from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps support NPR. It's part of a larger bill to keep the government running for the next three weeks…”
I said before the tape came out that NPR should just tell Congress “Fuck You” and go it on their own. I said that the money from the government was only 10% of the funding for NPR radio and TV. Well I saw some discussion on TV and it they are right some of the NPR radio stations out in the sticks get 50% or more of their funding from that money. Those radio stations that are not in major cities could not make it without that funding. They don’t have enough people local that can make up the funding.
When you are driving across the United States and trying to find some station on the radio you find NPR on FM and it is like an old friend is with you in the car. I would hate to see those stations die.
I still think each of us paying $1.35 a year is worth it and I think the Republicans are full of shit. But it would be nice if NPR could say “Fuck You” to Congress.
I would love to see all those TV and Radio stations in 2012 give a nice pay back to the GOP. What comes around goes around they say.
I'm on the road quite a bit and always try to find an NPR affiliate on the FM. More and more the upper part of the FM band is populated by another type of non-profit station - religious programming. I've suspected - never seen it mentioned - that the right is purposefully trying to grab and occupy frequencies in the public service band to deny them to NPR or local community based stations. Of course they raise their own money and have a right to claim that portion of the spectrum.
There are some really good networks of public stations such as the High Plains Net in west TX, OK and KS, the Nebraska statewide net and similar one in SD. That saves programming costs since one studio serves multiple communities via translators or remote transmitters. That may be a partial solution but a community loses the local input when a wide area net is in place.
I assume the vote will pass since NPR is a favorite "cause" on the right, Republicans have the majority and will vote as one. "We" elected them and they're doing what they said they would do. It's totally symbolic but they're much into symbolism. Myself I find NPR pretty middle of the road but I'm a leftie so when I like what I hear to me that's fair and balanced journalism.
A bill to defund NPR will go to the Senate where the Dems will probably defeat the bill. More symbolism but sends the message they want to send and paves the way for a another attempt in two years if he Reps gain control of the Senate.
Tend to agree - maybe they can raise funds to keep NPR intact privately - just as those religious broadcaster do - they get no government funds but they also don't maintain the cadre of reporters and bureaus that NPR does.
If it weren't for the religious broadcasters then the Republicans would probably try to end the whole idea of a public service segment in the FM band - sell off those freqs to add more talk shows and country western stations. Those are badly needed in Texas - more C&W.
Posted by: Dick Williams | Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 11:01