kleenex said:
buckytom, I am not the only person that has thrown out this idea.
I do not think the programming is going to change at all if a company bought it out.
ok, ya got me.
then how would it be better? no pledge drives? i think it's a small albeit annoying thing to deal with for great shows, imho. not much worse than dumb commercials. the gov't. funds so many things that are at best questionable, why not public broadcasting??? pbs is the very last bastion of decent programming on free tv. it may not be entertaining on a jejune, slap-stick kinda level (btw, nuttin wrong with that once in a while), but the rest of tv and cable is rife with that. pbs does a great job providing a little education and culture to a mass audience, for the price of having to listen to them beg for a few bucks. don't forget, your deduction is tax deductible, and you get to become a member.
besides, for nothing else, why fix something that ain't broke?
when ratings get involved, you can be sure the network will play to the lowest common denominator. it's the most common, therefore the higher ratings... (and sheep mentality)
philosophers, like eagles fly alone. not in flocks like starlings...
oh, college cook, sorry, didn't mean to ignore your post. i was raised watching tv (before the warnings not to let your kids watch too much tv); it was my babysitter as my mom was busy with all of my older siblings. i have continued to watch tons of tv, and have always loved pbs and educational shows. i think i'm doing alright.
to me, learning from an audio/visual source is far better than just reading and seeing things in 2 dimensions (on paper). A/V education is especially effective with math and sciences. try learning trig or calculus by reading a textbook, then watch a wire frame demonstration with associated formulas in motion. you may just finally get it.
i agree that there is a huge gap in their programming tho, but it might not be their fault. there's very good shows for pre-k children, but then there's not much for young kids and teens. how are ya gonna force your 12 year old to watch frontline or POV? the next level of interest most people show in educational tv is some time after their formal education has stopped, in your 20's or so.
ok, enough of this rant. sorry to be arguementative, but i feel strongly about public broadcasting.
(ha! i got to use the word jejune, too!
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