Why are taxpayers supporting a left-wing/liberal PBS and NPR? The Corporation for Public Broadcasting came into being during the hey-day of the flower children (remember how the 1960’s Democrat Revolution had Malcom X, Elijah Mohammed, Che Guervera and Cesar Chavez as their poster boys?). The PBS TV stations and NPR radio stations were liberal and quasi-leftist from the get-go. It was kind of loopy and innocent back then.
Now, watch our local PBS Channel 8, KAET (co-sponsored by another tax-payer supported entity, Arizona State University). Their weekly “premier” news programs — Horizon and to a lesser extent, Horizonte — don’t offer any balance. When Michael Grant was the moderator, Horizon was informative. Now Horizon is nothing but a left-wing/liberal showcase. Horizonte has rarely if ever shown anything but a pro-illegal alien immigration viewpoint.
What upsets me is that KAET and KJZZ are operated by well-educated people. These people should understand that the American taxpayer funds that they accept come with an understanding that these funds are non-political. Not just Democrat taxpayer funds, but Republicans and Independents too. Horizon doesn’t need to bash and demean Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, State Sen. Russell Pearce and Gov. Janet Brewer every single show. SB 1070 doesn’t have to be slammed constantly. The Arizona voters have spoken over and over, year after year, that they support anti-illegal immigration overwhelmingly. The 2010 nationwide elections have shown that across our nation, Americans support anti-illegal immigration laws. Let’s hope KAET and KJZZ come out of their 1960’s ideology.
Leon Ceniceros, Mesa
soricobob posted at 5:28 am on Sat, Jan 22, 2011.
If the Governor controlled those purse strings......
mesateacher posted at 6:10 am on Sat, Jan 22, 2011.
The reason NPR and PBS are so liberally slanted is that liberals deeply believe that they are smarter than everyone else so why would a contrarian point of view matter? But biased or not, in today's cable/satellite/internet based world, PBS and NPR are irrelevant. Really, is there anything on either network that you can't get better from other sources? Channel 8 has cooking shows which are a joke compared to Food Network. PBS has a laudable show NOVA, but History Channel and the Science Channel offer material just as good. Horizon isn't too liberal -- it's just boring. KJZZ wouldn't be missed since there are other jazz radio stations. KBAQ is another matter: there is no other classical outlet. But then, most people I know who listen to classical music use their own cds and things. Other than the Met opera, would anything really be missed? I have no problem with the universities having radio and TV outlets, but they should be run by students! After all, isn't that what students are there for? To learn HOW to broadcast? So where are the students on Channel 8? When channel 8 has its semi-annual game show, Begging for Dollars, why is it older adults who are on asking for funds? Why aren't ASU's student leaders, coaches, or athletes out there asking for funds. And you should check out the salaries of the employees! Out of line with employees at channels 5, 10, 12 etc.
hoopydreams posted at 6:13 am on Sat, Jan 22, 2011.
So don't watch News programs on PBS. I don't like to watch Conservative based news so I don't watch Fox news. But I still watch shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy, and The Cleveland Show. There is programming on PBS stations that you can't get anywhere else.
My kids watch Nova every Tuesday night. And since AZ insists on cutting the education budget, again, it provides them with information on science and technology that they can't get anywhere else.
What about the Create? That's PBS and is a really cool channel for cooking, crafts, and travel. For all the useless stuff the government spends its money on, this is at least a public station that offers something AZ can't give: an education.
And FYI only a small portion comes from federal funding, which keeps getting cut, thus why they have pledges a lot more now than ever.
Freethinker posted at 8:55 am on Sat, Jan 22, 2011.
If Mr. Ceniceros is really serious about saving taxpayer money, and not just looking for an excuse to bash PBS and NPR, let's see his next article tackle the biggest thieves of American taxpayer dollars.
Tax-exempt church property.
Want to bet he won't touch this one? ;)
Accuracy posted at 11:20 am on Sat, Jan 22, 2011.
KAET, Channel 8 is a full-service television station in Arizona, owned by the Arizona Board of Regents and operated by Arizona State University (ASU) as a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member station.
KAET says more than two-thirds of the station's funding comes from its service members. Their affiliate station also receives some federal funding via the Corporation for Public Television.
KAET is a service of Arizona State University and the state of Arizona is seeking to reduce funding to the universities because tax revenue has still not recovered from the economic downturn; and that would mean a cut of ASU's state funding by $77.2 million . . . The cuts could affect the liberal waste of taxpayer money.
mlimberg posted at 3:55 pm on Sun, Jan 23, 2011.
Don't talk, act. Call and write and email and fax your elected officials in Washington and Arizona and demand that they defund all taxpayer supported radio and television.
If it is truely a valued service, the private sector will find a way to fund it.
I can here the Libs whine now, but it works both ways. America, we have got to get over thinking that Government should fund anything that can be funded by the provate sector.
America needs to get back to basics. We all support ourselves. If a neighbor needs help, the private sector can help directly. We do not need a "Government" solution for each other. Get over it. And don't tell me we can't do it. We can. The benefits of people giving to each other and helping each other will bring America back...
Write, call, fax, email, test... you name it, but get Government out of the "Great Provider "roll! Government stinks at doing anything "helpful"!