Our great airwaves

Rollie Atkinson
The move by Republican leaders in Congress to eliminate all
funding for public broadcasting is poor policy, poor politics and
poor aim.
Taking away all federal support for the last non-commercial
vestiges of our once-sacred public airwaves is a disgraceful
gesture against democracy and free speech.
We all want to see the federal government’s deficit reduced by
any means possible, but cutting the $531 million for National
Public Radio and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)
won’t do the trick. And deficit-cutting is not what’s behind the
Republican’s poor aim anyway.
For real deficit-cutting, how about launching one fewer U.S. Air
Force surveillance satellite at a cost savings of $800 million. Or,
how about having the U.S. Navy build one less ‘Ohio’ submarine at a
$7 billion price tag. For real savings, why not look at why it
costs $300 million each and every day to continue the War in
Afghanistan.
Beyond partisan politics and budget blusterings, the more
troubling issue here is one of a “cultural divide” and an
idealogical assault against public support for the arts, humanities
and free expression.
Instead of cutting federal funding to the 368 public television
stations and 934 public radio stations shared by 170 million
Americans, Congress should be increasing our public support.
Currently, the $531 million subsidy amounts to just $1.35 per
citizen and is just 16 percent of public radio’s and TV’s total
funding.
In the North Bay, we’ve had KRCB TV22 and Radio 91FM since 1996.
KRCB is true “community media” owned by all of us who join with
memberships and annual donations. Thousands of us tune in daily to
watch and listen to educational, informational and cultural
programming unavailable anywhere else on the so-called “public
airwaves.” (To support KRCB and National Public Radio against the
Republican attack visit www.170Million Americans.org.)
The Republican move seeks to silence what they perceive as
“liberal” media. We’re talking about Sesame Street and Big Bird,
live broadcasts of symphony orchestra concerts and PBS News Hour.
All Things Considered, Prairie Home Companion, NOVA and Masterpiece
Theater. Liberal? Yes. Liberal as in liberal arts, or liberal as in
liberal (not narrow) thinking.
Since the height of ancient Greek civilization (at least) the
greatest societies and their governments have supported the arts as
an expression of national culture and identity.
Kings, emperors, corporate potentates and our religious
institutions — joined by the structure of government — have
commissioned great monuments, operas, art collections and public
museums. The greatest of societies are best known for their great
art, cathedrals and public institutions such as free libraries,
public universities and open airwaves. Without exception, art,
opera, jazz, live theater and other forms of non-commercial
expression have always required public subsidy and support.
In 1967, Congress passed the Public Broadcasting Act to protect
a portion of the public airwaves for cultural, educational and art
programming that commercial radio and TV ignored. The very modest
federal contribution each year has brought us such great television
moments as the Ken Burns documentaries about baseball, the Civil
War and the founding of our National Parks — and, yes, Sesame
Street. Many of the 934 public radio stations across America
represent the only locally available source of commercial-free
broadcast news, information and broad political analysis.
It is very likely this current effort by the bull-headed
Republicans will be defeated in the U.S. Senate, just like so many
of their attacks on the public airwaves have failed in the past.
With or without the $531 million in federal funding and CPB grants,
our KRCB and all other NPR stations will continue to struggle and
survive.
But that’s not the point, damn it. We must keep the public’s
airwaves “public.” Can’t we, at the very least, pretend we aspire
to be a great society?
— Rollie Atkinson