Armed Polite Society

Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: K Frame on March 14, 2006, 06:09:13 AM

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: K Frame on March 14, 2006, 06:09:13 AM

I'm beginning to think that PBS has outlived most of its usefulness.

Here in the DC area, we have two major PBS stations, 22 and 26. They're both on their second major fundraising push in, I believe, the past 6 months.

Not only are the fundraising pushes getting more frequent, they're also getting longer and longer and longer. If I'm not mistaken, they're now up to at least 3, and possibly 4, major fund raisers a year.

At the same time, they show the same shows time and time again while in fundraising mode.

The two here in DC have been trading off the same John Denver special (one of their "gifts" for sponsorship) for the past couple of years. It's running again tonight for at least the 5th time in the past 2 weeks.

I recognize that PBS brings a lot of very interesting programming that I'm likely never going to see anywhere else (especially BBC commedy), but for the love of God, this is getting excessive, and is one of the reasons I've quit supporting PBS.  

I'm thinking that DC simply doesn't NEED two major, and at least one minor channel 31 or 32 on my cable system, PBS stations, running roughly the same programs on staggered schedules and doing their fundraising at the same time.

This area is bleeding heart liberal frigging central, especially Maryland. If these stations can't make enough to support operations with 1 or 2 fundraisers a year, plus their regular mailings, how in the hell are the PBS stations in other areas of the country, areas that are a lot more conservative, doing it?

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: mtnbkr on March 14, 2006, 06:31:56 AM

I believe govt funding for PBS has been under attack for the past few years.  It may be a situation where they're trying to make up for the decreased funding.

Chris

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: K Frame on March 14, 2006, 06:36:14 AM

Yep, it has been, which leads me back to the consolidation consideration.

As big as this area is, having 3 stations that serve the same market with roughly the same programming is overkill.

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: cosine on March 14, 2006, 06:38:00 AM

Quote from: Mike Irwin

If these stations can't make enough to support operations with 1 or 2 fundraisers a year, plus their regular mailings, how in the hell are the PBS stations in other areas of the country, areas that are a lot more conservative, doing it?

Well, here in Milwaukee, PBS runs a fundraiser every three or four stinkin' months. We hate 'em.

Hehe, fundraiser. We call it "begging." "Yeah, dad, This Old House won't be on tonight because they're begging again." Grrrr.

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: K Frame on March 14, 2006, 06:42:06 AM

""Yeah, dad, This Old House won't be on tonight because they're begging again." Grrrr."

Which makes me wonder...

Would they get more money out of more people if they left their regular programming schedules roughly in place, instead of these insipid specials, and interrupting these specials all the frigging time?

For example, the John Denver special...

"He was born..."

We'll return to the John Denver special in just a few minutes while we wait for the phones to ring...

11 minutes later...

"OK, let's go back to the John Denver special...

"In the summer..."

OK, that was another 3 words of John Denver's symbolic anthem, Rocky Mountain High. In a few minutes we'll go back for another 3 words...

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: mtnbkr on March 14, 2006, 06:46:55 AM

It's just as bad on NPR.  I refuse to listen when they're doing their fundraisers.  

Chris

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: SADShooter on March 14, 2006, 06:58:12 AM

One of my billionaire fantasies is to fund the entire budget of a PBS affiliate, with the stipulation that they do no other fundraising, and no "funding provide by..." non-commercials, except one: At midnight they could run a spot like "Funding for this, and every other program, provided by SADShooter."

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: K Frame on March 14, 2006, 06:59:49 AM

I refuse to listen to NPR in its entirety.

I used to support them, but when they went from liberal friendly to out and out raging Communist Front in America back around when Clinton was elected, I gave up on them entirely.

The total kicker was one of their long-term columnists calling NRA the Negro Removal Association, in essence, blaming the drug trade slaughter on NRA. Yeah, take the guns out of the equasion and they'd be holding hands and gently kissing while vending their wares.

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: garrettwc on March 14, 2006, 07:52:26 AM

They have their highs and lows. I like the BBC comedies, and the two affiliates here cover local history and outdoor stuff pretty good.

Our locals are doing the fundraising thing right now too. And you just about have to force yourself to sit through it in order to watch something. During the hours the fundraising isn't going on, they are showing classroom stuff for the GED on TV.

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: The Rabbi on March 14, 2006, 11:37:32 AM

I have no problem with PBS begging for money.  I dont watch TV and I can change the station on the radio.  I dont see why they need taxpayer money.  If they cannot get enough support from the public (like every other business) then they should go out of business.
NPR has two radio shows.  The afternoon one is All Things Distorted and the morning one is Morning Sedition.

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: Guest on March 14, 2006, 01:27:26 PM

Morning Sedition

lmao Rabbi,  thats good.

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: lee n. field on March 14, 2006, 02:41:23 PM

Back a number of years ago, the PBS station in the city we were living in then ran John Cleese & Co.'s Fawlty Towers, all of them, back to back during a fund raiser.    That was the only time in my life I have litterally fallen off my chair laughing (the inflatable girl scene in the dead guest episode).  Ah, memories.

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: jefnvk on March 14, 2006, 06:27:42 PM

Quote

areas that are a lot more conservative, doing it?

A little show I like to call The Red Green Show.

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: garrettwc on March 14, 2006, 06:38:00 PM

Quote

A little show I like to call The Red Green Show.

If they don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

Duct tape rules!!

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: Standing Wolf on March 14, 2006, 06:41:03 PM

My local classical radio station broadcasts no leftist extremist so-called "programming." It plays a few commercials, but nothing obnoxious. If I listened to it very frequently, I'd send a check.

I'm sure it's no coincidence that it's a much better station than any of the two I used to listen to in the San Francisco Bay area, both of which relied on tax payer contributions and begging.

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: Guest on March 15, 2006, 12:31:44 AM

I don't mind the fundraisers if it keeps them off the government rolls (not that it does but if the reason for the more frequent ones is that the government cut their funding? Woohoo!)

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: cosine on March 15, 2006, 03:47:37 AM

Well, I'm all for keeping them off the government too. But instead of "begging," they could just as well show commercials. Heck, they pretty much already do here.

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: Scout26 on March 15, 2006, 06:33:37 AM

They don't need to beg.

Just get CTW (Seasme Street) and the Barney people to cough up a little of the cash they've made from their licenced products.


And make the same deal (a percentage of the take from licenced products from all the kids shows that they run) and they would be off the Gov't dole and never hold a begging (aka Fundraising) session again.

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: garrettwc on March 15, 2006, 07:30:31 AM

scout26 that's an interesting idea. Not sure about the $$$ of it from the CTW side though. If they had to cough up a significant amount of their licensing, they would probably jump ship to Nickelodeon or one of the other pay channels.

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: Spec ops Grunt on March 15, 2006, 03:31:47 PM

I hate when they beg.

I want to watch the Red Green Show, not listen to someone beg for money.

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: cosine on March 15, 2006, 05:27:41 PM

I like it. I mention that my family calls PBS' fundraising "begging," and that seems to have turned to be the preferred description in this thread of PBS' plea for money.

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: Mongo on March 16, 2006, 09:36:53 AM

Lemmeesee ... I have 155 plus channesl on my dish and about 50 radio stations (on normal radio, not XM or Sirius).  

Someone explain to me WHY I need PBS or NPR?  So people who do not have enough popularity or substance can perform for me, and spread their ideology...

Thank you no.  Give me my taxes back please...

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: The Rabbi on March 16, 2006, 12:22:07 PM

Quote from: Mongo

Lemmeesee ... I have 155 plus channesl on my dish and about 50 radio stations (on normal radio, not XM or Sirius).  

Someone explain to me WHY I need PBS or NPR?  So people who do not have enough popularity or substance can perform for me, and spread their ideology...

Thank you no.  Give me my taxes back please...

If you don't need it, don't contribute.  If you don't use the service you won't be missing anything.
I dont see why public broadcasting should be immune to market rules and require government handouts.

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: Scout26 on March 17, 2006, 08:11:26 AM

If PBS got a dime for every Tickle Me Elmo, Barney, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Bob the Builder toy sold, they'd be in fat city and sending us taxpayers a check to watch.

Title: Public Broadcasting System, or Professional Funraising System?
Post by: Ben on March 21, 2006, 04:01:16 AM

Well anyways, here's one reason they may need to fundraise so much:

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http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060317/NEWS05/603170429/1007/NEWS

(Sorry, formatting there is too funky to cleanly paste the text)