Lounge of Tomorrow - Help save NPR and PBS

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Help save NPR and PBS

NPR and PBS will lose 50% of their funding if this passes. Please sign the petition!

http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=753
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/19/we...ew/19spam.html

PBS doesn't exist, silly. It's merely a figment of the liberal imagination. Like global warming or science.

But I signed anyway. Just to be safe.

I will sign as well. The thought of them taking away funding really ticks me off. Thanks for the links!

Where would the world be today without Sesame Street.....I signed!

Thanks, CP! I had already signed it, but I see now I should have posted about it here to let everyone else know.

Thanks again!!

Here's some very thorough information from my favorite public radio station, KCRW.

Quote:

Federal Funding Cuts to Public Broadcasting

Message from KCRW General Manager Ruth Seymour

Dear KCRW Listener,

I am writing you about an unfolding crisis in Congress with regard to public broadcasting. Proposed funding cuts now before the full House pose a serious threat to public radio and television -- and to KCRW.

The proposed cut is 25% to KCRW's CPB grant this October and next October as well. Moreover, adding the proposed additional cuts to PBS childrens' programs and station digital conversion -- the total reduction adds up to a whopping 45%!

Facility funding, which provided opportunities for stations to modernize and extend their service has already been zeroed out. These are the grants that helped KCRW purchase its first modern transmitter in 1979 and launch NPR's Morning Edition. Later they enabled KCRW to extend service to Ventura and the Antelope Valley.

If these cuts stand, KCRW may lose over $1,000,000 from its operating revenue. This would severely impact KCRW's local programming and our ability to sustain NPR.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is the independent organization created by Congress to support public broadcasting and act as a heat shield against political interference. But now, ironically, the Corporation itself is providing the heat.

Chairman Ken Tomlinson has politicized matters by framing the issue of balance on news programs as liberal versus conservative. We vehemently object to this characterization which is intended to put public broadcasting on the defensive and influence program decisions.

We cherish our editorial independence and the political diversity of the audience we have attracted.
We believe in objective journalism, free from political constraints.
While we welcome constructive criticism, we reject partisan judgements masquerading as impartial analysis.

We can't reverse the funding cuts by ourselves. We need your help.

THE MOST IMPORTANT VOICE IN PUBLIC BROADCASTING IS YOURS!

Please register your opinion by contacting your Congressional Representative right away.

The full House votes next Thursday or Friday.

Find your Congressional Representative at:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/

Sincerely,
Ruth Seymour

Further Reading:

LA Times, June 17, 2005:
Public Broadcasting Funds May Be Halved

Washington Post, June 10, 2005:
Public Broadcasting Targeted By House Panel Seeks to End CPB's Funding Within 2 Years An article about the political situation involving the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and funding:
New York Times, June 16, 2005:
2005 Lobbyists' Role for Public TV Is Investigated

Federal Funding Cuts to Public Broadcasting
Frequently Asked Questions

» What happened??
» What is the timetable?
» How can you help?
» Background
» How much funding does KCRW currently receive from the federal government?
» What is CPB’s role in public radio?
» What would be the impact on public radio stations as a whole?
» What is the impact of the CPB budget cut beyond my public radio station?

What happened?

On Thursday evening (6/16/05) the House Appropriations Commity, in a voice vote, approved an amendment to restore forward funding to Public Broadcasting. Although it did not reverse the dollars cut for the next two years, it did restore the vital principle of forward funding which allows stations to plan and provides a heat shield from political pressure.

This surprise victory was due to listeners and viewers who called, emailed and wrote their representatives.This Thursday or Friday the full House will vote on the dollars for public radio and television. This will be your last opportunity to help us turn the funding cuts around in Congress.

What is the timetable?

The full House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the CPB budget Thursday, June 22 or Friday, June 23.

Senate deliberations are scheduled to begin the week of June 20th, and will continue for the next few weeks.

back to top

How can you help?

The most important voice in public broadcasting is yours. It’s urgent that your Congressional representative hear from you in the next few days.

Call, e-mail or write:

US House of Representatives

Please find your legislator by district at: http://www.house.gov .
There you’ll also find the telephone number.

US Senate

http://www.senate.gov

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Ack - pet peeve here - If you really like the stuff you see and hear on th public networks, don't sign some lame online petition - SEND THEM MONEY AND SUBSCRIBE!

Write a letter to your congressmen if you must, but write out a check first.

Quote:

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

I do every year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

Ack - pet peeve here - If you really like the stuff you see and hear on th public networks, don't sign some lame online petition - SEND THEM MONEY AND SUBSCRIBE!

Is it ok with you if we do both?

The organizers of the petition are going to put it before Congress. It is not another lame online petition. It DOES count.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

Is it ok with you if we do both?

The organizers of the petition are going to put it before Congress. It is not another lame online petition. It DOES count.

Sorry, I still think petitions are a waste of time - send a personal letter to your congressman, or call their office if you want to make an impact.

Quote:

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

Sorry, I still think petitions are a waste of time - send a personal letter to your congressman, or call their office if you want to make an impact.

Which is what the followup email to the peitition (if you signed it) urged people to do.

I rec'd an email from them:

Quote:

As far as we know, this is the most Americans to ever sign a petition in a single week, and it's one of the larger petitions in recent U.S. history—over 1 million people! On Tuesday in front of the Capitol dome, we stacked box upon box of your signatures and comments—more than 60,000 pages—as members of Congress and children's advocates spoke in defense of NPR and PBS. PBS children's characters Clifford the Big Red Dog, Maya and Miguel, Leona the Lion, and lots of kids reminded Congress what's at stake.

The event was swarming with press, and the story is getting lots of great news coverage. You've helped to raise the profile of this issue and increase public pressure on Congress.

Our representatives have seen how many of us there are, but now they need to hear from us directly. Before this week's vote, can you call Rep. Cox?

More coverage: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...html?r=756&t=3

If you can afford it, send them money. If you can't, do what you can do, even if it's signing a petition. If someone is going to Washington to actually lobby the issue, the petition will be helpful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eliza Hodgkins 1812

If you can afford it, send them money. If you can't, do what you can do, even if it's signing a petition. If someone is going to Washington to actually lobby the issue, the petition will be helpful.

I prefer surrounding your congressman's car in front of his house with an unruley mob dressed in Halloween costumes. But that's just me - Ah the days of the NEA4...

WOOHOO!

Quote:

WASHINGTON - Big Bird and National Public Radio won a reprieve Thursday as the House restored $100 million that had been proposed as a budget cut for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The 284-140 vote demonstrated the enduring political strength of public broadcasting, whose supporters rallied behind popular programs such as "Sesame Street," "Postcards From Buster" and "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer."

The Public Broadcasting Service undertook a high-profile campaign to rescind the proposed cut. Lawmakers were flooded with letters and phone calls.

Yeah!!! It sucks that they were even considering the cuts, but it's great that they didn't push them through anyway!

There are still some cuts in there, but not nearly as deep. It remains to be seen if all of the cuts are eliminated or not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

I prefer surrounding your congressman's car in front of his house with an unruley mob dressed in Halloween costumes. But that's just me - Ah the days of the NEA4...

Ahhhh, the look on poor Dana Rohrbacher's face.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Not Afraid

Ahhhh, the look on poor Dana Rohrbacher's face.

Yes, but he did back off on that issue didn't he? And then he even plunked down some of his own dollars to fund LBMA - smarmy bastard.