OT: Educational television in trouble

[Menard]

      I was forwarded this e-mail concerning massive budget cuts which would affect the ability of educational television to be able to continue to produce educational programs and will seriously hurt the ability of some stations to continue with outreach programs which provide educational programming and access for those who fall into the low income bracket and families which live in rural areas who do not have the same access as those who live in cities or close proximity.


"Recently, a key subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives voted to cut federal funding for public broadcasting by 45 percent and to eliminate funding for Ready To Learn, a service that supports the production of children's programming--including Sesame Street, Between the Lions and Dragon Tales--as well as local outreach and community projects serving low income and rural families in Kentucky.

If these cuts are approved, it will result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars to KET and, in turn, a significant reduction in KET's programs and services for the people of Kentucky, including local productions and key services for teachers and children.

Please let your voice be heard by contacting your members of Congress and letting them know where you stand on the issue. Further details and contact information are available at KET Television.

But please act soon. Final action by the House on these cuts may occur as soon as Wednesday, June 22."


      KET is Kentucky Educational Television and is the largest education television network in the United States, second largest in the world. O. Leonard Press set the standards for KET to be a service which would reach into the furthest corners of the state to provide access to educational programming for anyone. Through the use of repeaters, KET has been able to do exactly this by broadcasting from a central location and using the repeaters to re-broadcast the signal throughout the state, making it available to over 99% of the population (meaning that you pretty much have to live deep in a cave to not be able to receive KET).

      However, KET is but one of a number of dedicated educational television stations throughout the United States making programming available for young and old alike. Cuts like these could seriously affect the ability of these stations to continue to provide that programming and take away the only access to such educational programming which many families may have.

      If you feel passionate about education and especially about giving access to that education to families who may not otherwise have access to it, please get in touch with your local public broadcasting station to find out what you can do to voice your opinion. You can also check out the KET site for information if you prefer: KET Television.


*I am personally very passionate about education and making it accessible to all. I am not intending to make a political statement and apologize if it comes across that way.

[Georgie Boy]

KET is great and it's one of the channels I receive here in Cincinnati.  However, public television is available via PBS Kids and PBS national affiliates, specifically in Boston.

This programming is fantastic for kids and adults and, when I was a child, was commercial free.  Today, they do accept "sponsorship" which is commercials.  Unfortunately, this is the way things must be.  If PBS is to survive, they will have to go fully commercial.

Personally, I think the value of the programming is worth accepting real commercials that can bring in real revenue.  If this is needed, so be it.

[Menard]

The occasional sponsor mention, well frankly commercial, has become a standard for a lot of PBS stations. This has been an offshoot of the telefund drives which most PBS stations use. The use of the sponsor placement is an incentive for those who donate to donate at a certain level. The funds generated from the telefund drives are not enough to support the station, but rather provide funds for additional programming which has been seen in shows such as the english comedies some of the stations have been running. The majority of funding comes from federal and state support, depending on the station. Commercials alone will not replace a 45% cut in the funding for these stations. If the funding is cut, we may see some of these stations having to resort to infomercials and product placement in order to survive.

The funding cuts will not only affect the stations, but will also affect the producers of kids shows like Sesame Street (which will most likely survive, but other shows will not) and the funding of WGBH in Boston which is the largest provider of PBS programming.

KET and WGBH will survive, but many of the programs they provide and services they render for outreach programs will either have to be modified or cut completely if this funding is cut.