[Peace-discuss] Urgent: public broadcasting

[Kranich, Kimberlie]

Hi, all.
 
I don't know how aware people are of the fight that is going on in Congress
over the funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CBP), but this
battle effects WEFT as well as WILL directly.

We need to preserve CPB funding. Please consider taking the action steps
below TODAY:

Background:

 The United States House of Representatives Appropriations Sub Committee
yesterday APPROVED proposed cuts to CPB. 
 
These cuts would amount to more than 20% of the CPB budget, but this is
just one prong in a multi-prong strategy to totally defund the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting.  Stations including WILL, community radio
stations such as WEFT, and small rural PBS and NPR stations would be
severely harmed if the cuts go through.

Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman lead her public affairs program this
 morning with the news.  She interviewed three people about the
subcommittee's approval of the cuts:
 
 Bill Reed, of PBS-station KCPT.  His station, like WILL, is running
 announcements suggesting listeners call their members of Congress if they
 want to preserve PBS and CPB.
 
Trina Cutter, president of PBS 45 & 49 in Ohio.  Her station is also
 airing announcements.
 
 And, Jeff Chester, of the Center for Digital Democracy.  He urged the
 following actions be taken now:
 
 1) CALL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS now and tell her or him to preserve CPB
 funding and to investigate Kenneth Tomlinson, current CPB chair, for
 turning the CPB into a partisan political machine, which is against the
 law.  For example, Tomlinson ordered a $14,000 study of the political
persuasion of guests on "NOW with Bill Moyers." The public paid for the
 study but Tomlinson refused to release the results.
 
 2) Contact the Democratic and independent members of the CPB, Ernest
Wilson, Frank Cruz and Beth Courtney and demand that they speak out
 against what's happening at CPB.  They may be reached at the CPB comment
 line, 800-272-2190 or main line, 202-879-9600 or go on-line and leave a
 comment:  http://www.cpb.org/talktous/.  They need your support to snap
 their backbones back in line!

 3) Register your object to Tomlinson's attempt to hire as the new CPB
 president, Patricia DeStacey Harrison, former RNC co-chair.  Her
appointment would further seal the CBP as a political arm of the white
house.

4) Forward this email to everyone you know.
Why care?  Democracy abhors a submissive media.  One theory for the
decline in PBS viewership over the last decade is that PBS is doing less
 and less investigative journalism and citizen journlaism and is more of a
 mouthpiece for govenrment and corporations instead of fulfilling its watch
 dog role.  If you believe in the mission of public broadcasting and the
 preservation of democracy, I encourage you to follow the steps outlined
above.

Attached is the list of Congress people in our viewing/listeneing area.
 You may borrow my cell phone if you want to call today.
 The House vote on the spending bill could come as early as Tuesday!
 Harrison could be appointed by Tomlinson as early as Monday.

Here's a sample letter of a talking point in case you call your Congress
person, my brother wrote this:

I really value public broadcasting services and I request that you not only
support its full funding but increase funding by an amount equal to or
greater than inflation. With all of the biased and hyped talk shows, public
broadcasting and community radio and TV are  great values to our state.
Or, how about:

Public broadcasting only costs taxpayers about $1.20 a year.  All other
industrialized countries fund their public media much more fully than we do
in the United States.  PBS is the only place where my children can watch
commercial free educational broadcasting. PBS and NPR are the only places
where some semblance of investigative journalism appear on a regular basis.
Our democracy depends on a strong independent media.  Please fully fund the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

 Kimberlie


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