Support Public Broadcasting

Let’s step back for a moment, and look at television programs targeting minors.

In the beginning of television, programs were suitable for all audiences. Shows like “I Love Lucy”, “The Ed Sullivan Show”, and “Bonanza”, were all programs set in primetime that a whole family could enjoy together. Content was hardly a concern in these days. Why? Entertainment had yet to evolve.

Flash forward 50 years. The television battles the internet for consumer attention. Every program comes with ratings, disclaimers, or warnings before air time. Channel surfing is risky business, who knows what will flick by as you attempt to find the Discovery Channel. The deeper one gets in the day, the raunchier the content. Of course, this doesn’t mean daytime soap operas and talk shows are to be omitted entirely. Many are equally appalling in relation to their late-night cousins.

Is there ever a break to this hurricane of debauched viewing?

On public broadcasting syndicates, suitable, educational dramas replace dating shows and police chases. News is neither left nor right. Classical concerts overshadow naughty music videos, reality shows are exchanged for ballets. This alternative viewing doesn’t mean public broadcasting is a push over, sensitive, mediocre station. Public broadcasting is, in fact, a safe haven for viewers not looking to be force fed “media bullshit”. On top of these facts, what else could possible persuade anyone to watch public broadcasting?

Two words: Commercial Free.

Thanks to “Viewers like you”, the station remains commercial free. But without federal funding supporting 40% of Public Broadcasting, this environment might disappear forever.

I don’t know about you, but in between a documentary on Henry the VIII’s Six Wives, I do not want to watch a commercial on “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter”.

Maybe that’s just me.