The elected officials who vote on funding public broadcasting might want to watch Sesame Street or Barney once in a while. They'd learn that 1 plus 1 equals 2.
The recent flap over public stations trading mailing lists with political organizations is bound to be brought up when Congress reconvenes next month and once again considers legislation to fund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The fact that most, though not all, of the politicians receiving mailing lists were Democrats certainly will rile up anti-funding Republicans even more than usual.
Those who oppose public funding of public radio and TV say the stations should be more entrepreneurial in finding additional private dollars to run their operations. You know, more corporate underwriting and more membership drives.
Well, one of the best ways to raise money is to send mailings to like-minded individuals who, for one reason or another, don't contribute to a particular station. One of the best ways to get names like that is to buy or trade for other organizations' mailing lists.
Many of the stations found to be trading lists with political groups, including WCET Channel 48, used outside mail houses to handle solicitation mailings and had no knowledge that their membership lists were being swapped to politicians. With the pressure to raise more and more funds growing every year, stations perhaps aren't asking enough questions about where their mailing lists are coming from or going to.
(Channel 48, for its part, took its mailing function inhouse earlier this year.)
I'm a member of several local public stations, and I don't want my name and address being given to any organization, political or not. But I also don't want my name and address being given to marketers by the Ohio Department of Motor Vehicles. And I don't want my name and address being sold or traded by the magazines I subscribe to.
But it happens.
It just doesn't seem fair that some members of Congress tell public broadcasting outlets to go get more private money and then balk when stations become overzealous in soliciting money through the mail. It doesn't add up.
CPB has already stepped in to police itself on the mailing list problem. A proposal is being considered to require every station receiving CPB funding, from now on, to certify that it does not trade mailing lists with political groups of any kind — including such organizations as the Sierra Club.
According to Dave Arnold, general manager of WNKU-FM, the new CPB mandate is more stringent than what other non-profit groups adhere to. There is no law against non-profits trading mailing lists with political organizations, he says — they simply have to make lists available to all organizations if they supply lists to any one organization.
Public stations now will not supply mailing lists to any politically oriented organization, period. Which, of course, places one more obstacle in their way for raising funds.
I bring this up now because Channel 48 recently completed the first phase of its fund drive. And with the mailing list controversy fresh in people's minds, certain Congressmen are promising to redouble their ongoing efforts to eliminate CPB funding this fall.
I don't understand why public broadcasting is forced to constantly defend its contributions to American society when plenty of other government-supported activities offer nothing positive. The radio landscape in Cincinnati would be practically barren without the diversity, creativity and energy provided by WNKU, WGUC-FM and WVXU-FM. It's safe to say that the music played on these stations — Jazz, Folk, Classical, Bluegrass — would not be heard on local radio if CPB did not fund them.
(Our local community station, WAIF-FM — which also programs this kind of diverse music — does not receive public funds from CPB, though the city of Cincinnati provides some funding.)
And you would never see true educational TV programs if Channel 48 did not exist. Look at what passes for children's programming on commercial television: Rugrats, Bugs Bunny and Power Rangers.
Meanwhile, our federal government spends billions of dollars on bigger, faster Air Force bombers and on subsidies for multinational corporations. Locally, we spend millions of tax dollars on new stadiums for private, for-profit sports franchises. Any attempt to eliminate funding of public broadcasting — especially in our current climate of huge federal surpluses — comes across as political gamesmanship at the expense of real contributions to society.
It all boils down to what role we think government should play in our lives. Political leanings aside, I think most Americans want government to play as small a role as possible. That might be an oversimplification on my part, but it's a clear line of thinking going back to our Founding Fathers.
That said, government should and must play some role. Preserving, encouraging and promoting our common culture certainly is a role that only government can fulfill. That's why governments build theaters, support art museums and renovate old fountains on public squares.
If it was left up to market forces — as evidenced by the state of radio mergers and the fall network TV lineup — you would never hear Beethoven, Miles Davis or Taj Mahal on your radio. You would never see Big Bird, Sister Wendy or the BBC news on your television.
I cannot think of a better use of my tax dollars than public broadcasting. If you agree, let your Congressman know. The future of CPB is in his or her hands.
And please consider becoming a member of our city's public stations. Channel 48 picks up the second half of its drive on Sept. 9; WVXU's fall fund-raising drive begins Sept. 8; WGUC's begins Sept. 29; and WNKU's begins Oct. 18. ©
