(Apologies if you get this as an email from me. It matters.)

Hi. Below is a form letter from MoveOn.org. I thought I’d preface it with my own words. NPR and PBS are vital media sources in this country for the simple reason that they aren’t commercial. They don’t bend and bow to the momentary whims of an audience with a short attention span and the momentary it-lists of things that are hot to have Right Now. They cover stories that no one else is talking about and go into the sort of depth and breadth that commercial sources simply don’t have the budget for. Thanks to them I don’t know who Angelina Jolie is dating today but I do know what the Downing Street memo is.

In addition to news their entertainment programming is unmatched by anything else you’ll find on commercial radio or television. From British comedies like The Office and Absolutely Fabulous to groundbreaking science and history programs to children’s programming (that actually teaches the kids something!) PBS has never blinked at the thought of airing something that hasn’t yet been proven to work on another station. NPR’s news programs have been lauded for its unwavering and intense look at the stories of people on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, the developments in France, Indonesia, Turkey and Lebanon are easy to catch up with just by tuning in. Listen for over a week and you’ll have a working knowledge of the people named Frist, Wolfowitz, Spector, Reid, Bolton, Durbin, Thompson, Chertoff, and Pelosi and what they do.

This is not even including the analysis you can find on the magazine-style programs like To the Point, Talk of the Nation, Day to Day, As it Happens and more fun personality shows like Fresh Air and the entertaining This American Life.

Even if you never watch PBS or you keep forgetting to tune into NPR don’t you feel like you would be missing something if they went away? Can you imagine if they had to start accepting more commercial advertisements? What if such ads came with pressure to only air programming the admen found acceptable? Who’s going to inform us so thoroughly and without a care for what’s on the cover of supermarket tabloids? Who’s going to bring all the information together so you can investigate it for yourself without the biases of commercial news and bloggers? Even if you believe that Public broadcasting as it exists today is fundamentally biased do you believe that’s enough reason to eliminate it’s funding?

Please. Sign the petition. If you read all of the above, trust me it takes less time to just sign the thing. Time is critical, so just click through and sign it. Please don’t put it off. http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

Thanks,
Nobody


Hi,
You know that email petition that keeps circulating about how Congress is slashing funding for NPR and PBS? Well, now it's actually true. (Really. Check at the bottom if you don't believe me.)

Sign the petition telling Congress to save NPR and PBS:
http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

A House panel has voted to eliminate all public funding for NPR and PBS, starting with "Sesame Street," "Reading Rainbow," and other commercial-free children's shows. If approved, this would be the most severe cut in the history of public broadcasting, threatening to pull the plug on Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Oscar the Grouch.

The cuts would slash 25% of the federal funding this year -- $100 million -- and end funding altogether within two years. The loss could kill beloved children's shows like "Clifford the Big Red Dog," "Arthur," and "Postcards from Buster." Rural stations and those serving low-income communities might not survive. Other stations would have to increase corporate sponsorships.

Already, 300,000 people have signed the petition. Can you help us reach 400,000 signatures today?
http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/
Thanks!

P.S. Read the Washington Post report on the threat to NPR and PBS at:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=745