US House votes to defund National Public Radio

33 posts / 0 new

Sat, 2011-03-19 14:27

Catchfire

Quote:
The House on Thursday voted to end federal funding to National Public Radio. Republican supporters said it made good fiscal sense, and Democratic opponents called it an ideological attack that would deprive local stations of access to programs such as "Car Talk" and "All Things Considered."

The bill, passed 228-192 along mainly partisan lines, would bar federal funding of NPR and prohibit local public stations from using federal money to pay NPR dues and buy its programs. The prospects of support in the Democratic-controlled Senate are slim. Seven Republicans broke ranks to vote against the bill.

NPR received almost $5 million in federal funding in fiscal year 2010. In that year its revenues also included $2.8 million in dues and $63 million in programming fees from local stations, its largest single source of revenue. Under the bill, stations would still be allowed to buy NPR programs using private funds and use federal funds to produce their own programs.

"Nobody's on a rampage," said Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., who also asked "why should we allow taxpayer dollars to be used to advocate one ideology?"

Indeed.

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Media Matters

Sat, 2011-03-19 14:32

alan smithee alan smithee's picture

Publicly funded objectiveness vs private funded propaganda.

Once again,the 'free market' wins.

Sat, 2011-03-19 14:38

al-Qa'bong

Actually, it's publically-subsidised private propaganda.

Quote:

Here is a solution that will avoid any need for Congressional contributions to CPB. The people own the public airwaves. They are the landlords. The commercial radio and TV stations are the tenants that pay nothing for their 24 hour use of this public property. You pay more for your auto license than the largest television station in New York pays the Federal Communications Commission for its broadcasting license-which is nothing. It has been that way since the 1927 and 1934 communication laws.

Why not charge these profitable businesses rent for use of the public airwaves and direct some of the ample proceeds to nonprofit public radio and public TV as well as an assortment of audience controlled TV and radio channels that could broadcast what is going on in our country locally, regionally, nationally and internationally?

Our Right-Leaning Public Media

by Ralph Nader

Sat, 2011-03-19 15:34

ygtbk

al-Qa'bong wrote:

Actually, it's publically-subsidised private propaganda.

Quote:

Here is a solution that will avoid any need for Congressional contributions to CPB. The people own the public airwaves. They are the landlords. The commercial radio and TV stations are the tenants that pay nothing for their 24 hour use of this public property. You pay more for your auto license than the largest television station in New York pays the Federal Communications Commission for its broadcasting license-which is nothing. It has been that way since the 1927 and 1934 communication laws.

Why not charge these profitable businesses rent for use of the public airwaves and direct some of the ample proceeds to nonprofit public radio and public TV as well as an assortment of audience controlled TV and radio channels that could broadcast what is going on in our country locally, regionally, nationally and internationally?

Our Right-Leaning Public Media

by Ralph Nader

Poor Ralph. Has no-one told him about cable TV?

Sat, 2011-03-19 16:10

Fidel

I think 98% of broadcast TV rights, radio and newspapers are owned by big business. $70 billion dollars worth of publicly owned airwaves were handed off to "the market" and private enterprising rich friends of the government in 1996. Joe Goebbels never dreamed of the opportunities to propagandize the masses. The "public" in America has become a captive audience for a corporate-sponsored propaganda machine like no other in history. It's brainwashing 24-7.

Sat, 2011-03-19 16:32

jas

Quote:
In 2009, NPR revenues totalled $164 million, with the bulk of revenues coming from programming fees, grants, contributions and sponsorships.[14] According to the 2009 financial statement, about 40% of NPR revenues come from the fees it charges member stations to receive programming. Typically, NPR member stations raise funds through on-air pledge drives, corporate underwriting, and grants from state governments, universities, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In 2009, member stations derived 6% of their revenue from direct government funding, 10% of their revenue from federal funding in the form of CPB grants, and 14% of their revenue from universities.[14][15] NPR receives no direct funding from the federal government.[16] About 1.5% of NPR's revenues come from Corporation for Public Broadcasting grants.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, the majority of NPR funding came from the federal government. Steps were taken during the 1980s to completely wean NPR from government support, but the 1983 funding crisis forced the network to make immediate changes. Now more money to fund the NPR network is raised from listeners, charitable foundations and corporations instead.

Defense-related expenditure
2012 Budget request & Mandatory spending[19][20]
Calculation[6][21]

DOD spending
$707.5 billion
Base budget + "Overseas Contingency Operations"

FBI counter-terrorism
$2.7 billion
At least one-third FBI budget.

International Affairs
$5.6–$63.0 billion
At minimum, foreign arms sales. At most, entire State budget

Energy Department, defense-related
$21.8 billion

Veterans Affairs
$70.0 billion

Homeland Security
$46.9 billion

NASA, satellites
$3.5–$8.7 billion
Between 20% and 50% of NASA's total budget

Veterans pensions
$54.6 billion

Other defense-related mandatory spending
$8.2 billion

Interest on debt incurred in past wars
$109.1–$431.5 billion
Between 23% and 91% of total interest

Total Spending
$1.030–$1.415 trillion

Sat, 2011-03-19 16:39

al-Qa'bong

ygtbk wrote:

Poor Ralph. Has no-one told him about cable TV?

Do you disagree with his argument for funding public radio by having giant media corporations, which run most radio stations, pay fees for using public airspace?

Sat, 2011-03-19 17:04

ygtbk

al-Qa'bong wrote:

ygtbk wrote:

Poor Ralph. Has no-one told him about cable TV?

Do you disagree with his argument for funding public radio by having giant media corporations, which run most radio stations, pay fees for using public airspace?

If the U.S. government (or the Canadian government, for that matter) wants to charge higher prices for use of specific frequencies, I certainly can't stop them. However, since most (in Canada) and a lot of (in the U.S.) TV programming is delivered over cable, I do not believe that the "public airwaves" argument is quite the cornucopia that he seems to think it is. You may be right that there is revenue potential in radio, but to the extent that the fees become noticeable then the programming will likely migrate to another format. C'est la vie.

Sat, 2011-03-19 17:23

Fidel

Democracy should should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power. - George Washington

Sat, 2011-03-19 17:46

#10

ygtbk

Fidel wrote:

Democracy should should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power. - George Washington

Actually, Benito Mussolini (not George Washington) said that (or something much like it). Could you please clarify the intent of your post?

Sat, 2011-03-19 18:36

#11

al-Qa'bong

Is public radio in the US delivered over cable?

Sat, 2011-03-19 19:05

#12

6079_Smith_W

al-Qa'bong wrote:

Is public radio in the US delivered over cable?

None of the stuff that came over my car radio when I was down there recently.

And once you get outside of city limits there are plenty of people who don't have cable. As it happens, I live in a city now, but I have always gotten my TV through a flying V.

Sat, 2011-03-19 22:39

#13

M. Spector M. Spector's picture

al-Qa'bong wrote:

Our Right-Leaning Public Media

by Ralph Nader

For details on just how right-leaning National Public Radio is, check out [url=http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=13&as_field_all=1&as_keywords=NPR&pag... (Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting)[/url].

Sat, 2011-03-19 23:16

#14

welder

Fidel wrote:

Democracy should should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power. - George Washington

As ygtbk has correctly pointed out...

It was Benito Mussolini that said that..And he said that about Fascism not democracy...

But,hey,at least you can massage history as well as Glenn Beck!!!

Sat, 2011-03-19 23:24

#15

N.Beltov

LOL!

Sat, 2011-03-19 23:26

#16

Fidel

I'm actually glad you corrected me on that. Cheers

ETA:

And you'll notice that nowhere in the US or even Canadian constitutions does it mention market ideology or even capitalism. The US constitution, for example, begins with the words,

"We the people..."

Sat, 2011-03-19 23:31

#17

welder

Fidel wrote:

I'm actually glad you corrected me on that. Cheers

ETA:

And you'll notice that nowhere in the US or even Canadian constitutions does it mention market ideology or even capitalism. The US constitution, for example, begins with the words,

"We the people..."

Hey Fidelis...

We agree on all counts!!!

Sat, 2011-03-19 23:37

#18

Fidel

Right on!

Sat, 2011-03-19 23:39

#19

Le T

Touche, ygtbk and welder.

But hey, at least you guys can look as foolish as Adolph Hitler!!!!!

Sat, 2011-03-19 23:49

#20

welder

Le T wrote:

Touche, ygtbk and welder.

But hey, at least you guys can look as foolish as Adolph Hitler!!!!!

Hmmm

Gramps fought to clear The Schelt...

Dad's cousin did serious time in a NAZI POW camp...

Not sure you could even attempt to equate me with Herr Schickelgruber...

That's a "WHIFF" of Ruthian proportions,Le T....

Sat, 2011-03-19 23:50

#21

Le T

Oh shut up. I was making fun of the giant foot that you put in your mouth as you tried to equate Fidel to Glen Beck. You clearly don't understand satire.

Sat, 2011-03-19 23:56

#22

welder

Le T wrote:

Oh shut up. I was making fun of the giant foot that you put in your mouth as you tried to equate Fidel to Glen Beck. You clearly don't understand satire.

Oh,I get satire just fine...

Equating anyone with one of the greatest liars and mass murderers of the 20th century is'nt remotely funny,and seeing as I've had family members suffer at the hands of NAZI aparatchiks,more than a little insulting...

My Dad's cousin was marched at gunpoint through the very same town in Germany my Great Grandfather emmigrated from..Stettin...It's now part of Poland because of Herr Schickelgruber...

You'd be doing yourself a huge favour by bowing out of this one gracefully....

Sun, 2011-03-20 00:08

#23

Le T

Sorry everyone for the derailment. Welder, seriously you don't get it. What I said had nothing to do with calling you Hitler. You missed the fact that Fidel changed the quote to make a point. You made some silly remark about him "massaging history" like Glen Beck. Clearly you dropped the most obnoxious fascist hate spewer around to make Fidel feel silly.

I'm sorry for the personal attack and making fun of you because you didn't get Fidel's point and then said some something stupid to try and make Fidel feel bad even though it was you that was the dummy. But please stop carting out your dad's cousin as evidence that you are more thoroughly offended by me using Hitler to make fun of the way that you used Beck. It is quite frankly extremely disrespectful to your dad's cousin and other people that suffered as a result of Hitler's regime.

Sun, 2011-03-20 00:22

#24

welder

Stay classy...

Sun, 2011-03-20 00:44

#25

al-Qa'bong

So how about NPR?

Sun, 2011-03-20 01:52

#26

6079_Smith_W

al-Qa'bong wrote:

So how about NPR?

Well the only serious dose of it I got was for two weeks in mid-February. "All Things Considered" isn't quite "As it Happens", but it was the only sane radio I heard the whole time I was down there (granted I didn't get too many places where I heard local alternative stations).

What I heard seemed to vary a lot more than CBC programming, and a few of the NPR stations I heard were, unlike a lot of CBC programming, very much like local community radio, in a good way.

I never heard Air America, but it would probably be an interesting comparison.

Then again, I think less media is a bad thing no matter what is on the block. Whether a station or publication offends someone's political sensibilities is pretty secondary to me.

Sun, 2011-03-20 07:47

#27

ygtbk

al-Qa'bong wrote:

Is public radio in the US delivered over cable?

Not that I know of.

Sun, 2011-03-20 12:58

#28

al-Qa'bong

So why do you keep harping on cable?

Sun, 2011-03-20 13:11

#29

Catchfire

"This American Life," which is ditributed by NPR, is one of the greatest things that country has ever produced. But it's not really in danger. Has anyone picked up on the fact that part of the motivation for this cut is that a producer was caught on air candidly making fun of the tea-party and other Republican elements? Notwithstanding the usual cyncicism, natch.

Sun, 2011-03-20 14:44

#30

6079_Smith_W

@ Catchfire

Yes, but it is surprising that it is even an issue given that commentators on some networks there have advocated assassination.

On the other hand, the last big attack on PBS that I recall came after that "Arthur" spinoff "Buster's Friends" or whatever it was, featured a child with two women for parents, so clearly the big hammer only swings one way.

Come to think of it, no wonder "Sesame Street" cancelled that Katy Perry segment, even if they were ridixuled for it. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Sun, 2011-03-20 17:52

#31

ygtbk

al-Qa'bong wrote:

So why do you keep harping on cable?

Because if you make one distribution method expensive, content will flow to another distribution method. It's not that complicated.

Sun, 2011-03-20 17:55

#32

al-Qa'bong

I must admit, you have made a simplistic argument.

I have many radio stations on my TV, via cable. I never listen to them.

Sun, 2011-03-20 18:11

#33

ygtbk

al-Qa'bong wrote:

I must admit, you have made a simplistic argument.

I have many radio stations on my TV, via cable. I never listen to them.

Agreed (with the caveat that a simplistic argument can sometimes be correct). I don't watch TV (other than DVD's) or listen to terrestrial radio. Too many other things to do!