WGBH stories

[Garrett Wollman <wollman>]

<<On Sun, 2 Aug 1998 20:43:05 EDT, Dib9@aol.com said:

> I find it interesting that in these stories WGBH is criticized for trying to
> play music that will attract listeners.  Isn't that the point?

I think there's a legitimate argument to be made that, if classical
music radio (of a certain style and presentation) is successful here
as a commercial enterprise, then the public broadcasters should be
doing something else.  The whole rationale for public funding of
broadcasting is that the recipients should be creating programming
which would otherwise be uneconomical -- not competing with other
broadcasters who pay taxes which in part support their subsidy!

(Of course, as we know, WGBH actually receives very little public
funding as a fraction of its operating budget.  WGBH-TV, on the other
hand, receives a great deal of public funding through the distribution
fees it charges other TV stations to air the programs they
distribute.  Most of these programs, of course, are not actually
produced by WGBH, despite what the credits say -- they just delete the
British, Irish, or Australian V/O and insert their own.)

- -GAWollman

- --
Garrett A. Wollman   | O Siem / We are all family / O Siem / We're all the same
wollman@lcs.mit.edu  | O Siem / The fires of freedom 
Opinions not those of| Dance in the burning flame
MIT, LCS, CRS, or NSA|                     - Susan Aglukark and Chad Irschick

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