jon zellwegerLetter to a #Senator / 05 May::
Mr. #Tillis_
Thank you for your response to my letter regarding the funding of #PublicBroadcasting. I steadfastly disagree with your belief that eliminating federal support of these networks is a meaningful contribution to addressing the country’s #deficit. 1/5
Frankly, the cost to each taxpayer at the current funding is less than $2/yr/citizen. In fact, the amount the member stations receive from the #CPB (on average 8% to 10%) will have a far greater impact on the health of those networks than those #taxsavings. 2/5
I also contest your assertion that there are #commercial solutions that achieve greater efficacy in providing #educational, politically-neutral news. In the #Raleigh area, the radio networks are clearly divided on party lines and offer more “infotainment” than real knowledge-worthy content. 3/5
#Broadcasttelevision is similar. It is quite well-recognized at this point that the 24-hour news networks are some of the reasons for the partisan divisiveness. Internet news is fraught as well with #click-bait. 4/5
Bottom line, I support quality programming that puts the content above advertising dollars and clicks. #Commercialnews is not altruistic. Make #publicbroadcasting better, do not throw the baby out with the bathwater! 5/5