If you're even the slightest media junkie, I’d be willing to bet you’ve heard that National Public Radio (NPR) news analyst Juan Williams was fired. The decision supposedly came as a result of Williams’ comments on Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor. I’m not going to ask you to comment on whether or not you thought Williams’ comments were appropriate, or whether or not NPR should have done what they did, because all of this really leads into a larger, more significant question: should American taxpayers continue to subsidize public radio and television?
We’ve spoken out on this issue before but, in light of this week’s news, it seems to be generating more attention than ever before. Back in June, we sent a letter of support to Representative Doug Lamborn (R-CO) for his legislation to end all funding for the quasi-governmental Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which partially funds NPR. Here is an excerpt from the letter that explains our position in greater detail:
“While CPB is a private, non-profit organization that raises its own funds through many different outlets, taxpayers still bear the burden of approximately 13 percent of its total income. CPB received $420 million from taxpayer subsidies in 2010 alone, and that number is likely to grow considerably in the coming years. There is little doubt that public broadcasters disseminate useful information and quality programming, but taxpayers simply should not be responsible for funding a private entity that exists in a robust market serving consumers of many preferences and income levels.
Furthermore, it is unjustifiable that federal funding of the CPB has risen 26 percent over the past decade when the original purpose of that exercise has become virtually obsolete. Initially, the Public Broadcasting Act was created to institute taxpayer-backed public broadcasting in order to make telecommunications services available to all citizens. That is hardly a concern today as we find 99 percent of Americans in possession of a television and over 95 percent of them have access to the Internet.”
Senator Jim DeMint has said he will introduce a similar bill in the Senate once Congress reconvenes, so we will keep you posted on that legislation.
If Congress truly desires to restore fiscal responsibility and accountability to Washington, public broadcasting is a good place to start. This issue isn’t any more critical today than it was four months ago. It’s just more visible, more relevant, which we’re hoping paves the way for past-due Congressional action. We’re not concerned with the politics of it all. We’re looking out for taxpayers, and we believe defunding CPB is the right thing to do.