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no no no no!
We need more public broadcasting in this country, not less. Lots more. Public broadcasting is part of this lost realm of the public good that we've been disastrously moving away from for the past thirty years. Everyone benefits from it, even people who don't listen to it, because we all benefit from a public that's informed by journalism that both has serious reach and isn't subjugated to the profit motive. Changing minds is absolutely a part of Fox's purpose, because they're changing people's minds so that they can make ever more money. Look at the recent study about how Fox viewers are more misinformed than anyone! It's pathetic, a complete betrayal of the purpose of media in a free society. But back to the public broadcast thing - this is a classic, classic free rider problem. There's only one way to equitably fix it - go the other direction, take the 2% up to 98%. I like the BBC funding model fine, a tax on teevees. That's an excellent model and they should fight like hell to keep it and tell Murdoch to take a hike. If Blair caves on this, he's a wimp. The web and blogging can make only the tiniest little dents in the corporate media empires, at least for now. We just don't have anything remotely like the reach that corporate media has.
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