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Re: VRM and public TV.
I think public radio is a lot closer to being fully "public" than public TV. I also think it's healthier all-around, just considering the lack of competition around its core offerings. While the AM and FM radio bands have become no larger, public radio has improved its offerings and solidified its audience while commercial radio has become more and more homogenized and downscale. Meanwhile, public television has become more generic on "dials" that have expanded constantly. I don't even know how many hundreds of channels we get on our DishTV system; but I do know a good couple dozen of them are duplicative of what public TV alone brings. And when I set the receiver to "HD Only", the PBS channel disappears, because it's in lo-def. At the same time, public radio has been much more aggressive about using the Net. Most public (and noncommercial) stations broadcast on the Web as well as over the air, and have made it easier and easier for listeners to contribute both input and money. There is lots of room for improvement, of course; but it's way ahead of public TV on this count. In my opinion, anyway. Not last and not least, public radio is cheaper and easier to deploy, both on air and on Net. Oh, and a larger percentage of its money comes from listeners. That helps too.
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