As mentioned, I always give to my PBS and NPR stations, but I generally don't watch or listen to the pledge breaks, either...And the reason I support both is because I appreciate their regular programming. Unless it's something I really want to watch, I rarely watch the programming specifically during the pledge times. First, because some of those are becoming old and dated and I've seen them, but also, the Doo Wop and other programming where they bring back all the big music acts from the 50s and 60s are horribly produced, with lots of canned screaming and cheering inserted at certain times. So fake and amateurish.
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PBS Pledge Week: it's baaaack!
- Thread starter joebtsflk1
- Start date
PBS should stop begging for money main programs will stay as-is and PBS can make it on its own since Big Bird pays millions to PBS 1 million times over PBS waste money why they beg every year and it should stop. My tax dollars shouldn't go to PBS and those that want to donate to PBS should but tax dollars shouldn't be going to PBS since they make a lot of money with Big Bird as I said before.
Not true. PBS doesn't own Sesame Street or Big Bird. And Sesame Street is now on HBO, not PBS.
"Big Bird", - actually the television program Sesame Street, is produced by Sesame Workshop and is not a part of PBS, nor does PBS get revenue from the sale of Sesame Street merchandise or products. The only real affiliation is that PBS used to air first run episodes of Sesame Street from 1969 to 2015. Since 2015, HBO (now HBO Max) has picked up the first run episodes, and just under a year later, PBS can air them in second run. In short, Big Bird is not "paying millions to PBS".
The argument has been made before as to whether or not public broadcasting (NPR radio and PBS TV) should be publicly funded. Others may know how much or what percentage of their funding comes from the government, but according to my local NPR affiliate, the majority of their funding which is required to pay staff, buy programming, maintain the studios and transmitters, etc. comes from private and corporate donations, which is exactly why they're always "begging for money". - Which, incidentally, they'll need to do even more often and perhaps in a higher profile way if you also want to take away their public funding.
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Depends what you mean by "the government." This whole conversation about the government paying for public broadcasting took place 40 years ago when Ronald Reagan was president. He wanted to cut funding, so he changed the whole process. Today, federal funding is based on the amount of money the station raises locally. So that's why local public stations need to beg for money. The federal money is delivered in what are called "challenge grants." So they challenge the local stations to raise money in order to receive the federal money. The more money they raise locally, the more they qualify for to get from the government. The main thing is that this isn't a welfare program, where they don't have to do anything to get the money. There are lots of hoops to jump through, and lots of paperwork to file.
So the simple answer to your question about what percentage of a station's money comes from the government depends on the station and how much they raise from other places.
And think again Everybody...PBS' December Pledge Week is back with new specials of Celebrating PBS Newshour, Sarah Brightman, Celtic Woman, The Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra Christmas Show and more... plus encore presentations of Yanni: Live at the Acropolis, Great Performances: Andrea Bocelli at Central Park, The 1992 Great Performances Special of Unforgettable with Natalie Cole, Suze Orman, and more...
Yep, it's about time for me to make my annual donation to my local NPR station and the one PBS station I sometimes watch. The envelopes and flyers reminding everyone it's that time of year have been arriving in the mailbox for the past few weeks.
How much goes to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and how much goes to the local stations?
The congressional appropriation goes directly to CPB, who then distribute the money.
The only purpose for the CPB is as a distributor of money. They distribute money to the local stations and to program producers.
According to that, they distribute more than 70% of their funding to local stations.
Rick Steves who does a travel show about The EU on some PBS affiliates on the weekend his shows are a source for pledge programming in some areas. I know on the weekends Rick Steves will do one from where ever he's doing the pledge programming from and he will tell viewers to donate to the specific stations in some cases like KQED, KVIE most notably. Or in a generic form like donate to your public television stations in some cases.
Rick Steves's Not-So-Lonely Planet (Published 2004)
Sara Corbett profile of travel guidebook writer, tour operator and television travelogue star Rick Steves; he has made fortune discovering and expertly promoting Europe's little-known, inexpensive hotels, villages and restaurants to older and less cosmopolitan Americans; photos (M)
But those health talks that air on PBS that sounds like they came out of the Dr. Oz segment are made by the affiliates and not so much PBS itself
PBS | Ombudsman | Cancer Is 'Serious Business.' Is the 'Documentary'?
This Web site, provided by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), is home to more than 350 television show companion sites in addition to Web-original sites. PBS Online hosts interactive content for everyone including kids, parents, educators, and the general audience.
www.pbs.org
Case and point. The movie in question about cancer and the snake oil allegations was from KBDI-TV in Denver the PBS affiliate in question.
This is how PBS affiliates around the country get some of their pledge programming from.
Cancer film on Colorado pubTV prompts PBS Ombudsman column - Current
PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler takes on a controversial documentary aired by a local station, Denver-based Colorado Public Television, in his latest column. Burzynski the Movie — Cancer Is Serious Business ran as a March pledge special on CPT. It follows a Polish-born physician and biochemist...
current.org
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Colorado PBS: Becoming a wretched hive of scum and quackery?
Over the weekend, as I was contemplating what to write about for today, I received a rather odd and unexpected e-mail. Indeed, it was with great surprise that I read this e-mail on Saturday morning, sent to the Burzynski Movie mailing list: Dear Burzynski Movie Subscribers: Major International...
respectfulinsolence.com
PBS | Ombudsman | PBS, Yes and No
This Web site, provided by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), is home to more than 350 television show companion sites in addition to Web-original sites. PBS Online hosts interactive content for everyone including kids, parents, educators, and the general audience.
www.pbs.org
PBS | Ombudsman | Caution: That Program May Not Be From PBS
This Web site, provided by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), is home to more than 350 television show companion sites in addition to Web-original sites. PBS Online hosts interactive content for everyone including kids, parents, educators, and the general audience.
www.pbs.org
PBS | Ombudsman | The Mailbag
This Web site, provided by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), is home to more than 350 television show companion sites in addition to Web-original sites. PBS Online hosts interactive content for everyone including kids, parents, educators, and the general audience.
www.pbs.org
Some of the complaints over PBS having infomercials have their origin in the PBS Ombudsman column directed at KBDI Denver a secondary PBS affiliate in Colorado. In able for some secondary stations to remain on the air they would resort to this. Some of the secondary PBS stations are where some of the Infomercial have their origins in.
I've been rewatching Red Dwarf with my wife, and I can't really convey how much fun it was watching these on Saturday nights with pledge drive breaks starring George Ray in between the episodes. Back before binge watching became a thing, it was a whole night of binge watching with everyone watching KCTS.
Think Again Everybody, PBS' March 2022 Pledge Campaign is BACK with Brand New Specials like An Evening with Lerner & Loewe: Broadway in Concert, Deepak Chopra: Your Path to Enlightment, Some Masterpiece Specials(Endeavour: The Evolution, Around the World in 80 Days: Unpacking the Adventure), The Rolling Stones - A Bigger Bang: Live from Copacabana Beach, Italy Made with Love, From Sea to Shining Sea and More, and then some ENCORE specials from Suze Orman, Great Performances: Andrea Bocelli: Live in Central Park, Celtic Woman, The My Music Specials, and MORE, AND IT LAST FOR 2 WEEKS From Yesterday Through March 13th!!
And for my PBS Station KPBS in San Diego, AS USUAL, its 3-WEEK March Membership Campaign started Yesterday and it will END on Sunday March 20th, the March campaign as usual as a 3 WEEK CAMPAIGN!!!!
And for my PBS Station KPBS in San Diego, AS USUAL, its 3-WEEK March Membership Campaign started Yesterday and it will END on Sunday March 20th, the March campaign as usual as a 3 WEEK CAMPAIGN!!!!
New episodes are on HBO, then they go to PBS.
Just in time for Lent, pledge time is back....
FUN FACT: Frankie Laine's final appearance was on a PBS special that was often aired during pledge breaks. Back in 2006, he performed "That's My Desire" on a PBS special after being introduced by Danny Aiello (also RIP). Another fact about Frankie Laine (sorry for veering from the stated subject of this thread a bit), is that he can be heard belting out the theme song at the beginning of the Mel Brooks movie "Blazing Saddles". One reason he's singing with such heart is because Brooks never bothered to tell him the whole movie was a comedy/parody. According to one story, Brooks put out a search for a "Frankie Laine - type" to sing the title song, and Frankie himself answered and asked why he himself shouldn't do it.
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Very cool....I remember working at a Westwood One Adult Standards affiliate and Chick Watkins was interviewing Frankie on his 80th birthday....that would have been 1998. He had just released a new album.