After resisting for a few days, I finally broke down an hour ago and (re)pledged membership/donation to WNYC-NPR during its Spring fundraising drive.
I believe in supporting an institution that provides me with a wonderful service. But as I mentioned in class, it sticks in my craw that PUBLIC radio is not fully funded by the government and that I have to give my private donations. It also makes me very uncomfortable to hear my favorite radio journalists “begging” for money. It's just not dignified!!! Brian Lehrer even just made the comment that we should give money "because this is public service broadcasting".
I can't help but contrast this with Australian public radio, the ABC – Australian Broadcasting Commission which is fully funded by the Australian government(and I assume it is the same for the British BBC).
There is a nonprofit called the Friends of the ABC (and yes I am a member), but the main function of the Friends is to lobby for continued government support for the ABC and to lobby AGAINST the introduction of any advertising on the ABC. See: http://www.friendsoftheabc.org/
So which is better? I will admit that NPR is probably better than the ABC in the quality, breadth and depth of its content, but don’t know if that is a result the private nonprofit v government-funded models, or because of “economies of scale” (i.e the difference in public radio between a country of 300 million people and a country of 20 million). I am not an expert on the BBC, but I suspect it would compare favorably with NPR.
This is also connected to the discussion of the size of the "welfare state". I don't know if ABC/BBC funding is calculated as part of the Australian/British GDP that is dedicated to the welfare state (I suspect that it is).
John C
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You raise substantial questions that go beyond government support and relate to the size of the US fundraising industry, lobbyists included, that has evolved over the past 30 or so years. For example, if the fundraising arm of a public school has the capacity to support a needed math teacher, does this mean this is the correct course of action, or does it in effect relieve the government of its responsibilty to fund this service for its citizens? And if the fed stepped in, like GM, many fundraisers would be out of a job.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the bigger picture is one of who- supports-what, getting back to the idea of welfare state vs. citiziens choosing what their causes are.
But John, I'm sure you really wanted to win the MacBook Pro - another feature of how incentives fuel the fundraising business!
Maryann McKenzie
HA!! You are wrong re the MACBook Pro. Don't get me started on MAC v PC!! Let's just say that my partner finally convinced me to switch from PC to MAC and I regret having caved in! .. but that's another story
ReplyDeleteEven though I WAS tempted by the solar-powered radio/flashlight/phone charger, I decided not to take it in order to increase the amount that stays with WNYC/NPR (and of course increase my tax deduction).
John
From what I have heard, the BBC is much bigger and has many more resources than NPR or any of the major media companies in the US, thanks to its government support.
ReplyDeleteThis is the crux of my issue with funding for the arts as well: Does relying on individual and private support for arts programs increase the quality of those programs (due to competition) or does it, in the end, simply waste a lot of time and money that could be spent providing the services more equitably and effectively?
~ Nancy
Looking forward to hearing Obama's Cairo speech this morning, I was surprised that it was interrupted several times by a either a commercial break or some other FCC-madated station identification thing. And my %^#&*$%*
ReplyDeletenotwithstanding, the curious thing is that the 4 ads were for 'multicultural' orgs:
1) Holy Name Hospital;
2) Emirates, the Saudi airline;
3) Hofstra U;
4) the Henry Hudson exhibit @ some NYC museum
Maryann McKenzie
But the BBC is not free!
ReplyDeleteResidents have to pay a TV tax (shocking to Americans!) as follows:
____________________
The annual cost of a colour TV licence (set by the Government) is currently £142.50. That works out at less than £12 per month - about 39p per day for each household. A black and white TV licence is £48.
The licence (whether colour or black and white) is free if you are 75 or over, and half-price if you are registered blind, although you still need to apply.
What your licence fee provides
The BBC is paid for directly through each household TV licence. This allows it to run a wide range of popular public services for everyone, free of adverts and independent of advertisers, shareholders or political interests.
______________________
I bought a TV to watch at my elderly aunt's cottage in Ireland and her reaction was immediate fear that the taxman would find it!!
We hid it in the box when not in the country but an inspector still came round (probably just assuming that everyone must have a TV by now).
He left when he noticed that she had no bathroom, central heat or hot water but she has not forgotten my faux pas!
At least NPR is voluntary!
Being a public radio junkie and assuming that the U.K.’s version was better than ours thanks to tax-payer support, I was about to mindlessly jump to the defense of the BBC. Until I read this article in the Guardian.
ReplyDeleteBBC overpays radio presenters, says scathing MPs' report
By John Plunkett
The Guardian, Thursday 4 June 2009
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jun/04/bbc-radio-presenters-pay-mps
Amidst the scandals in British Parliament, the BBC is now also under attack for abusing public funds and the public. According to a report released by the House of Commons public accounts select committee, the BBC is paying some of its radio personalities more than twice the salary of its commercial competitors. In addition, the agency is withholding detailed salary figures from the National Audit Office, arguably to keep the talent from driving up the BBC’s costs.
The article notes that the BBC has been increasing its rates, while commercial radio has had to cut them, due to decreasing advertising sales. This is hard to imagine, based on the U.S. public radio model, in which working for NPR is akin to taking a public service job like a teacher or police officer. The rewards are personal, not financial.
I suppose that what we can learn from the BBC example is that when an agency becomes too monolithic, it can begin to act more like a business than a public service.
~ Nancy