[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 31, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S1801]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    FUNDING FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, today we find ourselves in the midst of 
an information services technological revolution. At no time in our 
history has access to information and information services been more 
important. In light of this, I am concerned about recent proposals to 
reduce drastically or to eliminate Federal support for public 
broadcasting, a primary source of information for millions.
  As we consider the future of public broadcasting, let us not forget 
that cable television, which many have suggested can fill the gap, 
currently reaches only 60 percent of U.S. households. Forty percent of 
American households do not have cable television primarily because it 
is cost prohibitive or because cable service is simply unavailable in 
their communities. While cable television has given millions of 
Americans remarkable access to information and entertainment, it is not 
an adequate substitute for public broadcasting. Mr. President, 
currently on no other network can you find the variety of programming 
which public broadcasting offers.
  Children's programming on public broadcasting provides parents with a 
guaranty of quality without violence. Programs such as ``Ghostwriter,'' 
``Reading Rainbow,'' ``Bill Nye the Science Guy,'' ``Sesame Street,'' 
and ``Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego'' educate and entertain our 
children without bombarding them with commercials. In addition, from 
``Wall Street Week With Louis Rukeyser'' to ``MacNeil/Lehrer 
NewsHour,'' from ``Austin City Limits'' to ``Live From Lincoln 
Center,'' millions of adult Americans turn to public broadcasting for 
exposure to cultural events, news and commentary, documentaries, and 
instructional programming. Public broadcasting has brought our Nation 
unparalleled historical and political documentaries such as ``Eyes on 
the Prize'' and ``The Civil War.'' For a little less than $1 per 
American annually, we make an investment in our children and in the 
preservation and dissemination of our culture and our history.
  I am proud that my own State of Maryland has a State public 
broadcasting network, Maryland Public Television [MPT], with an 
unequalled commitment to State historical and educational programming. 
Maryland Public Television produces more local documentaries than any 
other local station in the State. Marylanders can study for their GED 
or earn college credit through MPT. MPT has also been one of the 
leaders on the information superhighway. Through its electronic 
classroom, MPT has made it possible for students to see and talk to 
scientists at the South Pole. MPT is just one example of the many 
superb public broadcasting networks across the Nation which, on very 
limited budgets, manage to serve viewer needs while keeping up with the 
technological advancements currently sweeping the telecommunications 
industry.
  We have recently heard claims that public broadcasting is elitist. I 
would suggest, Mr. President, that it is in fact anything but elitist. 
Public broadcasting is the one network available to Americans 
regardless of where they live or how much money they earn. There are 
communities in my State, both rural and urban, in which a public 
broadcasting station is one of perhaps two or three stations accessible 
without cable. In fact I grew up in one of those towns, Salisbury, MD, 
and my mother still resides there. Corporation for Public Broadcasting 
[CPB] statistics show that 48 percent of Americans who listen to 
National Public Radio [NPR] have household incomes of $40,000 or less 
annually. Public broadcasting is often one of the tools used by rural 
America to attract businesses and residents. The presence of a public 
broadcasting radio or television station assures prospective businesses 
and residents that they will not be cut off from cultural events and 
access to news and information.
  Often when we discuss the future of public broadcasting we talk only 
about television. We forget the importance of public radio. How will 
cable compensate for the loss of public radio? Nearly 90 percent of all 
Americans have access to a public radio signal. Public radio provides 
its listeners with local community-oriented programming while also 
linking them to the Nation and the world. Public Radio International 
[PRI] and National Public Radio [NPR] are the two major distribution 
services for public radio. PRI's mission of operation is to engage 
listeners with distinctive radio programs that provide information, 
insights, and cultural experiences essential to understanding a 
diverse, interdependent world. PRI distributes to public radio stations 
across the Nation such widely popular shows as Garrison Keillor's--``A 
Prairie Home Companion'' and the ``Baltimore Symphony Orchestra,'' 
jointly produced by WJHU of Baltimore and WETA in Washington, DC. NPR 
is known nationwide for producing outstanding programs such as ``All 
Things Considered'' and ``Morning Edition.'' Individual public radio 
stations can be affiliates of both PRI and NPR. This assures public 
radio stations of access to the broadest possible range of programming 
regardless of their location.
  Many public radio stations serve rural communities which would 
otherwise be entirely without radio service. Over 90 percent of public 
radio's share of public broadcasting funds goes directly to local 
stations serving local communities. These radio stations respond 
directly to the needs and wants of their communities. Many of these 
communities and ethnically disparate, therefore requiring a commitment 
to diverse programming. Commercial radio has declared many of these 
areas commercially inviable. These communities are often too small and 
too far flung to support stations on their own. In my own State of 
Maryland, public radio stations such as WESM on the Eastern Shore play 
an important role in supporting the goals of education, literacy, 
volunteerism, and in working to combat youth violence. Are we now 
prepared to tell these communities that at a cost of 29 cents per 
taxpayer, the Federal Government is also declaring them unworthy of 
radio access to news, information, and entertainment?
  Mr. President, throughout its history public broadcasting has set the 
standard against which we have measured the quality of commercial 
programming, and with the advent of the information superhighway public 
broadcasting is needed now more than ever. Millions of Americans will 
find themselves on byroads instead of the superhighway without public 
broadcasting. In my view, we should protect the access of all Americans 
to reliable educational programming and quality entertainment. I look 
forward to working with all of my colleagues in affirming the 
contributions of public broadcasting to our society and in ensuring 
that public broadcasting continues to enhance our lives and enlighten 
our minds.


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