Today, I read in the news that PBS will ban new religious television shows. I knew that during the Bush regime PBS was encouraged (hijacked?) into broadcasting more right-leaning material, but why did PBS ever have religious programming?
From the news article, I have learned that some PBS stations not only carry religious programming but they are also owned by religious organizations. As stated by Paul Farhi, “Until now, PBS stations have been required to present programming that is noncommercial, nonpartisan and nonsectarian … KYBU in Salt Lake City is … operated by an affiliate of the Mormon Church … KMBH in Harlingen, Tex., operated by the local Catholic diocese; and WLAE in New Orleans, operated by a Catholic lay organization.” You can review information about PBS here and the PBS editorial standards here.
How can we expect a sectarian organization to broadcast non-sectarian programming? How can we expect a sectarian owner to provide balanced and fair programming presenting all viewpoints? Are the Catholic stations (yes, I am going to call them “Catholic stations”) going to broadcast programs that present positive viewpoints on extramarital sexual activity, gays, gay marriage, birth control, married priests, Islam, Judaism or the systematic sexual abuse by priests of Catholic children? I doubt it. The matching Catholic funding would disappear if that happened.
PBS is a television broadcasting network that runs under the umbrella of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). CPB receives federal funding — public money — to provide various forms of public broadcasting to the public. You can read about the objectivity of CPB here, but let’s consider the very first sentence:
From its advent almost four decades ago, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has had a legal mandate to ensure “strict adherence to objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature.” This principle is part of the bedrock of public broadcasting in America, a country built upon a foundation of lively and open political and social discourse.
I have no access to the PBS stations identified by Paul Farhi as being owned by sectarian interests, but I cannot believe that these sectarian owners can ever adhere to the CPB mandate. The fact that PBS has allowed these stations to continue their current religious shows instead of requiring their removal, is primary evidence that these statsions do not adhere to the CPB mandate, much less the standards of PBS. Have we all forgotten the First Amendment?
The fact of the matter is that my tax dollars that are collected by and distributed from the federal government means that CPB, PBS and the identified local PBS stations, are in violation of the First Amendment. Yeah, I know — what else is new? The First Amendment is very good to everyone, it just depends on your perspective.
I always thought that every local PBS station was owned by public entities or cooperatives. I never knew that they could be owned by private sectarian organizations. My bad. While I could thank PBS for making sure that no new religious programs are broadcast, what the hell are they going to do about the current ones? Continue to fund those stations with my tax dollars and indoctrinate the local citizenry into Mormon and Catholic teachings, philosophies and practices? Thank you for raping us of our First Amendment protections. Anyone got some lube? I’ve been rubbed raw by so many violations.
Note for clarification: There is nothing wrong with having programming that explores the history and practices of various religions, nor is there anything wrong with shows that discuss various experiences of followers of various religions. It is wrong to have programming dedicated to a single religion. Public funding for such programming is in direct violation of the First Amendment. (If I am wrong, Procrustes will correct me. Maybe he has the lube?)
