Defend public broadcasting

WHEN PRESIDENT Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act in 1967, he said the purpose of the act was "to enrich man's spirit."

As the airwaves become cluttered with commercial messages, the need to retain outlets across the country that are relatively commercial free -- and operate in the public interest -- is even more crucial than it was 38 years ago. <snip>

Kenneth Tomlinson, appointed by President Bush to be chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, continues to insist that public television has a left-wing tilt, secretly hiring someone to monitor programs such as Bill Moyers' NOW. He also wants a former co-chairman of the Republican National Committee to be the corporation's next president. <snip>

Congress must move to restore funding for public broadcasting -- and politicians must stop meddling in a system that was supposed to operate to enrich the human spirit, not to appease whichever party happens to be in power in Washington.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/06/21/EDG3VDANSL1.DTL