tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972592.post110439756046297659..comments2023-09-19T17:44:32.648+02:00Comments on Media Network Series Two: US Public Radio slips back again as news sourceJonathan Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10649569693082320105noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972592.post-1104658413837281822005-01-02T10:33:00.000+01:002005-01-02T10:33:00.000+01:00"Local" news on TV in the US is anything but. Most..."Local" news on TV in the US is anything but. Most of the average local newscast is comprised of out-of-area reports picked up from APTN, CNN, Reuters TV or other sources. "If it bleeds, it leads" is the watchword in local TV news.<br /><br />As for NPR's and PBS's failure to maintain an audience, both of these public broadcasters are so beholden to commercial "underwriters" that they are seemingly unable to take a stand on anything.<br /><br />Any issue that contradicts an admimistration policy is addressed by at least one "expert" from the Heritage Foundation or the Cato Institute -- both conservative think tanks that pass ideology and innuendo off as fact, and are never challenged by the "journalists" conducting the interviews.<br /><br />So, if "public" broadcasting in the United States is losing audience, they have no one to blame but themselves. It's Paddy Chayefsky's "Network" writ large.<br /><br />73 and Happy New Year!<br /><br />Elton Byington, NYCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com