This afternoon I was treated to a unique pleasure. For about 20 minutes, I recorded an interview to be used as a "Listener Testimonial" for WBUR, Bostons NPR affiliate. I sat in studio 3C where On Point is broadcast. The WBUR studio, nestled against the Boston University campus, is unlike anything I've ever seen and yes, I've seen the inside of a few radio stations (and local cable TV studios). I was greeted warmly and the staff seemed to genuinely appreciate that I was willing to come in and be interviewed. I was fortunate enough to be asked for a listener testimonial, in part because I've been a WBUR member since 2002 and I've been making monthly contributions to the station for the past three years with regularly scheduled credit card payments (a convenient and affordable way to support WBUR ). One of the questions I was asked was why was it important for me to take time out of my day and drive to Boston from Lawrence, just to talk about why I listen to WBUR. The answer is important enough for me to share with everyone.
I've been a fan of public broadcasting for as long as I can remember. As a child growing up before cable TV, the Internet and the wasteland of talk radio, PBS was the gold standard for quality television. Channel 2 was on constantly around the house growing up. My grandfather, who lived through the great depression and World War 2 had a 6th grade education and literally worked himself into an early grave supporting his family (that included my divorced mother, my sister and I) was an avid watcher of Public Television. Monty Python, The World at War, The McNeil-Lehrer report, NOVA, Masterpiece Theater all held my grandfather's attention and competed with lesser programming for mine (often winning). Like many people of his generation, My grandfather understood the importance of education and he did not mock intellectuals as "elites" to be distrusted. My Grandfather was not well educated but he was smart and most importantly, he aspired to be more than he was, to understand the world and to grow. I created my own relationship with PBS in 1980 with Cosmos and Carl Sagan and my own children grew up watching PBS.
I rarely listened to public radio however, until I started a new job in Waltham and had to face an hour long commute from Lawrence. Desperate for anything intellectually stimulating I surfed the dial those first few days until I found 90.9FM and I was hooked ever since. While I listened to NPR throughout the 90's, I never contributed until after September 11th. In the hazy and confusing days after the terrorist attack people were desperate for answers and the corporate media moved overnight from being the watchdog of democracy to a defacto public relations arm of the government. I began to notice a change in the tone of public discourse and news coverage. From Fox news anchors wearing flag pins to Ari Fleischer telling Americans to watch what they say, the news media we desperately needed willingly shut down, except for public radio. While NPR didn't assume the role of the loyal "opposition" like the Pacifica Radio network (also part of PBS but looked at as the rarely seen hippie cousin of the public broadcasting family), it nevertheless provided the only comprehensive, objective news reporting available in the first few months of the "war". So, in 2002 I finally put my money where my ears were and became a WBUR member.
In the years since, the corporate media landscape has only gotten worse. Even on cable TV with it's 24 hour news cycle there is precious little comprehensive, in depth news coverage. This superficial coverage is exacerbated by the plague of wretched commentary shows like Hannity and Colmes, O'Reilly factor, and Countdown (sorry Olberman, even though I may agree with you most of the time you are a piss poor journalist). ( It should be noted that C-SPAN is a noteworthy and praiseworthy exception to this trend) Talk radio is even worse. Gone are the days when people could actually learn about complex issues on the airwaves. One need only listen to WTKK FM for a day to see how low we've sunk. Can anyone honestly say that Michael Graham, Jay Severin, Michelle McPhee or Jim & Margerie actually inform anyone or promote anything resembling a deep conversation about the difficult issues we face? The airwaves are filled with pontificating jack-asses telling us what THEIR opinions are. Commercial radio is a wasteland of irrational, anti-intellectual propaganda. The American people are literally being made dumber by talk radio. (take a look at my older postings here to see what I think of Michael Graham)
By contrast, public radio serves the public interest, just as all radio and TV stations once did. Without the headaches of stock holders and the need to turn a profit or satisfy advertisers, public radio is free to focus on doing what its supposed to do; provide objective, comprehensive, in depth news and public affairs programming that will inform the public, promote understanding, and incite public discourse. Bill Moyers once said that real news is the news we need to remain free. NPR and WBUR is the only reliable, trustworthy source of "real news" we have left and it deserves our support. Public broadcasting isn't government run though its partially government funded. This is PUBLIC radio, it's OUR radio station and WE need to pay our fair share. I support WBUR because its MY station. It's your station also...give it a listen and judge for yourself: www.wbur.org
You can also check out:
www.npr.org
www.pri.org
www.pacifica.org/
