A network of independent, noncommercial television and radio stations that operate with public and government funding instead of with revenues from advertising
Every American citizen has the right to authentic and unaltered information as long as it is presented unbiasedly, allowing every citizen of the country to express their opinion. It is one of the most basic human rights and therefore is part of the basis of the constitution of the USA and many other countries.
However, nowadays, information has ceased to be free and has been inclined to completely private entities. Many of these private services have a cost to be acquired, and in addition, they also have a particular bias based on their own opinion.
Given this, the government is obliged to enforce the citizens’ right to information and uses Public Broadcasting as an option that directly benefits the entire nation.
What is Public Broadcasting?
As we have explained, public broadcasting is a service that enforces citizens’ right to information by offering high-quality programming using our tax payments.
This information can be distributed in the form of local news, international news or even local programming of different types. Moreover, it can be supplemented by any existing media, the most present being television, radio, and internet programs.
The entities in charge of fulfilling this burden are the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the case of television and the National Public Radio (NPR) in the case of radio. These, in turn, are divided into several stations that are part of the great conglomerate, providing free information to citizens.
Where do they get the funds to operate?
Despite being institutions that can be considered governmental, both NPR and PBS do not operate entirely on government funding. Each has its way of obtaining funds for its operation, which include donations, advertising, financing from some companies and commissions from its licenses.
Lately, the lack of funding has tipped the scales of these public media outlets, which may directly affect the quality of the information provided. Much of the information is beginning to have a leftist tendency, losing its essence of neutrality that should be proper for public information.
What is the public’s reception to this information?
In the United States today, information continues to be broadcast from both public and private channels. However, while still enjoying some public radio programming, surveys show that citizens prefer private media for news.
This drop in followers is primarily due to a large number of regulations on public broadcasting, which makes it impossible for it to be biased toward the population of any one place. This fact ends up getting them less loyal followers than private media that have information that may be more in line with the local opinion on an event.
What benefits does Public Broadcasting bring to U.S. citizens?
Although it is a type of broadcasting considered a minority in the face of new trends where information is sought from private providers, public broadcasting continues to be one of the ways to obtain accurate information quickly and free of charge.
Citizens can get news and accurate information directly from any media and, in turn, can use these same media to transmit to others quickly and conveniently. This ambiguity that allows receiving and distributing information is highly useful, especially in emergencies.
In addition, we must remember that public broadcasting is divided into two types of broadcast: national and local. Local programming broadcasts are intended to better understand that area’s population, using a language specific to the area. Likewise, they tend to share the same cultural values, thus creating a better rapport with their followers.
Also, the fact that it is a type of public broadcasting facilitates the promotion of different values that are not considered in private broadcasts. Among these, we can find the diversity of news, the possibility of broadcasting local events that generally would not be taken into account, and adapting the programming of certain localities more to the public’s liking in that area.
Finally, since this is a type of public programming, any information or issues that arise within these programs can be addressed directly using a public physical address. This fact dramatically facilitates legal disagreements and allows for quick and convenient resolutions.
What is the current state of U.S. Public Broadcasting?
Both PBS and NPR are viable options for getting information and programs of all kinds that are to the liking of the inhabitants of each area. However, the neglect of government funding has lately made them more dependent on themselves.
Donations have become their most solid income in addition to advertising, which has led to the information being labeled as having political leanings of a particular type on certain occasions.
This situation has led governmental entities to make constant declarations about the support that these media outlets should have to support the true right of impartial, complete and truthful information for all citizens.
We can only wait for the result of the actions that will be taken to correct the impartiality that must be present within this information system.
