What do you guys think about PBS? Do you ever watch it?

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For a very long time, I totally forgot about PBS. Basically from about the time I aged out of Sesame Street to just a few years ago--so a span of about 25 years--I had no real awareness of PBS's continuing existence and never even thought to watch the channel.

But then someone got me into the British series Poirot, which aired in the US on PBS. And from there, I got interested in their American Experience series, Frontline and GOAT Burns's docs.

I also occasionally watch the PBS NewsHour.

It has occurred to me though that a great many people are exactly where I was a few years ago, oblivious to PBS and its modern offerings. Public television in general seems to even be a bit of a weird thing conceptually here in the United States and I know a lot of people have said that the government should cut its funding, even though only 0.012% of the Federal budget is appropriated for its continued operation. (Neil deGrasse Tyson said that cutting PBS's funding to balance the budget is akin to deleting some text files to make room on your 500 GB hard drive.)

What do you guys think about the network? Do you ever watch it? If so, why? If not, why not?


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PBS conjures images of dudes in sweaters by a fireplace trying to enlighten one-another. Hard pass.
 
PBS is a national treasure..

Still better then Discovery/History channel..
 
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Always creeped me out. Am I confusing him with Captain Kangaroo? Hmmmmmm.

I dunno, but no one who knew him ever had anything but good things to say about Mr. Rogers.

He was a seriously beloved figure by kids and adults alike. Just look at how he gets everyone emotional by little more than his presence here:





On topic, he also famously went to bat for Public Broadcasting in 1969:


 
It's for kids and old stuffy people. I did the former. I'm sure I'll do the latter and get my tote bag when I'm old as fuck.
 
PBS is a national treasure..

Still better the Discovery/History channel..

Oh yeah, way better than the Discovery Channel or History Channel. That's actually the main reason that I don't get pissed that my tax dollars go to help fund it: PBS doesn't suck. They do a lot of genuinely good work.

I just watched this recently and it was excellent:


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This was also great:


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Oh yeah, way better than the Discovery Channel or History Channel. That's actually the main reason that I don't get pissed that my tax dollars go to help fund it: PBS doesn't suck. They do a lot of genuinely good work.

I just watched this recently and it was excellent:


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This was also great:


american-experience-war-of-the-worlds.jpg

I whole heartedly agree my man...

Some of the best documentaries you will still ever see..

One of the only stations to still stand true in what it wants its viewers to get out of it and how it does it..
 
I do when I'm scrolling through and see a music program on...really of any kind. This past weekend they had Beach Boys documentary on between the segments of begging for monthly donations.
 
I whole heartedly agree my man...

Some of the best documentaries you will still ever see..

Since you mentioned Discovery and History, let me mention the Smithsonian Channel. Not sure if you ever watch it, but they also do some good work.

The Smithsonian Channel is a lot like what Discovery and History were like back when they were worth a shit.

https://www.smithsonianchannel.com

One of the only stations to still stand true in what it wants its viewers to get out of it and how it does it..

The style is very much the same as it was 30 years ago, just updated.

I wonder what their overall viewership numbers look like these days. I know that their daily news program PBS NewsHour has dropped in viewership substantially over the years. I read an article a bit ago that said, if I remember correctly, from 2005 to 2015 they lost 48% of the viewership. That's an insane drop, especially in only 10 years. About 1 million people per night watch the NewsHour now, while CBS/ABC/NBC's nightly news programs pull in between 6 and 9 million viewers per night.
 
I do when I'm scrolling through and see a music program on...really of any kind. This past weekend they had Beach Boys documentary on between the segments of begging for monthly donations.

They do ask for money a lot, but from what I understand they really need it. In the post above I was just talking about their news program, PBS NewsHour. Just from what I've read, I get the impression that they're basically running on fumes financially.

One day when I actually have something to give them I'll heed that call and make a donation.
 
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Since you mentioned Discovery and History, let me mention the Smithsonian Channel. Not sure if you ever watch it, but they also do some good work.

The Smithsonian Channel is a lot like what Discovery and History were like back when they were worth a shit.

https://www.smithsonianchannel.com



The style is very much the same as it was 30 years ago, just updated.

I wonder what their viewership numbers look like these days. I know that their daily news program PBS NewsHour has dropped in viewship substantially over the years. I read an article a bit ago that said, if I remember correctly, from 2005 to 2015 they lost 48% of the viewership. That's an insane drop, especially in only 10 years. About 1 million people per night watch the NewsHour now, while CBS/ABC/NBC's nightly news programs pull in between 6 and 9 million viewers per night.

Oh I have..

I'm a nut with history, was my major. And I agree, I was busting Disc/Hist balls because watching it now is just

SAD.

Just a bunch of CGI and off topic reality TV shows to get the young people to watch
 
Oh I have..

I'm a nut with history, was my major. And I agree, I was busting Disc/Hist balls because watching it now is just

SAD.

Just a bunch of CGI and off topic reality TV shows to get the young people to watch

So you've watched the Smithsonian Channel? What do you think about it?

I just discovered it more or less by accident when I ran across one of their documentaries on Netflix. I had never even heard of the Smithsonian Channel before that.
 
So you've watched the Smithsonian Channel? What do you think about it?

I just discovered it more or less by accident when I ran across one of their documentaries on Netflix. I had never even heard of the Smithsonian Channel before that.

I like..

I want to say it is basically a joint venture in broadcasting with PBS. ?

So basically the same format, like you said. The same substance that has worked for just about two generations.

I'll allow it...

If you have not seen the documentary on the Dustbowl from PBS, I highly recommend it..
 
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