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

[Mondo Freaks]

I used to watch Mr Bean on Saturdays.

 

[Guestx]

PBS should just start using sponsors like regular television does. . .

The problem with doing that is that they are then beholden to those entities, just like corporate channels are. Right now there are all kinds of rules to prevent that and I think it should stay that way.

 

[ralphc1]

There actually was a story several years ago from UCLA that said the PBS NewsHour was the most centrist news program on television. Considering that they are publicly-funded, they really need to be.

It is interesting to watch the NewsHour and then compare it to the other news programs out there because the approach does feel pretty different, on a number of levels.

They don't have the pressure from sponsors.

 

[ralphc1]

The problem with doing that is that they are then beholden to those entities, just like corporate channels are. Right now there are all kinds of rules to prevent that and I think it should stay that way.

The Wisconsin public television stations are connected to the university system and the Republican governor hates education and especially teachers. He took their pensions and collective bargaining rights. Teachers are quitting and they have trouble replacing them. There is a big nursing shortage in the state because there are a limited number of instructors.

 

[Guestx]

They don't have the pressure from sponsors.

Who doesn't?

When you say sponsors, do you mean advertisers? Because PBS already has corporate sponsors, like Intel.

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

Only brain dead right wing conspiracy loving morons think we should cut PBS.

The reason they say that is because they’re dumb and can’t understand that PBS doesn’t air professional hot dog eating contests.

 

[Scott Parker 27]

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?

I love PBS and always have. The Vietname War, Frontline, Nature and The Civil War are all amazing. I think they provide a valuable service. I also grew up watching Sesame Street.

 

[Guestx]

I love PBS and always have. The Vietname War, Frontline, Nature and The Civil War are all amazing. I think they provide a valuable service. I also grew up watching Sesame Street.

My only complaint is that their really good shit is a little too rare of an occurrence.

Like, if you go through their daily schedule you may have to scroll through SEVERAL days before you find something that you're really interested in. Most of the mornings and afternoons are filled with kids' programming, then you get the news at 6, and then there's a couple of hours a night for prime time stuff, and on most nights the offerings are not especially interesting.

But when they do knock it out of the park, it really is quality shit.

 

[Scott Parker 27]

My only complaint is that their really good shit is a little too rare of an occurrence.

Like, if you go through their daily schedule you may have to scroll through SEVERAL days before you find something that you're really interested in. Most of the mornings and afternoons are filled with kids' programming, then you get the news at 6, and then there's a couple of hours a night for prime time stuff, and on most nights the offerings are not especially interesting.

But when they do knock it out of the park, it really is quality shit.

Meh, I guess but I grea up without cable tv.....I know poor me....but PBS was my only option for animal docs and shit. Also I believe nature and frontline are both on weekly. Frontline has amazing documentaries. Another little guilty pleasure is Antique Roadshow. I had a buddy that was on that in the late 90s.

 

[breadfighter]

Watched it as a kid all the time. IMO it was the predecessor to Dirty Jobs and MTV's Wildboyz and other shows of that nature which I also loved watching. All those mundane things like how crayons are made were and those animal shows were fascinating to me.

 

[armbarforhire]

Meh, I guess but I grea up without cable tv.....I know poor me....but PBS was my only option for animal docs and shit. Also I believe nature and frontline are both on weekly. Frontline has amazing documentaries. Another little guilty pleasure is Antique Roadshow. I had a buddy that was on that in the late 90s.

This, also was a good source for music

Watched the shit of their rock and roll documentary in the 90s.

 

[Guestx]

Any of you guys ever watch History Detectives?

I first found it a handful of years ago and really enjoyed it. For anyone who hasn't seen it, it's a show where someone will have a particular artifact of some kind and there will be some kind of rumored history around it. And someone from the show will come in and do the necessary research to try to prove or disprove that supposed history.

There are a handful of episodes available for streaming on the website:

http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/

 

[armbarforhire]

The original pawn stars.

 

[Gene Tunney]

I watch pbs only so often now, such as cooking or travel shows. But back in the old days, it was one of the few channels around on antenna and basic cable. Bob Ross, Jerry Lewis telethons, news debate programs, nature specials, science shows, and history documentaries on pbs were well regarded. I distinctly recollect sesame street during the 80's, outdoors documentaries and Red Dwarf during the 90's, and the mclaughlin group during the early 2000's.