Republicans attack feminist-friendly NPR & PBS

Two feminist-friendly media are under attack as Republicans propose measures to cut funding for Public Broadcast Service and National Public Radio.

Democrats, along with PBS and NPR supporters, are mounting a counter attack in support of these institutions that bring us so much valuable programming, along with different points of view, that just aren't available anywhere else.

The Kansas City Star ran a great editorial on Sunday, Feb. 20.

The state of Kansas is looking at cutting its funding for public broadcasting as well.  The Star says, this would be a huge loss to rural areas of the country -- like Kansas' High Plains region -- where " ... Public Radio is as much a part of the landscape as the limitless horizon and brilliant night sky."

The Star hits the nail on the head when it says:

"We mention High Plains because it embodies the very notion of public broadcasting — to serve those who would not otherwise be served.


"Serious efforts to cut spending and reduce the deficit have our full support. However, the money saved from cutting all Corporation for Public Broadcasting funds — $430 million — would be barely a rounding error in the federal budget. But the cost to rural America would be enormous."

Of course the Republican solution would be to turn PBS and NPR over to the free market, adding that it would increase merchandising income.

Yet, according to an article by Chris Moody of "The Daily Caller," supporters of public broadcasting say:

"... ending government funding to public broadcasting would eliminate the programs, and that the market could not be trusted to provide quality broadcasting for children or news content for adults.


"'Reverting to only free-market, consumer-driven broadcasting would be “like treating the Library of Congress as an amusement park rather than as a seat of knowledge,' said Rep. Paul Tonko of New York."

Closer to home, WEMU, General Manager Molly Motherwell told AnnArbor.com that federal funding is 20 percent of that station's budget.

“ ... but it’s a very significant 20 percent,” Motherwell said. “It pays for one full-time person ... and it pays for two-thirds of our network programming. If we were to lose that, probably what would happen is we would have to wipe out all of our locally produced music programs on the weekends and in the evenings, because the majority of our listening is between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays. ... We would lose a lot of our unique flavor because of it. We probably would have to reduce our news staff.”

PBS and NPR are the closest thing to a feminist media we have.

Need proof?

Here are some of my posts that are based on or include information from PBS or NPR:

• Where are the women in Egypt's uprising?  Feb. 2011
• Islam, Women and Agency, Feb. 2011
• An economy based on feminized labor, Nov. 2010
• A Murder of Crows:  More proof of intelligent life on Earth, Oct. 2010
  
• Depoliticizing stem cells, Oct. 2010
  
• "Diana:  A strange autobiography" dared to tell the truth, Aug. 2010
  
• And then there's "The Real Girls," June 2010
  
  
  So what can we do -- speak up and let the Republicans know they cannot silence the American voice. Go to 170millionamericans.org to find out how.