It takes a brave soul to venture up the high altitudes of the cable television dial. In reality, a sensible person has no reason to extend himself beyond the 500s, where the majesty of HD movies awaits. Yet far beyond that crystal clear version of “Iron Man,” past the religious programming and even those fifteen channels devoted to 70s classic rock is the Madison area’s public television stations. They are grainy, full of dead air and often more boring than the swing offense, but they serve a valuable purpose, both as a point of access for the community and as a vehicle to promote government responsibility. Unfortunately, there are those who feel their publicly-funded existence is irresponsible, leaving the rest of us to wonder where we’ll get our fill of city council meetings and National Disc Golf Highlights (Saturdays, 8 a.m. on Channel 991).
In 2007, Wisconsin lawmakers looked to undercut public television by slashing both its government funding and the money it receives from those who subscribe to cable television in the Video Competition Act. This would affect the gamut of Madison’s public programming, whether it be WYOU, the most notable of the local stations, or other public, education or government programs, affectionately known as PEG channels. Even more, in the mayor’s proposed city budget, WYOU’s funding was to be cut in half, from $140,000 to $70,000. There are two legitimate schools of thought behind these cuts. One is we are facing a pretty hefty budget deficit, and everything from television funding to those Downtown Madison, Inc. shacks is under close scrutiny. The other is PEG stations are underwatched, and if people feel their existence is necessary, they can donate to keep the stations afloat.
There is, of course, a third, illegitimate school of reasoning behind these cuts: public television stations are bastions of fervent liberalism and must be stopped at all costs, including undercover espionage and strategic bombing. Sensible people realize this is crazy, even if WYOU hosts Democracy Now! and a Louis Farrakhan program — the jury’s still out on where Beeracolypse Now! fits into the political spectrum, although the exclamation point suggests sympathetic views toward homosexuality. But this reaches Graham Chapman levels of silliness, and if anyone actually feels this is a respected political viewpoint, they should be subjected to a forced interrogation by The McLaughlin Group.
There is, however, some truth behind suggesting we’re paying for something few people watch. After all, a good deal of PEG programming makes C-SPAN look like one of those epilepsy-inducing Japanese cartoons. But if Tyler Perry has taught us anything, it’s that there’s little to no correlation between what we enjoy watching and what’s worth our Nielsen points. PEG programs, by definition, aren’t going to be ratings winners, because few terms induce remote clicks faster than “education” and “government.”
The problem with cutting the funding sources for these stations — which will essentially kill them — is that occasionally a local governing body will do something important or controversial, and they owe it to the public to be transparent in those decisions. Obviously, some citizens will simply show up at the meeting, but it’s hard to see taped versions of these meetings as a mindless expense. Also, despite what Charlie “Charles” Gibson wants us to think, there is no shortage of qualified people with interesting viewpoints willing to teach the public. Because of these PEG stations, they have an outlet. It might not be an incredibly visible one, but it takes a cold government to squelch educational programming.
Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, knows this, and recently introduced the Community Access Preservation Act of 2009 in order to help the uncertain future of public television. In addition to freeing up funds for the stations, the bill would also require that cable providers to give more visibility to PEG stations, instead of hiding them next to the Spanish language QVC channel and VH1 Soul. With any luck, Baldwin’s efforts will help ensure the future of public access television, and by extension, stronger television options. In fact, any visibility brought to this issue is important. Restoring the additional $70,000 dollars to WYOU would barely cause a ripple in the grand scheme of the mayor’s budget, yet the death of the station would be sure to make significant waves.
When President Lyndon Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, he claimed, “We Americans have an appetite for excellence.” I wonder if this statement still holds true, because it only takes one run to conclude that the only apparent American appetite these days is for fancy cakes.
Sean Kittridge ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism.
