POLITICIZING PBS

The New York Post reports:

Isn't it time to take the "public" out of the Public Broadcasting System?

For years, PBS has been a politi cal football - thanks primarily to the fact that the bulk of the network's cash comes not from "the support of viewers like you" but from the federal budget.

State and regional governments also shower cash on local affiliates, and even viewer pledges - because most are tax deductible - represent indirect public subsidies of PBS stations like Channel 13 in New York City and Channel 21 on Long Island.

All this has given lawmakers on both sides of the aisle an opportunity to threaten PBS with economic sanctions unless it skews its programming to satisfy their political objections of the moment.

Precisely that is happening right now in the battle over Ken Burns' upcoming documentary series about World War II.

Latino activists object that the 14-hour series - which traces the war's impact on four separate U.S. cities - contained no stories about Hispanic-Americans. They demanded that Burns - creator of such acclaimed documentaries as "The Civil War," "Baseball" and "Jazz" - re-edit the programs to include a Latino presence.

You can't have free speech on a state run T.V. station.Maybe it's time to separate media from state.