Why we should save NPR... and kill PBS
Taxpayers should keep funding NPR, says Mark Oppenheimer at Slate. But PBS, its "hideous, ugly televised brother," ought to be put out of its misery

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
If the argument over whether or not public broadcasting should be defunded was centered on quality alone, says Mark Oppenheimer at Slate, it would be easy to build a case for NPR. The nonprofit broadcast network is "the most resounding media success story of the past 40 years." From its "inconsequential" origins, it has grown to become a home to "intelligent, serious news coverage," and "quirky and cerebral" shows like "This American Life" and "Radiolab." It has thrived, even while FM radio has become a "dreary wasteland." The same cannot be said for NPR's "hideous, ugly televised brother," PBS. Back in the 1970s, PBS offered "ambitious, interesting programming." Now, we're presented with content that has "all the intelligence of VH1 and all the youth appeal of CBS." Here, an excerpt:
Even in its best weeks, PBS lacks any sort of coherent sensibility. At a time when the most successful networks have an obvious style — the illicit, pervy edge of Showtime's "Weeds" and "Californication"; the fine-grained realism of HBO's best dramas — PBS shows are defined variously by shameless baby-boomer pandering of the self-help or nostalgia variety, by a kind of earnest love of newsy documentaries, or by old-school PBS Anglophilia.
Read the entire piece at Slate.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Is Donald Trump finished in New York?
Today's Big Question How the former president's fraud ruling could ruin him in the city that made him famous
By Rafi Schwartz Published
-
Windmill whales
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why the FTC antitrust lawsuit against Amazon is so consequential
Talking Point While it's not the first case the federal agency brought against the company, it might be the biggest challenge yet
By Theara Coleman Published