In an interview with John Diaz, editorial page editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, PBS documentarian Ken Burns says: “I think we ought to just take pause and reflect on what this extra-marketplace programming means to us.” He also points out that the relatively small investment in public broadcasting produces “a dividend we can’t do without, especially in this commercial era.” Diaz agrees, noting in the column today (Jan. 23) that “Americans who want a depth of programming that doesn’t necessarily produce celebrity hosts or big ratings or high profits will now have to fight to keep Congress from cutting off funds to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.”
Current - For people in public media
Current (https://current.org/2011/01/burns-calls-pubcasting-a-dividend-we-cant-do-without/)
Of course Ken Burns would support PBS funding. How else would he get his milti-hour “snooze fest” docs on television.
Pubcasting is a dividend that Burns cannot live without. The Civil War, Jazz, Baseball, National Parks documentaries were great but Burns needs to wean himself from the teat of the taxpayer and find other sources funding for his shows. Do we really need to continue funding CPB so that Burns can produce another Burns style PBS documentary? Shift these documentaries to a commercial station and utilize taxpayer funding for more important issues.
Unfortunately, the Burns-style would not make it on commercial tv or cable. History Channels and Military channel do a much better job with these type of programs. Burns would not have a chance nor would he be able to bully them into stunts.