The discussion of public television and radio raises some interesting
issues.  May I offer some insider comments?

Public television and public radio have different situations.  All
suggestions that PBS simply go away seem to be followed by "I can get
all of that on cable, with A & E, Disney, Discovery Channel, etc.."

That argument becomes partially valid only when (1) cable is free and (2)
everyone with a TV set has cable.  Current statistics are that less than
50% of the television viewing public has cable.  And the public television
stations are "free" insofar as you don't have to pay a monthly subscription
fee.

(Let's leave aside the tax subsidy issue, which is a real red herring IMO.
Federal grants are a small fraction of most station's budgets, and the per
taxpayer levy is literally pennies per annum.  Look at the per taxpayer
subsidy of, for example, the military budget or agricultural subsidies
or tobacco farmers or just about any special interest you can think of.
Public broadcasting subsidies are very small potatoes indeed.)

Radio is somewhat different, because of the manner in which people use
radio.  Radio tends very strongly to be format driven; i.e., uniform
type of programming throughout the day.  Some formats, such as classical,
attract a small percentage of the radio audience: typically 1% - 2% max.
Commercial classical music stations survive, where they survive at all,
in very large markets, where that 1% - 2% aggregates to enough people to
attract potential advertisers.  Anything out of the top 20 markets becomes
marginal or worse for the classical format.

People who own commercial radio stations by and large expect a return on
their investment.  A radio station in any market is a multi-million-dollar
capital investment, and if advertising volume and rates are not sufficient
to generate a competitive rate of return, the station owners have a strong
incentive to increase that return by whatever means necessary.  This
usually means changing to a more widely attractive format.  This is the
precise pressure that has caused a number of high-profile commercial
classical stations to switch formats.

Public radio stations are not subject to quite the same pressures.
Obviously, there is public rather than private ownership, be it a
foundation, university or local jurisdiction.  By law, all money generated
by the public station's activities must be put back into the operation.
So the basic goal is to balance the books by making your public station
support itself.

Public radio stations do have operating expenses just like the commercial
brethren, and meeting those expenses generates its own set of pressures.
The big controversy within the public radio community right now--especially
those stations who accept federal subsidies from the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting--is striking the right balance between attracting an audience
which will support the station and delivering a mission-driven programming
stream.

The smaller appeal formats, such as classical (or jazz), fit right in to
the proper mission of public radio: as a non-profit concern, these formats
can do just fine.  What complicates our life is that long-form, in depth
news does too.  NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered are unique
to American radio and will in all likelihood remain so.  Thoughtful, in
depth, varied and exceedingly labor intensive to produce.

NPR's news programs attract an even larger audience than classical,
typically 4% - 6% in large competitive markets, even larger percentages
in medium to smaller markets.  The best possible solution is found in such
markets as, for example, San Antonio, Minneapolis or Rochester, where a
public radio licensee operates two stations: typically, one all NPR news,
the other classical.

Some, like my station, broadcast the "traditional" public format, which
mixes NPR news with classical.  This works very well for us.  Feedback from
our listeners supports the idea that most enjoy both classical music and
Morning Edition.  That said, if there were any additional frequencies
available in Houston (there are not), we would no doubt operate two
stations, one classical, one news.

Regards,

John M. Proffitt
General Manager & C.E.O.
Radio Station KUHF-FM
Houston, Texas