Karl Miller wrote:

>Perhaps the problem is that public broadcasting does not have a clear
>sense of its mission.

I consider the above a major problem of every public agency.  We tend
to naively think that public institutions have a nobility and virtue of
purpose/priority which is on a higher plane than for private enterprise.
I'm very familiar with both private and public entities, and this naive
premise has nothing going for it.

At least with private enterprise, you know what the goals and missions are
- money, profit, sales, costs, shareholders, etc.  The goals of a public
agency are largely elusive and arbitrary.  And, you can be sure, whatever
goals are told to us by leaders in those public agencies are just "words"
that sound good on a particular day.

Yes, whenever this subject or a related one comes up on the list, I
chime in with my "the best Government is the smallest" theme.  It is the
conclusion I've reached through a combination of abstract thought and
hands-on participation in Government and private endeavors.  I'm aplying
this only to the USA; I have no inside knowledge of how other countries
operate.

Concerning self-interest, I just want the music I like to be kept out of
public hands.  I'd even prefer to have to live with the decisions of a
Peter Gelb than a Government official or appointee.

Don Satz
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