PBS in Action

I got a fundraising letter at home, an all-green envelope with a silhouetted tree and the stark message:

This is no time to fool with our planet... AN URGENT OFFER INSIDE

An environmentalist organization, of course.

But not exactly. In fact, it was a fundraising letter from MPT, which did not quite tell me anywhere that that stands for Maryland Public Television, a television network owned and operated by the State of Maryland. The letter continued in that vein: "no time to take our planet for granted . . . understand the stakes . . . cannot afford a community and nation ignorant of science." Sounds like Maryland Government Television knows which side is right in the heated scientific, economic, and political debates over environmental issues.

True, they do promise to use their "unique ability" to "bring our community real science with no political agenda, news reporting with diverse perspectives, and programs that teach kids conservation values." But has anybody ever seen a PBS/MPT documentary on the high costs of environmental regulation? Or the fact that the globe hasn't warmed for the past 10 years? Or the way that markets lead to better environmental amenities? Not really a lot of diverse perspectives, as the general tenor of the letter would suggest.

MPT's fundraising letter seems to acknowledge clearly its function: To raise money from liberals, to supplement the tax money raised from people of all political perspectives, to advance one side of controversial issues. In a world of 500 channels, why are we taxing people to support one side in a broad political debate?