again, I am NOT and never was making an argument about federal funding. You are.
I'm talking about the public who is according to public broadcasting the biggest portion of their support.
I'm talking about the public who is according to public broadcasting the biggest portion of their support.
People donate to NPR of their own free will with the complete understanding that they're doing it as a donation, not as a "make our content public domain" licensing agreement. A pledge drive donation isn't a purchase, you haven't paid for anything, for the same reasons donating to Obama's campaign didn't buy you a night in the Lincoln Bedroom.
I don't think it's instructive to compare public broadcasting with McDonalds (a for profit company), I'd compare them to Wikipedia. Wikipedia goes to great pains to maintain NPOV, and they give away their information product. I think public broadcasting should be more like Wikipedia; Wikipedia sets a higher standard for operating in the public interest.