Made Possible By...: The Death of Public Broadcasting in the United States

The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) was formed by an act of Congress in 1967. In this brisk and informative book, Ledbetter, a staff writer for Manhattan's Village Voice, reveals what a political punching bag PBS has been, a scapegoat of the Republicans from Richard Nixon to Newt Gingrich. Ledbetter charges that the board of PBS has been a depository for political hacks; that corporate underwriting is a pernicious method of influencing content and that the military-industrial complex also has power to affect programming. The author assesses National Public Radio (NPR) and maintains that Bobby Kennedy's former press secretary Frank Mankiewicz fiscally mismanaged it in the 1980s. Ledbetter discusses what he calls ""Nixon's Revenge,"" the present conservatism of the talk shows that have become a staple on PBS such as The McLaughlin Group, Firing Line and Washington Week in Review. Ledbetter offers solutions for helping PBS to find its niche in the television of the 2lst century, such as airing more documentaries on the failed state of our educational system. A smart read. (Jan.)