the NPR myth

I'm at school at the moment, which means I can't view my own blog and look at the archives, but I think I may have actually written a post on here griping about e-mail petitions, how they're sort of useless (I mean the ones where you add your name and address to the bottom of an evergrowing list that will supposedly be forwarded to someone at some point) and in particular the "Save NPR" e-mail that I discovered has been circulating for about a decade, even though it's no longer pertinent.

Well, now there's a new petition, and this one I have more faith in because it's a website petition as opposed to just an e-mail one. (And because it seems founded in reality--remember the controversy over showing a real-life lesbian married couple on a kid's show on PBS recently? And they have footnotes!). I feel like karma, if not simply social responsiblity, requires me to post it here, since I took the time to complain about the fake one.

Subject: This time, it's for real: Save NPR and PBS

Hi,

You know that email petition that keeps circulating about how Congress is slashing funding for NPR and PBS? Well, now it's actually true. (Really. Check at the bottom if you don't believe me.)

Sign the petition telling Congress to save NPR and PBS:

http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

A House panel has voted to eliminate all public funding for NPR and PBS, starting with "Sesame Street," "Reading Rainbow," and other commercial-free children's shows. If approved, this would be the most severe cut in the history of public broadcasting, threatening to pull the plug on Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Oscar the Grouch.

The cuts would slash 25% of the federal funding this year—$100 million—and end funding altogether within two years. The loss could kill beloved children's shows like "Clifford the Big Red Dog," "Arthur," and "Postcards from Buster." Rural stations and those serving low-income communities might not survive. Other stations would have to increase corporate sponsorships.

Already, 300,000 people have signed the petition. Can you help us reach 400,000 signatures today?

http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

Thanks!

P.S. Read the Washington Post report on the threat to NPR and PBS at:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=745