THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 25, 1994 TAG: 9412220022
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 29 lines
The letter from Katie Higham-Kessler decrying Newt Gingrich's proposal to cut funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting illustrates how hard it will be to cut programs that no longer have viable reasons to exist.
CPB might have served a purpose when it was first created and the options on television were limited, but those days are long gone. Here in Hampton Roads we have more than 50 cable stations. If the History channel and Independent Film Maker's channel can find a niche, CPB should be able to find one.
Additionally, while Christmas shopping, I have seen the images of Big Bird and Barney for sale everywhere. Why should the revenue generated by these programs go solely into the pockets of their creators while my tax dollars subsidize their programming? If CPB charged these programs a fraction of the income from merchandising, there would no longer be a need for televised fund-raisers, let alone my tax dollars, for CPB to survive in today's market.
TED GETTINGER III
Virginia Beach, Dec. 19, 1994 by CNB