> > PBS is "public"; I don't know if that means they just rely on donations or if they also get tax support. If they do, they're certainly the exception, and all they ever really show on there is educational programming and old British sitcomes anyway.
>
> Both PBS and National Public Radio receive some tax money, if I recall correctly. These days, however, they are largely supported by corporate sponsorship as the level of government contributions has declined fairly steadily. They are also supported by viewer donations, which leads to PBS' infamous "pledge drives."
>
> Ste "This post made possible by readers like you" phen

Where do local public access shows fit in? Last time I was in the USA (1989) I somehow accidentally got a temporary job as a camera operator on a public-access interview show in Baltimore. I did it for two days and it opened my eyes to a whole new world of boredom in entertainment. I don't know who funded it, but they shouldn't have.

The job consisted of roughly ten seconds of training in advanced cinematography ("You do THIS to make it zoom in or out. You do THIS to pan. Now put these earphones on and do what I tell you.") so it was cool the way all the interviewees thought I was an artiste of the first calibre.

Brunnen-"mostly they thought that because I had a foreign accent"G