> > > 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?

I did a quick Google search on this as I wasn't quite sure. I had thought they were paid for by local (city or county) governments. Turns out they're paid for by a mixture of city governments and cable companies. There are laws which allow city governments to require cable companies to "donate" equipment and money for public access. This is part of the deal that allows cable companies to have a monopoly in a given area.

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

Heh. Off-topic, but I don't ever really consider British/Australian/New Zealand accents to be "foreign." Dunno why... maybe it's because I know that English is the primary language? Weird.

Ste "Canadians, though, yeah, you guys are foreign, eh?" phen